Potato HomeLab Step 0: Planning

Publish Date: 4 Feb 2026 Last update: 4 Feb 2026

Table of Content

Introduction
Why have a HomeLab?
What do I have on hand?
What to plan for HomeLab?
1. Which OS for HomeLab
2. Function of HomeLab
3. Documentation
Conclusion

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Introduction

Welcome to my new project Potato HomeLab. Before doing Planning is essential; otherwise, everything might go off track later. The main goal of this HomeLab is to do whatever I need with whatever I have on hands now. By the time that I am writing ram has become gold, and the storage prices are getting out of hand, so buying extra storage when it is nice to have is out of the question for at least 1-2 years, which sucks.

Why have a HomeLab?

When you have too many computers at home, it becomes hard to manage all the data stored on them. The data become scatter across different devices, and finding a way to centralize it. Moreover, it would be nice to have a console in the living room too, as it is not as locked down as the console and has freedom to do what I want, as long as the specs allow it.

What do I have on hand?

Probably the most exciting part of any project below is some of the “leftover parts” that I have on hand currently.

PC: GMKtec M7 (AMD 6800H + 32 gb ddr5 4800 mhz)
- 2 NVME slots
SSD:
- 256 gb intel octane ssd
  - Note: don’t use Octane SSD for Linux, as you are asking for trouble some Octane drives in Linux only show it has 50 GB when used internally.
- 500 gb WD blue SSD
- 1 TB Samsung T7 shield (External Drive)
  - Note: if you are mac user, don’t ever touch this ssd full of weird BS
HHD:
- 5 TB WD Mypassport HDD (External Drive)
- 1 TB HSGT 2.5-inch HDD 7200 RPM
- 512 GB HSGT 2.5-inch HDD 5400 RPM

The above stuff is probably the most realistic situation that you will encounter, unlike those youtuber who uses branded NAS with four 16 TB HDDs. It's not going to happen in this crazy time where ram and SSD prices shot to the roof.

What to plan for HomeLab?

1. Which OS for HomeLab

Just put whatever you are comfortable with. I personally chose Fedora as I have been using Bazzite for a while, and it feels familiar to me. Personally tip for Linux, don’t pick any immutable OS unless you like an extra level of pain to do things.

2. Function of HomeLab

This part is more like what your HomeLab is and what kind of application and service you need. Below are things I want my HomeLab to do.

Game/emulation console (Steam, Emudeck)
File sharing between Mac, Windows, and Linux (SMB)
Local LLM for VN translation (Luna translator + LM studio)
Media server (Jellyfin)
Remote desktop locally (Sunshine for host, Moonlight for client)
- Wake on Lan with moonlight
Time machine backup (SMB)

3. Documentation

Documentation is boring, but it will be handy when you are troubleshooting. Below are some documents to take note of.

IP address of the HomeLab
- Note: Make sure to reserve the IP in the router so that the DHCP doesn’t assign a different IP to the computer and break the file sharing or other service
Port no.
- Important for the local host service for the web interface, as each port corresponds to a different service
User name + password
Log when you interact with the terminal
- Mainly for retracing your step when some when wrong
- Also, for successful solution too

Conclusion

Don’t expect a smooth ride for HomeLab, and it is a fun way to dust off your old pc and make them alive again.

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