Home Lab Hardware Guide
Rack mount hardware is almost always expensive, loud, and power hungry. I just have never seen the point of building a home lab like this.<p>A single ATX desktop can do almost [1] everything a homelab at a fraction of the cost & power consuption. I think a lot of the reason for homelabs/server hardware was to get access to more CPU cores, now that 8+ cores are very cheap it is actually cheaper to buy a new consumer desktop than it is to run an old server.<p>What makes even less sense is <i>wanting</i> use to use software like vSphere or ESXi since its about 10x more complicated than just using virt-manager/QEMU. It's like using an excavator to dig a fire pit. Server hardware & software makes sense when it's not your home because then you do need a remote access tool like iDRACK. (There are DIY options if you just need something for personal use).<p>That said if you enjoy it as a hobby (or your homelab is actually a business thing) then go for it.