Overview In the previous post, we installed the Traefik ingress controller and configured secure access to management interfaces by separating internal and external services. This post covers how to configure DDNS and port forwarding to enable external internet access to services running in the homelab Kubernetes cluster. Network Architecture Summary First, let’s briefly summarize the network architecture configured in the previous post: Internal Load Balancer (192.168.0.200): Exposes only management interfaces like ArgoCD, Longhorn, and Traefik dashboard, accessible only from within the internal network. External Load Balancer (192.168.0.201): Exposes only public services like blogs and personal projects, accessible from the external internet through router port forwarding. ...

Overview In the previous post, we installed the Longhorn distributed storage system to build a persistent storage environment where data is retained even when pods restart or move to different nodes. This post covers installing the Traefik ingress controller on a homelab Kubernetes cluster and configuring secure access to management interfaces from the internal network. Choosing an Ingress Controller There are several methods for exposing Kubernetes services externally in a homelab environment: ...

Overview In the previous post, I set up a GitOps environment by installing ArgoCD. This post covers how I installed and configured the Longhorn distributed storage system in my homelab Kubernetes cluster, along with what I learned from comparing storage options and why persistent storage turned out to be necessary. Storage Challenges in a Homelab Environment One of the biggest challenges when building a homelab Kubernetes cluster was configuring storage. Most practical applications such as databases, monitoring tools, and backup systems require persistent storage that maintains data even when pods restart or move to different nodes. ...

Overview In the previous post, we set up a homelab Kubernetes cluster using Dell OptiPlex Micro machines and completed the basic configuration. This post covers installing ArgoCD, a GitOps tool for declaratively managing all cluster components from a Git repository, and applying the App of Apps pattern to build a scalable infrastructure management system. Understanding GitOps What is GitOps? GitOps is an operational model first proposed by Alexis Richardson of Weaveworks in 2017. It uses a Git repository as the Single Source of Truth for infrastructure and application configurations. All infrastructure changes are tracked through Git commits, reviewed via Pull Requests, and reflected in the actual environment through automated processes, enabling infrastructure to be managed like code. ...

Overview This series is a place to record the parts of my homelab that feel worth writing down. Rather than treating it as a step-by-step guide, I want it to focus more on what I built and why I chose to put it together that way. This first post covers the hardware I used and the initial setup for a Mini PC-based Kubernetes cluster. The hardware setup uses five Dell OptiPlex Micro units as cluster nodes, with a TP-Link router and switch handling the network. The Dell OptiPlex Micro is a low-power mini PC that can be purchased affordably on the used market. The models used here are equipped with 9th-generation i5 CPUs, 16GB of memory, and 256GB SSDs, which is sufficient for handling Kubernetes workloads. ...

What is NDP NDP (Neighbor Discovery Protocol) is a core IPv6 protocol defined in RFC 4861. It combines the roles of several IPv4-era mechanisms such as ARP (Address Resolution Protocol), ICMP Router Discovery, and ICMP Redirect into a single protocol, making IPv6 network management more consistent and efficient. Built on ICMPv6 (Internet Control Message Protocol version 6), it handles functions such as neighbor discovery, router discovery, automatic address configuration, duplicate address detection, and path optimization. ...

Wine Concept and How It Works Wine (Wine Is Not an Emulator) is a compatibility layer that allows Windows programs to run on UNIX-compatible operating systems such as Linux, macOS, and BSD. On Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, it provides a way to run many Windows applications without installing Windows itself. It is an open-source project started by Bob Amstadt and Eric Youngdale in 1993 and now has more than 30 years of development history. The name is a recursive acronym chosen to emphasize that Wine is not a traditional emulator. ...

What is ARP ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) is a network protocol defined in RFC 826 by the IETF in 1982. In TCP/IP networks, it dynamically discovers the MAC address (physical address) associated with a given IP address. It sits at the boundary between Layer 2 (Data Link Layer) and Layer 3 (Network Layer) of the OSI 7-layer model and maps logical addresses (IP) to physical addresses (MAC). In network communication, actual data transmission between devices relies on MAC addresses. The upper layer (Network Layer) works with IP addresses, but the lower layer (Data Link Layer) needs the destination’s MAC address to send packets. ARP performs this IP-to-MAC conversion. It broadcasts a query across the network, and only the device that owns the target IP responds. Because of this, ARP is an essential protocol in most local network environments, including Ethernet networks. ...

Overview When accessing websites on the internet, we use domain names instead of IP addresses. DNS (Domain Name System) is the system that translates these domain names into actual server IP addresses. Often compared to the internet’s phone book, DNS was designed by Paul Mockapetris in 1983 and has since become a core internet infrastructure. It processes billions of DNS queries daily, enabling users to access web services using intuitive domain names like www.example.com without memorizing complex IP addresses like 192.168.0.1 or 2001:4860:4860::8888. ...

Overview Network communication involves many interacting processes, and making sense of them requires a standardized reference model. The OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) 7-layer model is a network communication standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1984. It divides communication between different systems into seven layers, defining how each layer operates independently while cooperating with others to transmit data. This model serves as a fundamental conceptual framework for network engineers and software developers to understand communication processes and diagnose problems. ...