homelab-journey
Cluster Observability Part 1: Prometheus and Node Exporter on Talos
Installing Prometheus and node exporter on Talos Linux: namespace labelling, values files, the duplicate pod gotcha, and confirming all four nodes are being scraped.
Igor
Infrastructure engineer, homelab builder, public learner. I document the real process — commands, errors, and all — so you don't have to learn it the hard way.
Longhorn
Longhorn Deep Dive: Replicas, Versions, and Upgrades
The decisions behind the Longhorn installation: why 2 replicas on a 1Gb cluster, how version pinning protects reproducibility, and when to upgrade.
Longhorn
Setting Up Longhorn Storage on the Bletchley Cluster
Installing Longhorn distributed storage on a Talos Linux cluster: NVMe preparation, Helm install, and why the namespace label matters before anything else.
Talos Linux
Upgrading Talos Linux Nodes: Adding a Missing Extension
How I discovered a missing system extension before it caused problems, and upgraded all four Bletchley cluster nodes in 15 minutes. Plus: what changes when you have running workloads.
TuringPi
Building the Bletchley Cluster: Installing Talos Linux on TuringPi 2
Complete guide to installing Talos Linux v1.12.4 on TuringPi 2 RK1 modules — VLAN configuration, HA control plane, and every command along the way.
Talos
Installing Talos Linux on TuringPi RK1: Learning from My First Attempt
Documentation isn't optional. How I lost access to my working Talos cluster and why I'm reinstalling from scratch with proper documentation.
PostgreSQL
Upgrading PostgreSQL: From 12 to 18 on RHEL8
PostgreSQL 12 reached EOL in November 2024. Here's how I upgraded to PostgreSQL 18 using the dump-and-restore method on RHEL 8.
Lessons Learned
What I Learned Installing Umami: Database Decisions and Docker
Seven lessons from installing Umami analytics: database compatibility, EOL software risks, Docker isolation, and why documentation is as valuable as code.
TuringPi
My TuringPi Cluster Hardware: From Kickstarter to Reality
Three years from Kickstarter backing to complete build: documenting my TuringPi 2 cluster with 4x RK1 modules, storage strategy, and lessons learned.
Umami
Adding Analytics to My Blog: The Umami Journey
Privacy-friendly analytics without Google: how I deployed Umami with PostgreSQL in Docker after learning hard lessons about database compatibility.
Ghost
Configuring Ghost for Technical Blogging: SEO, Syntax Highlighting, and Comments
Setting up Ghost for technical content: Prism.js syntax highlighting with autoloader, SEO optimization, Google Search Console, Giscus comments, and GDPR compliance. Complete code injection configuration included.
Ghost
Setting Up Ghost Blog on Red Hat Enterprise Linux: My Homelab Journey Begins
Complete guide to installing Ghost CMS on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.7 with remote MariaDB, Apache reverse proxy, and SELinux. Includes all commands, troubleshooting, and lessons learned.