This post will serve as the 10,000 ft overview of my environment and what it all consists of. I plan to follow up this post with a series of smaller posts breaking down my Home Lab into the following sections:

(as I update these blog posts, links will appear and become active)

• Home Lab Servers & Storage
• Home Lab Routing & Switching
• Home Lab Access Points
• Home Lab Surveillance
• Home Cat6 Cable Wiring

In this post I go into details about the server and storage that I use in my Home Lab environment.

The current hardware I use is:

• Dell PowerEdge R710 SFF & LFF
• Dell PowerEdge C2100
• Dell PowerEdge CS24-SC (Essentially a 2950)
• Dell PowerEdge R510 LFF

The operating systems that I use are:

• VMware esxi 6.5
• VMware esxi 6.7
• Windows Server 2012 R2
• Windows Server 2016
• Windows Server 2019
• FreeNAS 11.1 (U7 if you care)

In this post I will cover all the networking equipment that I use in my home lab and how I use it.

The networking hardware that I use is:

• Unifi USG-PRO-4 (Gateway)
• Unifi US-24 (Switch)
• Unifi US-8-150 (Switch)
• 3 x Dell PowerConnect 7048P (Switch)
• Netgear ProSAFE GS108Ev3 8-Port

In this post I will cover the Access point that I use in my home, discussing wiring, port and physical placement.

The hardware access points I currently use are:

• Unifi UAP-AC-PRO
• Unifi UAP-AC-M-PRO
• Unifi UAP-IW-PRO

In this post I will cover my Home Surveillance Solution using my Home Lab equipment.

Some of the equipment I use is as follows:

• Home Server (Sometimes virtualized, sometimes standalone)
• BlueIris NVR Software
• Reolink IP Cams
  • RLC-410
  • RLC-411
  • RLC-420
  • RLC-423
• HikVision IP Cams
  • DS-2CD2142FWD-IS 4MP
• Ring Pro Doorbell

In this post I will go through what it takes to wire up your home with Cat6 cabling. This is currently an ongoing process for me and may be for some time yet to come.
The materials you will need to complete wiring in your house are as follows:

• Cat6 cabling
• RJ45 Cat6 Jacks
• RJ45 Boots
• RJ45 Crimping tool
• RJ45 Punch Down tool
• Cat6 Wall Plates with Jacks
• Pull String

vCheck is a PowerShell HTML framework script that started with one guy, but is now a community driven and from what I have seen, it’s pretty neat.

vCheck can be configured to just run once, or as a scheduled task on a Windows box. It also offers the option of sending the report via email. With those two features coupled together, you can set up a daily environment scan to run an hour or two before you get to work each morning and have a nice HTML report in your inbox of what changed and/or broke since you left the night before.This tutorial covers the installation and configuration of the vCheck tool.

Programs Needed:

• PowerCLI – Latest Version is best but will work with 5.0+
• PowerShell – minimum Version 3
• vCheck – (Download the zip and extract)
  • vCheck Dev Version (use at your own risk)

Download and Extract vCheck with Powershell:

$ZipPath = "C:\vCheck\vCheck-vSphere-master.zip"
$Destination = "C:\vCheck\"

IF (-not (Test-Path -Path "$Destination"))
{
    New-Item -Path $Destination -ItemType Directory -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
}

iwr https://github.com/alanrenouf/vCheck-vSphere/archive/master.zip -OutFile "$ZipPath"
Add-Type -assembly "system.io.compression.filesystem"
[io.compression.zipfile]::ExtractToDirectory($ZipPath, $Destination)

Load PowerCLI (open the Program)
Login to vCenter Server

Connect-VIServer

– or –

Connect-VIServer VCENTER.DOMAIN.COM -User DOMAIN\Administrator -Password -SaveCredentials

Run vCheck ps1 file

& "C:\vCheck\vCheck-vSphere-master\vCheck.ps1"

- or - 

. "C:\vCheck\vCheck-vSphere-master\vCheck.ps1"

You will then be asked to respond to the following prompts:

# Report header [vCheck]:
# Would you like the report displayed in the local browser once completed ? [$true]:
# Display the report even if it is empty? [$true]:
# Use the following item to define if an email report should be sent once completed [$false]:
# Please Specify the SMTP server address (and optional port) [servername(:port)] [mysmtpserver.mydomain.local]:
# Would you like to use SSL to send email? [$false]:
# Please specify the email address who will send the vCheck report [me@mydomain.local]:
# Please specify the email address(es) who will receive the vCheck report (separate multiple addresses with comma) [me@mydomain.local]:
# Please specify the email address(es) who will be CCd to receive the vCheck report (separate multiple addresses with comma) []:
# Please specify an email subject [$Server vCheck Report]:
# Send the report by e-mail even if it is empty? [$true]:
# If you would prefer the HTML file as an attachment then enable the following: [$false]:
# Set the style template to use. [VMware]:
# Do you want to include plugin details in the report? [$true]:
# List Enabled plugins first in Plugin Report? [$true]:
# Set the following setting to $true to see how long each Plugin takes to run as part of the report [$true]:
# Report on plugins that take longer than the following amount of seconds [30]:

Connection settings for vCenter
# Please Specify the address (and optional port) of the vCenter server to connect to [servername(:port)] [192.168.0.0]:
# Maximum number of samples to gather for events [100000]:

General Information
# Set the number of days of DRS Migrations to report and count on [1]:
# Set the number of days of Storage DRS Migrations to report and count on [1]:

Windows vCenter Error Event Logs
# Set the number of days of VC Events to check for errors [1]:
# Set the number of days of VC Event Logs to check for warnings and errors [1]:

vCenter Sessions Age
# Enter maximum vCenter session length in hours [48]:
# Enter minimum vCenter session length in minutes (IdleMinutes) [10]:
# Do not report on usernames that are defined here (regex) [DOMAIN\\user1|DOMAIN\\user2]:

vCenter License Report
# Enable License Reporting? [$true]:

HA configuration issues
# HA Configuration Issues, do not report on any Clusters that are defined here [Example_Cluster_*|Test_Cluster_*]:
# HA should be set to ... [$true]:
# HA host monitoring should be set to ... [$true]:
# HA Admission Control should be set to ... [$true]:

HA VMs restarted
# HA VM restart day(s) number [5]:

DRS & SDRS Migrations
# Set the number of days of DRS Migrations to report and count on [1]:
# Set the number of days of Storage DRS Migrations to report and count on [1]:

Cluster Slot Sizes
# Number of slots available in a cluster [10]:

Datastore Consistency
# Do not report on any Datastores that are defined here (Datastore Consistency Plugin) [local*|datastore*]:

Clusters with DRS disabled
# Clusters with DRS Disabled, do not report on any Clusters that are defined here [VM1_*|VM2_*]:

QuickStats Capacity Planning
# Max CPU usage for non HA cluster [0.6]:
# Max MEM usage for non HA cluster [0.6]:

s/vMotion Information
# Set the number of days to go back and check for s/vMotions [5]:
# Include vMotions in report [$true;]:
# Include Storage vMotions in report [$true;]:

DRS Rules
# Display VM affinity rules? [$true]:
# Display VM anti-affinity rules? [$true]:
# Display HOSTaffinity rules? [$true]:
# Set DRS Rule name exception (regex) [ExcludeMe]:

Hosts Overcommit state
# Return results in GB or MB? [GB]:

NTP Name and Service
# The NTP server which should be set on your hosts [pool.ntp.org|pool2.ntp.org]:

VMKernel Warnings
# Disabling displaying Google/KB links in order to have wider message column [$true]:

Syslog Name
# The Syslog server which should be set on your hosts [syslogserver]:

Disk Max Total Latency
# Disk Max Total Latency Settings in Milliseconds [50]:
# Disk Max Total Latency range to inspect (1-24) [24]:

Lost Access to Volume
# Set the number of days of Lost Action Volume to report and count on [1]:

Check LUNS have the recommended number of paths
# Set the Recommended number of paths per LUN [2]:

ESXi Inode Exhaustion
# Set the ESXi filesystem free Inode threshold in percent [40]:

Host Profile Compliance
# Show detailed information in report [$true]:
# Show compliant servers [$false]:

Hosts with Upcoming Certificate Expiration
# How many days to warn before cert expiration (Default 60) [60]:

Datastore Information
# Set the warning threshold for Datastore % Free Space [25]:
# Do not report on any Datastores that are defined here (Datastore Free Space Plugin) [local]:

Number of VMs per Datastore
# Max number of VMs per Datastore [5]:
# Exclude these datastores from report [ExcludeMe]:

Datastore OverAllocation
# Datastore OverAllocation % [50]:
# Exclude these datastores from report [ExcludeMe]:

Datastores with Storage IO Control Disabled
# Do not report on any Datastores that are defined here (Storage IO Control disabled Plugin) [local]:

VSAN Datastore Capacity
# Set the warning threshold for VSAN Datastore % Free Space [85]:

VSAN Configuration Maximum Disk Group Per Host Report
# Enable VSAN Config Max Disk Group Per Host Reporting? [$true]:
# Percentage threshold to warn? [80]:

VSAN Configuration Maximum Magnetic Disks Per Disk Group Report
# Enable VSAN Config Max Magnetic Disks Per Disk Group Reporting? [$true]:
# Percentage threshold to warn? [50]:

VSAN Configuration Maximum Total Magnetic Disks In All Disk Groups Per Host Report
# Enable VSAN Config Max Total Magnetic Disks In All Disk Groups Per Host Reporting? [$true]:
# Percentage threshold to warn? [50]:

VSAN Configuration Maximum Components Per Host Report
# Enable VSAN Config Max Components Per Host Reporting? [$true]:
# Percentage threshold to warn? [50]:

VSAN Configuration Maximum Hosts Per VSAN Cluster Report
# Enable VSAN Config Max Hosts Per VSAN Cluster Reporting? [$true]:
# Percentage threshold to warn? [45]:

VSAN Configuration Maximum VMs Per Host Report
# Enable VSAN Config Max VMs Per Host Reporting? [$true]:
# Percentage threshold to warn? [50]:

VSAN Configuration Maximum VMs Per VSAN Cluster Report
# Enable VSAN Config Max VMs Per VSAN Cluster Reporting? [$true]:
# Percentage threshold to warn? [50]:

Checking Standard vSwitch Ports Free
# vSwitch Port Left [5]:

Checking Distributed vSwitch Port Groups for Ports Free
# Distributed vSwitch PortGroup Ports Left [10]:

vSwitch Security
# Enable Checking of vSwitch security settings? [$true]:
# Warn for AllowPromiscuous enabled? [$true]:
# Warn for ForgedTransmits enabled? [$true]:
# Warn for MacChanges enabled? [$true]:

Snapshot Information
# Set the warning threshold for snapshots in days old [14]:
# Set snapshot name exception (regex) [ExcludeMe]:
# Set snapshot description exception (regex) [ExcludeMe]:
# Set snapshot creator exception (regex) [ExcludeMe]:

Created or cloned VMs
# Set the number of days to show VMs created for [5]:

Removed VMs
# Set the number of days to show VMs removed for [5]:

VMs with over $vCPU vCPUs
# Define the maximum amount of vCPUs your VMs are allowed [2]:

VMs restarted due to Guest OS Error
# HA VM reset day(s) number due to Guest OS error [5]:

Guests with less than $MBFree MB
# VM Disk space left, set the amount you would like to report on MBFree [1024]:
# VM Disk space left, set the amount you would like to report on MBDiskMinSize [1024]:

Checking VM Hardware Version
# Hardware Version to check for at least [8]:
#Adding filter for dsvas, vShield appliances or any other vms that will remain on a lower HW version [vShield*|dsva*]:

VMs in inconsistent folders
# Specify which Datastore(s) to filter from report [local]:

No VM Tools
# Do not report on any VMs who are defined here (regex) [VM1_*|VM2_*]:

VM Tools Issues
# VM Tools Issues, do not report on any VMs who are defined here [VM1_*|VM2_*]:

Removable Media Connected
# VMs with removable media not to report on [APP*|ETC*]:

Single Storage VMs
# Local Stored VMs, do not report on any VMs who are defined here [Template_*|VDI*]:

VM CPU %RDY
# CPU ready on VMs should not exceed [10.0]:

VM CPU Usage
# VM Not to go over the following amount of CPU [75]:
# VM CPU not allowed to go over the previous amount for how many days? [1]:

Find VMs with thick or thin provisioned vmdk
# Report on disk formats that are not "thin" or "thick", which format is not allowed? [thick]:
# Specify Datastores to filter from report [local]:

Virtual machines with incorrect OS configuration
# VMs with incorrect OS Configuration, do not report on any VMs who are defined here [VM1_*|VM2_*]:

Powered Off VMs
# VMs not to report on [Windows7*]:

Unwanted virtual hardware found
# Find unwanted virtual hardware [VirtualUSBController|VirtualParallelPort|VirtualSerialPort]:

Mis-named virtual machines
# Misnamed VMs, do not report on any VMs who are defined here [VM1_*|VM2_*]:

VM - is my network connected?
# Only show NICs that are set to Connect at Startup [$true]:

Reset VMs
# Set the number of days to show reset VMs [1]:

Snapshot activity
# Set the number of days to show Snapshots for [5]:
# User exception for Snapshot removed [s-veeam]:

VMs with CPU or Memory Reservations Configured
# VMs with CPU or Memory Reservations, do not report on any VMs who are defined here [VM1_*|VM2_*]:

VM Logging
# The number of logs to keep for each VM [10]:
# The size logs can reach before rotating to a new log (bytes) [1000000]:

VM Tools Not Up to Date
# Do not report on any VMs who are defined here (regex) [VM1_*|VM2_*]:
# Maximum number of VMs shown [30]:

NonPersistent Disks
# Exclude all desktop virtual machines [^DV-|^MLB-]:

VMs Memory/CPU Hot Add configuration
# Should CPU hot plug be enabled [$true]:
# Should Memory hot add be enabled [$true]:

Site Recovery Manager - RPO Violation Report
# SRM RPO Violations: Set the number of minutes an RPO has exceeded to report on [240]:
# SRM RPO Violations: Only look for RPO events on VMs with these names: (regex) []:
# SRM RPO Violations: Report on unresolved RPO violations only? [$true]:

Once you have completed the prompts, the scan will run and a report will be generated.

Powershell & PowerCLI Prep

#Set Execution Policy

Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned

#Ignore SSL Certificates warnings

Set-PowerCLIConfiguration -InvalidCertificateAction Ignore -WarningAction SilentlyContinue

#Connecting to server & save creds:

Connect-VIServer vCenter.DOMAIN.com -User DOMAIN\Administrator -Password -SaveCredentials

#Location to open up PowerCLI normally:

. "C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\Infrastructure\vSphere PowerCLI\Scripts\Initialize-PowerCLIEnvironment.ps1"

CMDLET

function Load-PowerCLI
{
Add-PSSnapin VMware.VimAutomation.Core -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Add-PSSnapin VMware.VumAutomation -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Add-PSSnapin VMware.DeployAutomation -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Add-PSSnapin VMware.DeployAutomation -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
& "C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\Infrastructure\vSphere PowerCLI\Scripts\Initialize-PowerCLIEnvironment.ps1"
Write-Host "================================================" -ForegroundColor White
Write-Host "
...connecting to vCenter servers
"
Connect-VIServer vCenter0.groffbox.com
}

BONUS:

Set the VMConsole to open correctly with Open-VMConsole Window

#Download and Install 32-bit Firefox, you NEED 32-bit
#Run:

Set-PowerCLIConfiguration –VMConsoleWindowBrowser “C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe”

Now you can run Open-VMConsoleWindow

The Installation and Basic Configuration of VMware ESXi 5.5.0 on Dell C2100 FS12-TY

Server Specs:

• Dell PowerEdge C2100 FS12-TY
• 2 x 2.13GHz Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5506
• 6 x 4GB RAM – Total 24GB’s of RAM
• RAID Controller – SAS 6iR
  • 4 x 250GB WD RE 4 HDD’s

I have already set up my RAID Array as follows:

• 2 x RAID-1 (mirror) Virtual Disks setup

For this install I am using the Dell Customized Image of ESX as it fixes known issues and loads drivers for Dell PowerEdge systems. Google if you don’t have the customized Image.

First you need to install the Dell Customized Image onto a USB. I use Rufus on a Windows PC to do so. See the settings I chose for Rufus below:

(Download Rufus)

 

Eject the USB from your OS and go plug it into your C2100 and boot it up.

The first thing you will see when your USB is finally booting, after the BIOS and RAID controller info, is the following image:

Hit (Enter) on the Installer:

 

Next ESX will proceed to boot into the installer, you will see the following two screens load all the way through and disappear:

 

 

Once those two screens finish loading we will begin the installation.

On the following screen hit (Enter):

 

Then you will need to read through and agree to the EULA by hitting (F11) to proceed with the installation:

 

ESX will then scan attached devices that it can install on:

 

Select the USB drive that you inserted, not your Virtual Disks, and hit (Enter):

 

ESX will scan the drive again and then hit (Enter) to confirm the USB drive will be overwritten:

 

 

Next select your keyboard layout and hit (Enter):

 

Type in the password for the root user twice and hit (Enter):

ESX will scan yet again, and when that is finished hit (F11) to initiate the installation of ESX onto the USB:

 

 

ESX will begin to install and once it is finished hit (Enter) to reboot the server and complete the installation:

This may take a couple minutes.

 

 

 

After the reboot, ESX will boot into the following screen:

NOTE: For this tutorial I have DHCP enabled so ESX already has an IP issued to it, but you will want to set this to a static IP for many reasons, so I have covered this in my post: Set a Static IP on your ESX Host

Now go back to your computer, open a web browser, and browse to the IP that we saw in the previous step and you will see the following page:

 

Click on the “Download vSphere Client” link and Install that on your local computer.

Once VMware vSphere Client is installed, open it, and fill in the fields appropriately.

• IP address / Name: IP of ESX Host
• User name: root
• Password: Password you created

 

You will be prompted by a Security Warning, check the check-box for Install this certificate and do not display security warnings for “Your IP”. Then click Ignore

 

Next you will come to a screen like the following:

First thing you will need to do, is create a datastore. To do so, click on the blue link, click here to create a datastore…:

This will bring up the following window, where you will choose the Disk/LUN option and click Next:

 

Select one of the disks that you would like to create a datastore out of and click Next:

NOTE: I selected one of the two RAID-1 Arrays I set up prior to this tutorial

 

On the next screen leave the VMFS-5 option selected and then click Next:

 

Confirm the disk layout settings by clicking Next:

 

Name your datastore with a naming scheme that you see fit. I have named mine VM1-RAID1. Then click Next:

Leave Maximum available space selected, unless for some reason you are not applying all the RAID-1 to this host, and click Next:

Click Finish to create the datastore:

 

Next we are going to add an image to the datastore so we can create Virtual Machines off of that image.

In the VMware vSphere Client click on the Configuration tab and then click on Storage under the Hardware Section.
Here you will right click on your new datastore and click Browse Datastore…:

 

Create a folder in the root of that drive named Images and then click the Upload Icon and choose Upload File…:

NOTE: You can also choose to set up an NFS datastore to store your .iso and other bootable files. If you choos to go that route you can skip this step. I have already covered how to accomplish this in my tutorial: How to create and ESX Datastore from a Windows NFS Share

 

Once the .iso, for whatever OS you have chosen, has finished uploading, you will simply right-click on your host and select New Virtual Machine…, and proceed to set up your VM according the the specs that you need.

 

In the last step of creating the VM, where the tab on the left reads Ready To Complete and you have a Finish option, check the check box for “Edit the virtual machine settings before completion” and then click Continue.

In the popup window you will need to browse to the New CD/DVD (Adding) section and then select Datastore ISO File to Connect at power on. You are going to want to click Browse… and browse to the .iso that you previously uploaded, then click Finish.

That is it, wait for your VM to create and then power it on.

Once you power it on, you can open the console and set up network connectivity to the server as it meets your needs.

NOTE: After you complete the installation of whatever OS you chose, you will want to go back into setting, and set either set this setting to “Client Device” or remove the check next to “Connect at power on”.

 

If you have any questions, please contact me through the site.