homelab

If you are struggling with reliable, cost-effective backups for your home Hyper-V setup, this post shares my experience transitioning from simple file-share copies to a more robust strategy. I explain why my current Windows 10 Pro for Workstations environment lacked the snapshot capabilities needed for consistent data protection and how I am exploring alternatives before committing to enterprise-grade solutions like Veeam.

If you are looking to connect your home network to the cloud, this post walks you through establishing a site-to-site VPN between Ubiquiti Unifi hardware and Microsoft Azure. I detail the straightforward Azure configuration using the Basic SKU and share my experience troubleshooting the Unifi side to get the connection running smoothly.

If you’re looking to centralize security monitoring for your home network, this guide shows how I leveraged a new Microsoft preview solution to connect Unifi hardware logs to Azure Sentinel. I walk you through provisioning a Linux syslog server in Azure and configuring your Unifi controller to ship data, effectively offloading the heavy lifting of integration to Microsoft.

I discovered that while existing tools like Tautulli could handle my Plex notification needs, I decided to build a custom integration using Azure API Management and Logic Apps to deepen my understanding of Azure services. This post details how I leveraged Plex’s webhook capabilities to trigger notifications for my family whenever new episodes are added to our media server.

If you are looking for a cost-effective IoT solution to automate houseplant care, this post details how I built a soil moisture monitoring system using a RuuviTag sensor and a Raspberry Pi. I explain how I bypassed expensive industrial equipment to create a simple alert system that notifies me via Azure IoT Hub when my plant needs watering, solving my frequent forgetfulness.