How to Set Up a Home-Lab: Upgrade Your Old Laptop to a Cloud Server

Ever wanted to get hands-on DevOps experience without spending a fortune? I turned my old laptop into a fully functional home server that I can access from anywhere — and you can too! Here's how I did it, step by step.

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Why Build a Home-lab?

• Learn Linux system administration and networking

• Gain practical DevOps skills (beyond theory!)

• Host and experiment with personal projects

• Control your environment, privately and securely

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What I Used

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Step-by-Step Setup

1. Clean the Old Laptop

• Removed unnecessary parts like the broken display

• Replaced thermal paste and ensured good airflow

• Built a custom enclosure for better cooling (Here I used old plastic box)

2. Install Ubuntu Server

• Download Ubuntu Server 24.04.2 : https://ubuntu.com/download/server

  

• Create a bootable USB with Balena Etcher or Rufus

  • Rufus download Link: https://rufus.ie/en/

  • Balena Etcher download Link: https://etcher.balena.io/

• Install using minimal setup (no GUI) to save resources

  

  %[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2m52F0S2w8]

3. Network Configuration & SSH Setup

• Connect the laptop to your router via Ethernet for a stable connection.

• Install basic networking tools:

    sudo apt install net-tools
  

  Use ifconfig to check your local IP address:

    ifconfig
  

✅ Verify SSH Access

Try accessing your server from another device:

ssh username@your-local-ip

• Replace username and your-local-ip with your actual credentials (you can find the IP from ifconfig under inet).

• If it is successful, show like below.

  

❗ Troubleshooting SSH

If SSH is not working, follow these steps:

1. Check if SSH is installed:

    dpkg -l | grep openssh-server
   

2. If not installed, install it:

    sudo apt install openssh-server
   

3. Start and enable the SSH service:

    sudo systemctl start ssh
    sudo systemctl enable ssh
   

4. Check SSH status:

    sudo systemctl status ssh
   

🔒 Tip: Allow SSH in your firewall (if UFW is enabled):

sudo ufw allow ssh

Absolutely! Here's the updated Point 4 and 5 in markdown format, with the additional notes on remote access, account authentication, and accessing from other devices:

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4. Set Up Remote Access with Tailscale

• Install Tailscale on the server machine (a simple, secure VPN for remote access):

    curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh
    sudo tailscale up
  

• Sign in using your Tailscale account to register the server : https://tailscale.com/

  

• Important:
  When setting up, use the same Tailscale account across:

  • Your server (homelab laptop)

  • Any other device (e.g., personal laptop, phone) you use to access it

✅ Tailscale Tip:
If the setup is correct, you will see a “Connected” status with a green dot next to your device in the Tailscale dashboard when it’s online.

• After setup, access your homelab from anywhere:

    ssh username@your-tailscale-ip
  

  Find the Tailscale IP by running:

  tailscale ip -4
  

5. Basic Server Configuration & Security

• Update the system:

    sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade
  

• Install essential tools:

    sudo apt install htop git ufw fail2ban
  

• Set up firewall with UFW:

    sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
    sudo ufw enable
  

• Optional but recommended: Enable fail2ban to protect against brute-force attacks:

    sudo systemctl enable fail2ban
    sudo systemctl start fail2ban
  

💬 Got a Better Way?

If you’ve set up your own home-lab differently or have suggestions to improve this setup, I’d love to hear from you!

💡 Share your thoughts:

• Did you use another remote access method like OpenVPN, or WireGuard?

• Have tips to optimize performance on low-spec hardware?

• Got questions or need help with a similar setup?

👇 Drop a comment below - let’s learn from each other!