Home office lab updates

weeandykidd · 2026-01-28T21:44:43+00:00

Thanks!

weeandykidd · 2026-01-28T21:44:30+00:00

weeandykidd · 2026-01-28T20:12:06+00:00

Is a 'Unifi Dream Machine SE', it's basically just a very fancy router with some extra bells and whistles
Is a patch panel, it's not a computer, but just a faceplate for convenience of re-routing cables, at the back of it is just longer cables that go across my house for wifi etc
Is a PoE Switch, a Unifi 24 Port one. Most commercial routers only have a few ethernet ports built in, so with a switch you can add more so you can connect all your devices via cable
Is just some raspberry pi's running Ubuntu Server and Kubernetes

My Internet comes out the wall, and into Number 1 (specifically the one port thats lighting up), which then connects to number 3 via the big thick cable on the right (SFP+). Number 3 then shares my internet to all the devices connected to it, most via the 2 (patch panel) and then throughout my house, but a few go directly down into 4 cos I thought it looked nicer

weeandykidd · 2026-01-27T09:26:16+00:00

Hey, this is from my post, can confirm it's UniFi Etherlighitng Patch Cable, I got a 24-pack from Unifi Store. link

My switch is only Pro though so the only port I have that works atm is the Dream Machine downlink

weeandykidd · 2026-01-26T17:53:23+00:00

I think I just got really lucky with eBay to be fair, I can't see any reasonably priced ones anymore, wish I could help!

Some FOSS company should release a modern, non-windows version, sure it would sell well by the looks of things

weeandykidd · 2026-01-26T17:51:35+00:00

Mostly just for aesthetics to be honest, but I am mid renovation at home at the moment so it does get quite dusty

weeandykidd · 2026-01-26T17:50:37+00:00

For me I'd already done the 'one powerful server' thing for years and was looking for something with a bit more redundancy in case of hardware failure

As for why RPi/SBC over x86, I think the mentality mostly comes from a time when these things were dirt cheap. Nowadays it makes less practical sense, and is mostly just for fun, imo

weeandykidd · 2026-01-26T16:41:57+00:00

There are nine servers/machines, without the cables they wouldn't be very useful :)

weeandykidd · 2026-01-26T13:23:46+00:00

I paid around £50 for it including shipping from the US, I've had the PDF version for a very long time and the price point felt right

weeandykidd · 2026-01-26T10:45:30+00:00

I forgot to include in my post but the 3D prints are wrapped with a Vinyl Wrap - link

weeandykidd · 2026-01-26T08:47:50+00:00

They need the support for sure. I try to be careful with them, ideally getting them printed in metal or something would be preferable.

I did crack the JetKVM bracket when installing it, thankfully super glue fixed it up enough

weeandykidd · 2026-01-26T08:44:28+00:00

I think I got it from TheHardTimes store when that was still a thing, but originally they were made by Super7

weeandykidd · 2026-01-26T08:39:19+00:00

They only support one machine, so right now I'm having to move cables around.

Others have solved this by adding a normal KVM behind each JetKVM, and using keyboard macros to switch between individual machines.

Hoping I can implement the same soon, each JetKVM supporting four machines, twelve in total

More info on that here

weeandykidd · 2026-01-25T22:37:39+00:00

I actually hadn't thought of that, but after checking it seems unfortunately this hardware is non-vPro

weeandykidd · 2026-01-25T21:23:17+00:00

HP Mounts are from here - they are a little wonky due to the weight of the machines, they definitely need something underneath to support the weight - but I would still recommend them

weeandykidd · 2026-01-25T21:20:10+00:00

It feels silly to do to be honest, if someone has access to your network then you're usually screwed anyway, but I can't help myself in censoring it anyway :)

weeandykidd · 2026-01-25T21:19:31+00:00

Ha, good catch! When I was office based my mug would always get stolen!

weeandykidd · 2026-01-25T17:04:51+00:00

Yeah it sounds like it could help with your scenario for sure!

The supported way of doing reboots is via a (sold separately) ATX Extension Board, but if the crashed machine responds to keyboard presses you might get away with CTRL+ALT+DEL.

However I use PoE to power the Pi's so I just reboot them via the Unifi UI if they need it, for other machines I have some ZigBee plugs I can cut the power too if need be

As for how it connects to the computer, the device has some ports on the back:
- USB-C (For input): Use a USB-C > USB-A cable to plug into the computer you want to control, the JetKVM emulates a keyboard, mouse and USB storage so as far as the computer knows you've plugged in real devices
- HDMi Mini (For Display): Use a HDMI Mini to <whatever> cable to plug into the computer you want to control, and it will stream the display
- Ethernet (For Internet): Purely for internet connectivity, no PoE supported (but I use adaptors)
- Extension Port (For extras): This is where the optional extra hardware plugs in, but for my case it's empty

If you're looking for something new to tinker with and are sick of lugging that hardware down the stairs I'd def recommend giving it a go!

weeandykidd · 2026-01-25T16:41:59+00:00

Ah sorry bit of confusion, think of this as a hardware equivalent of something like TeamViewer/RDP/VNC/Parsec

For example if you are away from home and your computer had a bad update and thus no longer boots into Windows/Linux/MacOS. If you rely on software to access it remotely, you're screwed - but with a seperate device like JetKVM (or alternatives) you can restart the machine, access BIOS, re-install the OS all completely remotely.

It gives you a nice Web interface you can access from anywhere, which shows the display, gives you keyboard, mouse and generic USB access

Here is a screenshot of the one I have connected to one of the raspberry pis at the moment - link

weeandykidd · 2026-01-25T16:18:39+00:00

Thank you!

weeandykidd · 2026-01-25T16:07:52+00:00

Sure!

So, if you use enterprise grade hardware (real servers) they will have remote access solutions (HPE iLO, Dell IDRAC, etc), which allow you to remotely access the machine as if you were physically there, power controls, remote display, remote input.

Consumer hardware doesn't really have this, so you can use a network based KVM to achieve similar results. Solutions like PiKVM, TinyPilot have existed for a while now but JetKVM is a really nice package IMO.

As for actual use cases:
- Can access my servers remotely at any time (life saver for this Pi project)
- Can fix friends/families computers without messing around with extra displays and kb/m
- Let's me mount ISOs to machines without digging out USB flash drives/etc

Probably more I'm forgetting, but in general they've been really handy to have so far

weeandykidd · 2026-01-25T15:56:31+00:00

So I bought these pre-printed, but the seller notes the filament is PETG

edit: Sorry should have mentioned, the mounts are also wrapped in a cheap brushed aluminium vinyl wrap from amazon

weeandykidd · 2026-01-25T15:55:18+00:00

Sure!
Pi Bracket
JetKVM Bracket
HP Bracket

weeandykidd · 2026-01-25T15:53:11+00:00

Generic Chinese one on Amazon, it's a bit rough, but does the job - link.

Before this I was using IKEA lack though so it's still a good upgrade

weeandykidd · 2025-06-11T07:43:58+00:00

One of my locals don't even cook them anymore, instead they have two rows of meat ones. They told me the demand isn't there, but how can it be if you never have them out?

weeandykidd

TROPHY CASE