Homelab Infrastructure Documentation

Overview

This repository documents the design, architecture, and operational principles of a Linux-based self-hosted infrastructure environment.

The objective is not to document a specific hardware configuration or deployment, but to describe the architectural decisions, infrastructure services, and design principles used to build and evolve the environment.

The repository focuses on stable infrastructure foundations, including naming, routing, identity management, trust, and storage.

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Goals

The infrastructure is designed around several core objectives:

• Stable service identities
• Centralized routing
• Centralized identity management
• Explicit trust relationships
• Simplified operations
• Long-term maintainability
• Incremental evolution

The architecture prioritizes clear responsibilities and predictable operational behavior over unnecessary complexity.

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Repository Structure

Architecture

High-level architectural concepts and infrastructure design.

architecture/
├── overview.md
├── network.md
├── identity.md
└── security.md

Projects

Documentation for individual infrastructure services and components.

projects/
├── dns.md
├── reverse-proxy.md
├── freeipa.md
├── internal-ca.md
└── storage.md

Decisions

Architectural principles and technology decisions.

decisions/
├── design-principles.md
├── services-over-hosts.md
├── identity-over-location.md
├── single-entry-point.md
├── docker-as-runtime.md
└── not-yet-kubernetes.md

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Core Principles

The architecture is guided by several recurring principles:

• Build foundations first
• Services over hosts
• Identity over location
• Explicit trust
• Controlled complexity
• Simplicity over novelty
• Evolution over redesign

These principles are documented in greater detail within the "decisions/" directory.

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Reading Guide

Recommended reading order:

Understanding the Architecture

1. "architecture/overview.md"
2. "architecture/network.md"
3. "architecture/identity.md"
4. "architecture/security.md"

Understanding the Design Decisions

1. "decisions/design-principles.md"
2. "decisions/services-over-hosts.md"
3. "decisions/identity-over-location.md"
4. "decisions/single-entry-point.md"
5. "decisions/docker-as-runtime.md"
6. "decisions/not-yet-kubernetes.md"

Understanding the Implementation

1. "projects/dns.md"
2. "projects/reverse-proxy.md"
3. "projects/freeipa.md"
4. "projects/internal-ca.md"
5. "projects/storage.md"

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Design Philosophy

Infrastructure should support services rather than define them.

Technology choices are evaluated based on operational requirements, maintainability, and long-term flexibility rather than trends or feature availability.

The objective is to build systems that remain understandable, adaptable, and maintainable as requirements evolve.

A recurring principle throughout the repository is:

Complexity cannot be eliminated, only relocated.

Architectural decisions therefore focus on placing complexity where it is easiest to understand, maintain, and operate.

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Status

This repository documents an evolving infrastructure design.

Individual implementations may change over time, but the architectural principles and design decisions are intended to remain stable and guide future evolution.