June 28, 2026

How To Build An Inexpensive Home Lab With AI Capabilities

Building your Smart AI capable Home Lab Smart Home Edge Systems (smart-home-edge-systems.us) Figure 1: A Generic Home Lab How to build an Inexpensive AI powered Home Lab Table of Contents Introduction Why Build a Home Lab? Recommended Design Architecture Basic Home Lab Configuration A Home Lab self-contained in an inexpensive single mini-computer. Installing your Home Lab on a Mini-Computer Step by Step instructions Proxmox VE base layer Step-by-Step Deployment Guide PiHole (LXC 100) Home Assistant OS (LXC 101 - HAOS VM) Deluge (LXC 102): Ollama AI Engine (LXC 103) Load the Agents How to Connect Ollama to Home Assistant Wyoming Docker Installation (LXC104 - Docker) Step 1: Create a Docker LXC in Proxmox Step 2: Set Up Wyoming Docker Services Step 3: Connect to Home Assistant Portainer/Docker changes Twingate Connector (LXC 105) Post Install Scripts Proxmox Scripts: Twingate Connector Phase 1: Verify Your Current Setup Phase 2: Modify the SSH Configuration File 2. Post-Script Configuration Injection 1. For Home Assistant OS (VM 101) 2. For Deluge (LXC 102) & Pi-Hole (LXC 100) # Pi-Hole Limits (Ensuring it uses the temporary staging IP) Deluge Drive Mounting Step 2: Mount the Drive to the Proxmox Host Step 3: Link the Storage to Deluge (LXC 102) Step 4: Fix Permissions (Crucial) 3. For Ollama LLM Engine (LXC 103) 4. For Wyoming Docker (LXC 104) Disaster Recovery: Text Configuration Backup Script Tools to verify Installation and functionality How to Quickly Verify Promox Container Configurations: References Table of Authorities 🛠️ Index of Source Code Blocks[EB1] Code 1: Barnes Home Lab Configuration................................................................... 7 Code 2: PiHoleInstallCommand.sh......................................................................... 10 Code 3: PiHole Install Parameters and Response...................................................... 11 Code 4: HAOSInstallCommand.sh......................................................................... 11 Code 5: HAOS Install Parameters and Response....................................................... 12 Code 6: DelugeInstallCommand.sh........................................................................ 12 Code 7: Deluge Install Parameters and Response..................................................... 12 Code 8: OllamaInstallCommand.sh........................................................................ 13 Code 9: Ollama Install Parameters and Response..................................................... 13 Code 10: DockerInstallCommand.sh...................................................................... 15 Code 11: Wyoming Docker Install Parameters and Response...................................... 16 Code 12: WyomingDockerCompose.sh................................................................... 17 Code 13: DockerCompose.sh................................................................................ 17 Code 14: Wyoming-Docker Portainer Stack.............................................................. 17 Code 15: DockerCompose.sh................................................................................ 17 Code 16: HAOS-Wyoming Integrations.................................................................... 18 Code 17: TwingateConnectorInstallCommand.sh..................................................... 19 Code 18: Twingate Connector Install Parameters...................................................... 19 Code 19: SetVIasDefault.sh.................................................................................. 20 Code 20: ExportVIasDefault.sh.............................................................................. 21 Code 24: backup_all_configs.sh............................................................................. 29 Code 25: QuickSystemTest.sh............................................................................... 30 Code 26: Quick System Test Response.................................................................... 32 📸 Index of Pictures[EB2] Figure 1: They are watching you!............................................................................... 1 Figure 2: Proxmox VE 9.2.3 / Minicomputer Architecture & Network Diagram................... 6 Introduction Why Build a Home Lab[EB3] ? A home lab is essentially a mini data center set up right in your own living space. It can range from a single, low-power mini PC hidden behind a desk to a dedicated server rack filled with enterprise-grade network gear, switches, and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS). Many people build home labs because they want complete ownership over their data. Instead of trusting third-party cloud corporations with their files, photos, and smart devices, they self-host. Private Cloud Storage: Running alternatives like Nextcloud to replace Google Drive or Dropbox. Local Smart Home Control: Using platforms like Home Assistant to manage smart switches, lights, and automated voice clients locally. This ensures your automated routines still work flawlessly even if your internet connection goes down entirely. Media Streaming: Setting up personal media servers (like Plex or Jellyfin) to stream an owned movie and music collection without relying on changing streaming platform catalogs. Breaking Things Safely: If you want to learn enterprise network configurations, cluster computing, or test out container environments like Docker, doing it on a production system at work is a massive risk. A home lab lets you experiment, break configurations, and learn how to rebuild them with zero real-world consequences. Hypervisor Mastery: It provides a space to learn type-1 hypervisors (like Proxmox VE or VMware ESXi) to split one physical machine into dozens of isolated virtual machines (VMs). Recommended Design Architecture Basic Home Lab Configuration A Home Lab self-contained in an inexpensive single mini-computer. Figure 2: Proxmox VE 9.2.3 / Minicomputer Architecture & Network Diagram[EB4] [EB5] Note: If you want to use this information in an AI window – select this section into your chat window to reference the entire configuration[EB6] [EB7] [EB8] [EB9] [EB10] . This can be helpful if you want to ask any AI questions regarding your Home Lab configuration. Just tell your AI client "gemini" to load this config your reference in your conversation. It might be helpful to tell your AI conversation: "Please start a clean conversation, flush all buffers and caches and then load this config for reference." ========================================================================= Barnes Home Lab Configuration KAMRUI HYPER H2 MINI PC (10C / 16T | 32GB RAM / up to 4.9GHz) Proxmox VE 9.2.3 / Dedicated Ethernet / Intel Core i7-13620H Integrated GPU: Intel UHD Graphics (13th Gen) / 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD ========================================================================= [ PROXMOX VE HOST ] --------- Reserve 2GB RAM / 2 Threads for overhead ] │ 192.168.86.250 ├──► [ VM 101 ] HOME ASSISTANT OS (HAOS) │ ├── CPU: 2 Cores (vCPUs) │ ├── RAM: 4 GB (Dedicated) │ ├── STO: 32 GB - 64 GB NVMe │ ├── 192.168.86.251 - Primary LAN Segment (vmbr0) eth0 │ └── 10.0.10.1/24 - Isolated Backend Segment (vmbr1 - │ No Gateway/DNS Emulation) eth1 ├──► [ LXC 100 ] DNSMASQ SERVER (PiHole) │ ├── CPU: 1 Core (vCPU) │ ├── RAM: 512 MB (Ultra-lightweight) │ ├── STO: 2 GB NVMe │ └── 192.168.86.254 (Currently .249 until production release) ├──► [ LXC 102 ] DELUGE TORRENT CLIENT │ ├── CPU: 2 Cores (vCPUs) │ ├── RAM: 2 GB (Scalable) │ ├── STO: 4 GB (OS) + Mount point to external storage for media │ └── 192.168.86.252 ├──► [ LXC 103 ] OLLAMA LLM ENGINE │ ├── CPU: 6 Cores (vCPUs) ---> (Uses high-perf Intel P-Cores) │ ├── GPU Passthru: Vulkan0 Intel(R) Graphics (RPL-P) │ type=iGPU total=23.3 GiB Ram │ ├── RAM: 16 GB (Allows up to 8B/11B parameter models) │ ├── STO: 40 GB NVMe --------> (Large capacity for model weights) │ ├── LAM: qwen2.5:7b --> Primary Voice & Conversation Intent │ Parsing Agent │ ├── LAM: qwen2.5-coder:7b --> Complex Automation Engineering, │ Code Sandbox, & YAML Chat │ ├── LAM: qwen2.5-coder:1.5b --> Inline IDE Autocomplete Engine │ (Fed via Desktop on LAN) │ ├── LAM: nomic-embed-text --> Vector Embeddings & Local │ Document Context Parsing │ ├── 192.168.86.253 - Primary LAN Segment (vmbr0) eth0 │ └── 10.0.10.3/24 - Isolated Backend Segment (vmbr1 - No │ Gateway/DNS Emulation) eth1 ├──► [ LXC 104 ] WYOMING-DOCKER │ ├── CPU: 2 Cores (vCPUs) │ ├── RAM: 2 GB (Scalable) │ ├── STO: 10 GB (OS) + Mount point to external storage for │ media │ ├── ports: 10200:10200 │ ├── volumes: piper-data:/data │ ├── 192.168.86.248 - Primary LAN Segment (vmbr0) eth0 │ └── 10.0.10.4/24 - Isolated Backend Segment (vmbr1) eth1 └──► [ LXC 105 ] TWINGATE CONNECTOR ├── CPU: 1 Core (vCPU) ├── RAM: 512 MB (Ultra-lightweight) ├── STO: 2 GB NVMe (OS Only) └── 192.168.86.247 - Primary LAN Segment (vmbr0) eth0 (Routes 192.168.86.0/24 Securely) Code 1: Barnes Home Lab Configuration Installing your Home Lab on a Mini-Computer Although this setup may seem complex, you can complete the installation in a day or two and have a complete, running system ready for a production rollout of your new Home Lab. Step by Step instructions To run Proxmox, Home Assistant, Deluge, PiHole, Twingate Connector and Ollama together, a Proxmox VE (PVE) base layer is the best approach. Proxmox VE base layer When running there are some recommended resource allocations that you will be asked for. Use the details presented in each section, if there are questions the table in Code 1: Barnes Home Lab Configuration can be used for reference to allocate your resources efficiently to avoid crashing the host. Step-by-Step Deployment Guide Step 1: Download the latest Proxmox VE ISO from the official website located at https://www.proxmox.com/en/downloads/proxmox-virtual-environment. 1. Flash it to a USB drive using BalenaEtcher or Rufus. 2. Boot your KAMRUI Mini PC into the BIOS and disable Secure Boot. Also enable power on after power reset. 3. Boot from the USB, follow the on-screen installer prompts, and set a static IP address. Step 2: Setup Putty/ssh for easy communication with your new Home Lab. 1. To set up passwordless SSH login to a Proxmox VE server using PuTTY, you need to generate a key pair on Windows, add the public key to Proxmox, and configure PuTTY to use the private key. 2. Here is the complete step-by-step process. o Generate an SSH Key · Open PuTTYgen on your Windows computer. · Under Type of key to generate, select Ed25519 for modern security and speed. · Click the Generate button. · Move your mouse randomly over the blank area to create entropy for the key generation. § Crucial: Leave both passphrase fields completely blank to ensure a passwordless login. · Click Save private key and save it to a secure folder on your PC as a .ppk file Save the location for use below. · Keep the PuTTYgen window open; you will need the text string inside the top box labeled Public key for pasting into OpenSSH authorized_keys file. o Add the Public Key to Proxmox(SyncBricks, 2024) · Launch PuTTY and log into your Proxmox server using your standard root username and password. · Create the directory for SSH keys if it does not already exist: o mkdir -p ~/.ssh · Set the appropriate folder permissions: o chmod 700 ~/.ssh · Open or create the authorization file with a text editor: o vi ~/.ssh/authorized_keys · Go back to your PuTTYgen window, copy the entire string of text from the top box, and paste it into the PuTTY window. It must occupy a single line. · save the file, and exit the vi editor ("enter :wq! ". · Secure the authorization file permissions: o chmod 600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys o Configure PuTTY for Key Authentication · Close your current PuTTY session and open a brand new PuTTY window. · On the Session category page (on the left panel), type your Proxmox server's IP address (192.168.86.250) into the Host Name field. · In the left panel, navigate to Connection ➔ Data. · In the Auto-login username box, type root (or your chosen administrative username). · In the left panel, drill down to Connection ➔ SSH ➔ Auth ➔ Credentials. · Click Browse next to Private key file for authentication and select the .ppk file you saved above. · Navigate back to the Session category at the very top of the left panel. · Type a name for this connection profile (e.g., Proxmox_Server) in the Saved Sessions box and click Save. · Click Open. PuTTY will now log into your Proxmox console automatically using the private key, bypassing the password prompt completely. Step 3: Use Helper Scripts for Easy Setup of the remaining products. If you do not think you want that specific product installed, then you may skip that section. Just be aware that when you get to the tools and backup sections below the scripts may change. If you do end up changing the scripts remember that you can comment on the lines by using a "#" at the beginning of the line you do not want executed. That way later you know what to uncomment if you change your mind. Once Proxmox is installed, · open the Proxmox Web UI (https:// 192.168.86.250:8006) · select your main node · open the Shell In this window you can execute simple commands and check for status if you desire To use the community-standard Proxmox VE Helper-Scripts listed below to deploy your services instantly open a dedicated ssh window for running install scripts. Leave your Proxmox Web UI for small tasks. PiHole (LXC 100) To install PiHole run this command to deploy a lightweight Deluge container: bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/community-scripts/ProxmoxVE/main/ct/pihole.sh)" Code 2: PiHoleInstallCommand.sh When you copy and run this command it will start the install script. Always select the advance installation and if prompted select the GUI install method. When prompted enable all ssh keys and enable ssh. Make the selections in the GUI by using the output presented below: After you run the above code block you will get an output like this. - Verify that it matches[EB11] . Choose Advanced, set MAC address to BC:24:11:AA:BB:02, static IP 192.168.1.5/24, and Gateway 192.168.1.1, then finish. ⚙️ Using Default Settings on node Promox 💡 PVE Version 9.2.2 (Kernel: 7.0.2-6-pve) 🆔 Container ID: 100 🖥️ Operating System: debian (13) 📦 Container Type: Unprivileged 💾 Disk Size: 2 GB 🧠 CPU Cores: 1 🛠️ RAM Size: 512 MiB 🚀 Creating a Pihole LXC using the above default settings forwarding unbound Code 3: PiHole Install Parameters and Response Home Assistant OS (LXC 101 - HAOS VM) Run this command in the Proxmox host shell to automatically build a fully functional Home Assistant VM: When prompted enable all ssh keys and enable ssh. bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/community-scripts/ProxmoxVE/main/vm/haos-vm.sh)" Code 4: HAOSInstallCommand.sh When you copy and run this command it will start the install script. Make the selections in the GUI by using the output presented below: When prompted enable all ssh keys and enable ssh. After you run the above code block you will get an output like this. - Verify that it matches[EB12] . Please set MAC address to BC:24:11:AA:BB:01, IP Address to 192.168.86.251/24, and gateway to 192.168.86.1 🆔 Virtual Machine ID: 101 📦 Machine Type: q35 💾 Disk Size: 32G 🏠 Hostname: haos-17.3 🖥️ CPU Model: KVM64 🧠 CPU Cores: 2 🛠️ RAM Size: 4096 🌉 Bridge: vmbr0 🔗 MAC Address: 02:93:F8:A8:3A:88 🏷️ VLAN: Default ⚙️ Interface MTU Size: Default 🌐 Start VM when completed: yes 🚀 Creating a Homeassistant OS VM using the above default settings Code 5: HAOS Install Parameters and Response Deluge (LXC 102): Run this command to deploy a lightweight Deluge container: bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/community-scripts/ProxmoxVE/main/ct/deluge.sh)" Code 6: DelugeInstallCommand.sh When you copy and run this command it will start the install script. Always select the advance installation and if prompted select the GUI install method. Make the selections in the GUI by using the output presented below: When prompted enable all ssh keys and enable ssh. After you run the above code block you will get an output like this. - Verify that it matches[EB13] . ⚙️ Using Default Settings on node Promox 💡 PVE Version 9.2.2 (Kernel: 7.0.2-6-pve) 🆔 Container ID: 102 🖥️ Operating System: debian (13) 📦 Container Type: Unprivileged 💾 Disk Size: 4 GB 🧠 CPU Cores: 2 🛠️ RAM Size: 2048 MiB 🚀 Creating a Deluge LXC using the above default settings Code 7: Deluge Install Parameters and Response Ollama AI Engine (LXC 103) This uses the specialized ollama.sh hardware and software installer path: bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/community-scripts/ProxmoxVE/main/ct/ollama.sh)" Code 8: OllamaInstallCommand.sh When you copy and run this command it will start the install script. Always select the advance installation and if prompted select the GUI install method. Make the selections in the GUI by using the output presented below: When prompted enable all ssh keys and enable ssh. After you run the above code block you will get an output like this. - Verify that it matches[EB14] . 🧩 Using Advanced Install on node Promox 💡 PVE Version 9.2.2 (Kernel: 7.0.2-6-pve) 🖥️ Operating System: debian 🌟 Version: 13 📦 Container Type: Unprivileged 🆔 Container ID: 103 🏠 Hostname: ollama 💾 Disk Size: 40 GB 🧠 CPU Cores: 6 🛠️ RAM Size: 16384 MiB 🌉 Bridge: vmbr0 📡 IPv4: 192.168.86.249/24 📡 IPv6: none 🗂️ FUSE Support: no 📡 TUN/TAP Support: no 📦 Nesting: Disabled 📦 Keyctl: Enabled 🎮 GPU Passthrough: yes Protection: no 💡 Timezone: America/Denver 🔍 Verbose Mode: no Code 9: Ollama Install Parameters and Response Load the Agents In the Prolog Web GUI at http://192.168.86.250:8006 and select Datacenter - Promox - 103 (ollama) in the Server View column In Container 103 (ollama) on node Promox window select the console It should log you in without using a password. · If it does not - then log in as root with the password of your Promox server · Enter "passwd" and set the new password the same as your Promox server's password. · The next time you log in it should not ask you for the password anymore. In this window enter the commands listed below: # 1. Load the Primary Voice & Conversation Agent · ollama pull qwen2.5:7b # 2. Load the Complex Automation & Code Sandbox Agent · ollama pull qwen2.5-coder:7b # 3. Load the Inline IDE Autocomplete Engine · ollama pull qwen2.5-coder:1.5b # 4. Load the Embedding Model · ollama pull nomic-embed-text # Test the Primary Voice Agent · echo "Hello, how are you today?" | ollama run qwen2.5:7b # Test the Code Sandbox · echo "Write a simple Python function to add two numbers." | ollama run qwen2.5-coder:7b # Test the IDE Autocomplete Engine · echo "def hello_world():" | ollama run qwen2.5-coder:1.5b Test the Coding Engine · curl http://localhost:11434/api/embeddings -d '{ "model": "nomic-embed-text", "prompt": "Testing local document parsing" }' How to Connect Ollama to Home Assistant For Voice: Install the official Ollama Integration in Home Assistant. Open the Home Assistant Web Page by going to http://homeassistant.local:8123. · Open your Home Assistant Dashboard. · Navigate to Settings > Voice Assistants. · Create an Assist Pipeline, and assign the qwen2.5:7b model to handle your conversational sentences and smart home exposures. For Coding: Point your development environment (like VS Code or Cursor) to your server's IP address (http://192.168.86.250:11434) using a local copilot extension to begin drafting automations locally. It is highly recommended to use external VS Code IDEs instead of the embedded Home Assistant Integration. You can still connect remotely via ssh and do everything without bogging down your Home Assistant Environment. Wyoming Docker Installation (LXC104 - Docker) Step 1: Create a Docker LXC in Proxmox The easiest way to get Docker running in an LXC is to use the community-maintained Proxmox Helper Scripts, which handle setup and dependencies automatically. Execute the following command inside of a Putty-SSH window connected to the Promox host. This must be done in a Putty Shell and not via the Promox web GUI because if the GUI gets changed or dies for some reason the script will be backgrounded. If it is waiting for a prompt, it will never exit. bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/community-scripts/ProxmoxVE/main/ct/docker.sh)" Code 10: DockerInstallCommand.sh When you copy and run this command it will start the install script. Always select the advance installation and if prompted select the GUI install method. Make the selections in the GUI by using the output presented below: Ensure you enable all ssh keys and enable ssh, Docker Compose AND install Portainer during the prompt, as you will need it to run your Wyoming services later. After you run the above code block you will get an output like this. - Verify that it matches[EB15] . 🧩 Using Advanced Install on node Promox 💡 PVE Version 9.2.2 (Kernel: 7.0.2-6-pve) 🖥️ Operating System: debian 🌟 Version: 13 📦 Container Type: Unprivileged 🆔 Container ID: 104 🏠 Hostname: wyoming-docker 💾 Disk Size: 10 GB 🧠 CPU Cores: 4 🛠️ RAM Size: 2048 MiB 🌉 Bridge: vmbr0 📡 IPv4: 192.168.86.249/24 📡 IPv6: none 🗂️ FUSE Support: yes 📡 TUN/TAP Support: yes 📦 Nesting: Enabled 📦 Keyctl: Enabled 🎮 GPU Passthrough: no 💡 Timezone: America/Denver 🔍 Verbose Mode: no 💡 If you installed Portainer, access it at the following URL: 🌐 https://192.168.86.249:9443 Code 11: Wyoming Docker Install Parameters and Response Step 2: Set Up Wyoming Docker Services Now that Docker is installed in your LXC, you can deploy your chosen Wyoming voice or speech-to-text tools. SSH into your Docker LXC IP address do not use the Proxmox Web UI Console. · Configure PuTTY for Key Authentication o Close your current PuTTY session and open a brand new PuTTY window. o On the Session category page (on the left panel), type your Wyoming-docker IP address (192.168.86.248) into the Host Name field. o In the left panel, navigate to Connection ➔ Data. o In the Auto-login username box, type root (or your chosen administrative username). o In the left panel, drill down to Connection ➔ SSH ➔ Auth ➔ Credentials. o Click Browse next to Private key file for authentication and select the .ppk file you saved above. o Navigate back to the Session category at the very top of the left panel. o Type a name for this connection profile (e.g., Proxmox_Wyoming) in the Saved Sessions box and click Save. o Click Open. PuTTY will now log into your Wyoming console automatically using the private key, bypassing the password prompt completely. Create a docker-compose.yaml file to manage your Wyoming services. For example, to set up the Piper Text-to-Speech and Whisper Speech-to-Text services, run: mkdir -p ~/wyoming && cd ~/wyoming vi docker-compose.yaml Code 12: WyomingDockerCompose.sh Paste the following configuration, making sure to replace paths and voices with your preferences: services: piper: image: rhasspy/wyoming-piper container_name: wyoming-piper restart: unless-stopped volumes: - ./piper-data:/data ports: - "10200:10200" command: --voice en_US-lessac-medium whisper: image: rhasspy/wyoming-whisper container_name: wyoming-whisper restart: unless-stopped volumes: - ./whisper-data:/data ports: - "10300:10300" command: --model tiny-int8 --language en Code 13: DockerCompose.sh Code 14: Wyoming-Docker Portainer Stack Spin up the containers by typing the following command in you Putty ssh window: docker compose up -d Code 15: DockerCompose.sh Step 3: Connect to Home Assistant Once your Docker containers are running on the Proxmox LXC, you can easily link them to Home Assistant: · Open your Home Assistant Dashboard. · Navigate to Settings > Devices & Services. · Click Add Integration and search for Wyoming Protocol. · Enter the IP address of your Proxmox Docker LXC (192.168.86.248/24) and the corresponding port for the service (e.g., 10200 for Piper or 10300 for Whisper) integrations and associate the following links. Portainer/Docker changes Home Assistant Wyoming Integration: Settings -> Devices & Services -> Add Integration -> Wyoming link ports 10200 and 10201. For Voice: Install the official Ollama Integration in Home Assistant. Go to Settings -> Voice Assistants, create an Assist Pipeline, and assign the qwen2.5:7b model to handle your conversational sentences and smart home exposures. For Coding: Point your development environment (like VS Code or Cursor) to your server's IP address (http://:11434) using a local copilot extension to begin drafting automations locally. NOTE: I found that running VS Code inside of HAOS is a bad idea. I reccommend running the VS Code on a client and point it to HAOS You can use a Remote Connection via to see the filesystem. Do not mount the root fs - It will hang the server with indexing. Code 16: HAOS-Wyoming Integrations Twingate Connector (LXC 105) Installing Twingate on a Proxmox server is straightforward and highly automated, taking only a few minutes to complete. Before running the script, you must generate the necessary Connector tokens from your Twingate Admin Console. Phase 1: Generate Twingate Connector Tokens Log in to your Twingate Admin Console https:// twingate.com. If you don’t have an account you will need to create one. After you are logged in Go to Network > Remote Networks and select your remote network (or create one). Click to Add a Connector and select the Manual deployment type. Scroll down and click Generate Tokens. Copy the Access Token and Refresh Token (you will need these below) bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/community-scripts/ProxmoxVE/main/ct/twingate-connector.sh)" Code 17: TwingateConnectorInstallCommand.sh Paste the following configuration, making sure to replace paths and voices with your preferences: 💡 Missing jq for script status check. Continuing without status verification. 🧩 Using Advanced Install on node Promox 💡 PVE Version 9.2.3 (Kernel: 7.0.6-2-pve) 🖥️ Operating System: ubuntu 🌟 Version: 24.04 📦 Container Type: Unprivileged 🆔 Container ID: 105 🏠 Hostname: twingate-connector 💾 Disk Size: 5 GB 🧠 CPU Cores: 1 🛠️ RAM Size: 1024 MiB 🌉 Bridge: vmbr0 📡 IPv4: 192.168.86.247/24 📡 IPv6: none 🗂️ FUSE Support: no 📦 Nesting: Enabled 📦 Keyctl: Enabled 🎮 GPU Passthrough: no 💡 Timezone: America/Denver 🔍 Verbose Mode: no 🚀 Creating an LXC of Twingate-Connector using the above advanced settings ✔️ Updated Container OS Please enter your access token: enter your access token from above. Please enter your refresh token: enter your access token from above. Please enter your network name: enter your network name from above. Code 18: Twingate Connector Install Parameters Post Install Scripts Proxmox Scripts: Setting Vi as your default editor To set vi as the default editor across all containers in your Barnes Home Lab, you can use a bash loop script run directly from your Proxmox host terminal. Since vi is natively included in almost every Linux distribution (including minimal Debian, Ubuntu, and Alpine templates), this script will work universally without needing to install extra packages. The Automation Script Run this complete script on your Proxmox host terminal: for vmid in $(pct list | awk '{print $1}' | grep -E '^[0-9]+$'); do echo "----------------------------------------" echo "Updating Container $vmid..." # 1. Update root user's profile pct exec $vmid -- sh -c 'echo "export EDITOR=\"vi\"" >> /root/.bashrc' # 2. Update system-wide environment fallback pct exec $vmid -- sh -c 'echo "export EDITOR=\"vi\"" >> /etc/profile' echo "Container $vmid updated successfully." done echo "----------------------------------------" echo "All containers configured to use vi as the default editor." Code 19: SetVIasDefault.sh What This Script Does Finds All LXCs: Loops through your existing containers (LXC 100, 102, 103, 104, and 105). Updates Root Profiles: Appends the environment variable to /root/.bashrc for root terminal sessions. Sets a System-Wide Fallback: Appends the variable to /etc/profile to capture system-wide processes, automation tasks, and alternative shell instances.(Fiala, 2020) How to Apply It to Future Containers To guarantee that any new containers you build in the future also default to vi, run this single command on your Proxmox host to update the global skeleton directory: echo 'export EDITOR="vi"' >> /etc/skel/.bashrc Code 20: ExportVIasDefault.sh Twingate Connector To safely disable password-based SSH logins and prevent brute-force attacks on Proxmox, you must verify your key-based login is working, modify the SSH daemon configuration, and restart the service. Phase 1: Verify Your Current Setup Keep your current session open. Do not close your active SSH window until you verify the new changes work. Test the key login in a new window. Open a second PuTTY window, load your saved session, and click Open. Confirm success. Ensure you log in automatically without any password prompt before proceeding. Phase 2: Modify the SSH Configuration File In your active Proxmox terminal, open the SSH configuration file: · vi /etc/ssh/sshd_config Press Ctrl + W to search for PasswordAuthentication. Remove any # symbol from the beginning of the line to uncomment it. Change the value from yes to no: PasswordAuthentication no Press Ctrl + W to search for ChallengeResponseAuthentication (or KbdInteractiveAuthentication on newer Proxmox versions). Ensure it is also set to no: ChallengeResponseAuthentication no Save and exit the file by pressing Ctrl + O, Enter, then Ctrl + X. (SecureBits, n.d.; Project X, n.d.; Rackspace, n.d.; E2E Networks, n.d.; DigitalOcean, 2021) Phase 3: Apply and Test the Changes Apply the new settings by restarting the SSH service: · systemctl restart sshd Keep this configuration window open. Launch a completely new instance of PuTTY. Attempt to log in to your Proxmox server without loading your private key. Confirm the server rejects the connection with a No supported authentication methods available error. Open another PuTTY window with your private key loaded to confirm you can still access the server. If both tests pass, you can safely close your original terminal window. Your Proxmox host is now immune to password brute-force attacks. 2. Post-Script Configuration Injection Because helper scripts typically only create the primary interface (eth0 on vmbr0), you can instantly wire up your isolated backend (vmbr1), lock down your resource caps, and configure your pass-through requirements using these post-install snippets. This is the best way to ensure the entire system is set up correctly. Run these directly on your Proxmox host terminal right after a script finishes: 1. For Home Assistant OS (VM 101) Run this because you used the HAOS VM installer to attach your second isolated network adapter: >>> BASH Script start # Add the second network interface for the isolated 10.0.10.x backend qm set 101 --net1 virtio,bridge=vmbr1 # Enforce your custom CPU and RAM rules qm set 101 --cores 2 --memory 4096 >>> BASH Script end 2. For Deluge (LXC 102) & Pi-Hole (LXC 100) Run these to adjust your resource caps to match your exact diagram profile: >>> BASH Script start # Deluge Limits pct set 102 --cores 2 --memory 2048 # Pi-Hole Limits (Ensuring it uses the temporary staging IP) pct set 100 --cores 1 --memory 512 --net0 name=eth0,bridge=vmbr0,ip=192.168.86.249/24,gw=192.168.86.1 pct restart 102 pct restart 100 >>> BASH Script end Step 1: Identify the UUID or Path of your External DriveRun this command in the Proxmox host shell to find your external storage drive: · lsblk -o NAME,FSTYPE,UUID,SIZE,MOUNTPOINTS Look for your external drive partition (e.g., sda1). Copy its UUID (a long string of letters and numbers). Using the UUID is safer than using /dev/sdb1 because device letters can change when you reboot. Deluge Drive Mounting Step 2: Mount the Drive to the Proxmox Host Create a permanent directory on the host and link the drive to it. Create the mount directory: · mkdir -p /mnt/deluge · chmod -R 777 /mnt/delug Open the Promox host's filesystem table to make it mount automatically on every reboot: · vi /etc/fstab Add this line to the very bottom of the file (replace YOUR-UUID-HERE with your actual UUID, and change ext4 if your drive uses /dev/sda1 /mnt/deluge ext4 defaults,nofail,noatime,commit=600 0 2 Save and exit (Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X), then mount it immediately: · mount -a Step 3: Link the Storage to Deluge (LXC 102) Now, use the Proxmox Container Toolkit (pct) to map that host directory directly into your Deluge container as a Mount Point. Run this command in the Proxmox host shell: · pct set 102 -mp0 /mnt/deluge,mp=/deluge What this does: /mnt/deluge is where the files sit physically on your Proxmox server. /deluge is the virtual path that will instantly appear inside the Deluge container. Step 4: Fix Permissions (Crucial) Because unprivileged LXC containers map user IDs differently than the host, Deluge might get a "Permission Denied" error when trying to write downloads to the external drive. To fix this, grant read/write access to the mount folder from the host shell: · chmod -R 777 /deluge This is the directory of the newly mounted deluge drive as viewed on the 102 console root@deluge:~# #Note the prompt - This says you are running as root on the host deluge · ls -al /deluge total 40 drwxrwxrwx 7 root root 4096 Jun 10 10:21 . drwxr-xr-x 21 root root 4096 Jun 17 10:31 .. drwxrwxrwx 8 root root 4096 Jun 17 10:31 config drwxrwxrwx 2 root root 4096 Jun 10 10:22 download-dir drwxrwxrwx 2 root root 4096 Mar 16 2024 failed drwxrwxrwx 2 root root 16384 Oct 5 2023 lost+found drwxrwxrwx 19 root root 4096 Mar 16 2024 torrent-dir Once this is done, create a link in ~/.config by typing the following: · ln -s deluge /deluge/config Then open your Deluge Web UI (192.168.86.252:8112), go to Preferences -> Downloads, and change your settings to: Downloads: Download to: /deluge/download-dir Move completed to: /deluge/torrent-dir Copy of .torrent files to: /deluge/torrent-dir Network: Incomming Interface eth0 Incoming Port 6881 Outgoing Interface eth0 3. For Ollama LLM Engine (LXC 103) Run this right after the Ollama LXC script finishes to attach the isolated segment and map your 13th Gen Intel iGPU: >>> BASH Script start # 1. Attach the isolated network backend interface (eth1) pct set 103 --net1 name=eth1,bridge=vmbr1,ip=10.0.10.3/24 # 2. Allocate the 6 high-performance vCPUs and 16GB RAM limits pct set 103 --cores 6 --memory 16384 # 3. Inject the Intel iGPU Passthrough rules into the LXC hardware config cat <> /etc/pve/lxc/103.conf lxc.cgroup2.devices.allow: c 226:0 rwm lxc.cgroup2.devices.allow: c 226:128 rwm lxc.mount.entry: /dev/dri dev/dri none bind,optional,create=dir lxc.mount.entry: /dev/dri/renderD128 dev/dri/renderD128 none bind,optional,create=file EOF pct restart 103 >>> BASH Script end New: Append these environment flags directly to your Ollama service definition file (usually found at /etc/systemd/system/ollama.service.d/override.conf or directly inside your LXC startup script environment variables): 1. Advanced Intel oneAPI & SYCL Tuning Flags Add the following environment lines to your deployment: # Force the Intel driver to bypass aggressive power savings and keep execution units alert NEOReadDebugKeys=1 OverrideGpuAddressSpace=48 # Tell the SYCL backend to strictly optimize for low-latency single-batch generation # This prevents the thread-pool from waiting for data batches during quick autocomplete requests CL_PROGRAM_OPTS="-cl-mad-enable -cl-fast-relaxed-math" # Direct the GGML backend to pin memory mappings across the virtualized container bridge OLLAMA_NUM_GPU=999 GGML_OPENCL_PLATFORM=Intel 4. For Wyoming Docker (LXC 104) Run this to map the isolated network switch so it can talk privately to the Ollama API: >>> BASH Script start # Attach the isolated network backend interface (eth1) pct set 104 --net1 name=eth1,bridge=vmbr1,ip=10.0.10.4/24 # Enforce your 2 Cores and 2GB RAM blueprint pct set 104 --cores 2 --memory 2048 pct restart 104 >>> BASH Script end NOTES Change the subscription keys at the Proxmox level · echo "Enabled: no" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-enterprise.sources · echo "Enabled: no" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ceph.sources · cat < /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-enterprise.sources Types: deb URIs: https://enterprise.proxmox.com/debian/pve Suites: trixie Components: pve-enterprise Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/proxmox-archive-keyring.gpg Enabled: no EOF · cat < /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ceph.sources Types: deb URIs: https://enterprise.proxmox.com/debian/ceph-squid Suites: trixie Components: main Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/proxmox-archive-keyring.gpg Enabled: no EOF · vi /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-no-subscription.sources Enter 'i' in the window, then paste in the following lines. Types: deb URIs: http://download.proxmox.com/debian/pve Suites: trixie Components: pve-no-subscription Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/proxmox-archive-keyring.gpg Then entera ":!wq" wo save and exit the vi editor Exectut the following: · apt dist-upgrade -y Disaster Recovery: Text Configuration Backup Script To secure your precise resource layouts, network definitions, and maps, keep this custom backup tool saved on your host. Creating the Host Backup Automator Log into your Proxmox Host Shell. Create the script file: · vi /root/backup_all_configs.sh Paste the following code: #!/bin/bash # Configuration BACKUP_DIR="/var/lib/vz/dump/config_backups" TIMESTAMP=$(date +"%Y%m%d_%H%M%S") ARCHIVE_NAME="${BACKUP_DIR}/ed_proxmox_configs_${TIMESTAMP}.tar.gz" TEMP_DIR="/tmp/unified_config_backup" # Your specific Node IDs LXCS=(100 102 103 104) VMS=(101) echo "====================================================" echo "Starting Configuration Backup for Ed's KAMRUI PC..." echo "====================================================" # Initialize clean workspace mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR" mkdir -p "$TEMP_DIR" echo "[1/3] Copying Proxmox host system parameters..." cp -r /etc/pve/ "$TEMP_DIR/pve_cluster_virtual_fs/" cp /etc/network/interfaces "$TEMP_DIR/host_network_interfaces" cp /etc/passwd /etc/group "$TEMP_DIR/" echo "-> Host network, storage definitions, and clusters copied successfully." echo "[2/3] Copying individual Container & VM .conf files..." for id in "${LXCS[@]}"; do if [ -f "/etc/pve/lxc/${id}.conf" ]; then echo " -> Copying LXC ${id}.conf..." cp "/etc/pve/lxc/${id}.conf" "$TEMP_DIR/" else echo " -> WARNING: LXC ${id}.conf file was not found!" fi done for id in "${VMS[@]}"; do if [ -f "/etc/pve/qemu-server/${id}.conf" ]; then echo " -> Copying VM ${id}.conf..." cp "/etc/pve/qemu-server/${id}.conf" "$TEMP_DIR/" else echo " -> WARNING: VM ${id}.conf file was not found!" fi done echo "[3/3] Packing everything into gzip archive..." tar -czf "$ARCHIVE_NAME" -C "$TEMP_DIR" . rm -rf "$TEMP_DIR" echo "====================================================" echo "SUCCESS! All text configurations backed up cleanly." echo "Archive saved to: $ARCHIVE_NAME" echo "====================================================" Code 21: backup_all_configs.sh Save and exit (ESC, :wq, Enter). Make the script executable: · chmod +x /root/backup_all_configs.sh Execute it at any time to output a fresh, timestamped config snapshot to your host storage directory: /var/lib/vz/dump/config_backups/ Tools to verify Installation and functionality How to Quickly Verify Promox Container Configurations: Sometimes a quick check is needed to verify if there is a problem. For example, you may want to know if a specific Proxmox container can see all your other containers. You can log into any Promox container via Putty ssh or the Promox web page. In the Promox container select Console and paste in the following code. Or you can open Putty and select the Container you want. In that shell paste in the following code: #!/bin/bash declare -A nodes=( ["Pi-hole"]="192.168.86.249" ["Home Assistant"]="192.168.86.251" ["Deluge"]="192.168.86.252" ["Ollama Engine"]="192.168.86.253" ["Wyoming Docker"]="192.168.86.248" ["Surveillance NAS"]="192.168.86.104" ["Primary NAS"]="192.168.86.93" ["EdsDesktop"]="192.168.86.246" ) echo "=== VERIFYING HOME LAB NETWORK INTERCONNECTS ===" for name in "${!nodes[@]}"; do ip=${nodes[$name]} if ping -c 1 -W 1 "$ip" > /dev/null; then echo -e "✅ [ONLINE] $name matches configuration at $ip" else echo -e "❌ [OFFLINE] $name failed to respond at $ip" fi done # ollama model verification curl -s http://192.168.86.253:11434/api/tags | grep -o '"name":"[^"]*"' | sed 's/"name":"//;s/"//' echo -e "\n=== VM 101 (HAOS) CONFIG ===" && cat /etc/pve/qemu-server/101.conf | grep -E "cores|memory|scsi|sata|virtio" && echo -e "\n=== LXC CONFIGURATIONS ===" && for id in 100 102 103 103 104 105; do echo -e "\n--- Container $id ---"; cat /etc/pve/lxc/$id.conf | grep -E "cores|memory|rootfs|mp"; done Code 22: QuickSystemTest.sh When you copy and run this simple script in a terminal of your Putty Shell, Proxmox host, or any Linux-based container it automatically verifies that every IP in your config is alive and responsive on your subnet. It will also tell you specific configuration items for each container that you can verify against this output. After you run the above code block you will get an output like this. Response of script === VERIFYING HOME LAB NETWORK INTERCONNECTS === ✅ [ONLINE] Primary NAS matches configuration at 192.168.86.93 ✅ [ONLINE] Home Assistant matches configuration at 192.168.86.251 ✅ [ONLINE] Ollama Engine matches configuration at 192.168.86.253 ✅ [ONLINE] Deluge matches configuration at 192.168.86.252 ✅ [ONLINE] Pi-hole matches configuration at 192.168.86.249 ✅ [ONLINE] Surveillance NAS matches configuration at 192.168.86.104 ✅ [ONLINE] Wyoming Docker matches configuration at 192.168.86.248 ✅ [ONLINE] EdsDesktop matches configuration at 192.168.86.246 nomic-embed-text:latest qwen2.5-coder:1.5b qwen2.5-coder:7b qwen2.5:7b === VM 101 (HAOS) CONFIG === boot: order=scsi0 cores: 2 memory: 5120 net0: virtio=02:93:F8:A8:3A:88,bridge=vmbr0 net1: virtio=BC:24:11:3F:40:50,bridge=vmbr1 scsi0: local-lvm:vm-101-disk-0,discard=on,size=32G,ssd=1 scsihw: virtio-scsi-pci === LXC CONFIGURATIONS === --- Container 100 --- cores: 1 memory: 256 rootfs: local-lvm:vm-100-disk-0,size=2G --- Container 102 --- cores: 1 memory: 2048 mp0: /mnt/deluge,mp=/deluge rootfs: local-lvm:vm-102-disk-0,size=4G --- Container 103 --- cores: 6 memory: 16384 rootfs: local-lvm:vm-103-disk-0,size=40G --- Container 103 --- cores: 6 memory: 16384 rootfs: local-lvm:vm-103-disk-0,size=40G --- Container 104 --- cores: 4 memory: 2048 rootfs: local-lvm:vm-104-disk-0,size=10G --- Container 105 --- cores: 1 memory: 1024 rootfs: local-lvm:vm-105-disk-0,size=5G Code 23: Quick System Test Response The check boxes show the hosts are correctly configured and can communicate with each other. References Debian Project. (n.d.). Debian GNU/Linux system administration: OpenSSH Server. Debian. https://www.debian.org/doc/ Debian Project. (n.d.). Debian GNU/Linux system configuration: Environment variables. Debian. https://www.debian.org/doc/ DigitalOcean. (2021). Hardening SSH access on Ubuntu 20.04. DigitalOcean Community. https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/hardening-ssh-fail2ban E2E Networks. (n.d.). How to enable/disable password-based authentication. E2E Networks Documentation. https://docs.e2enetworks.com/docs/myaccount/security/enable_disable_passwordbased/ Fiala, J. (2020, March 24). Integrating Fedora Toolbox into VS Code (with the help of SSH). Function Over Form. https://jurf.github.io/2020/03/24/vscode-toolbox/ OpenSSH. (n.d.). OpenSSH Server Configuration Guide: sshd_config. OpenSSH. https://www.openssh.com/manual.html Project X. (n.d.). Security (Level 0, Chapter 4). XTLS. https://xtls.github.io/en/document/level-0/ch04-security.html Proxmox Server Solutions. (n.d.). Proxmox Virtual Environment documentation: CPU Resource Allocation. Proxmox Server Solutions. https://pve.proxmox.com/pve-docs/pve-admin-guide.html Proxmox Server Solutions. (n.d.). Proxmox Virtual Environment documentation: User Management and SSH. Proxmox Server Solutions. https://pve.proxmox.com/pve-docs/pve-admin-guide.html Rackspace. (n.d.). Linux server security best practices. Rackspace Documentation. https://docs.rackspace.com/docs/linux-server-security-best-practices SyncBricks. (2024, December). How to Generate and Deploy SSH Keys for Proxmox Cluster Login (Passwordless SSH Access) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkY30sh-vRM Table of Authorities Other Authorities DigitalOcean. (2021). Hardening SSH access on Ubuntu 20.04. DigitalOcean Community. https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/hardening-ssh-fail2ban............. 20 E2E Networks. (n.d.). How to enable/disable password-based authentication. E2E Networks Documentation. https://docs.e2enetworks.com/docs/myaccount/security/enable_disable_passwordbased/ 20 Fiala, J. (2020, March 24). Integrating Fedora Toolbox into VS Code (with the help of SSH). Function Over Form. https://jurf.github.io/2020/03/24/vscode-toolbox/........................................ 19 Project X. (n.d.). Security (Level 0, Chapter 4). XTLS. https://xtls.github.io/en/document/level-0/ch04-security.html................................................................................................... 20 Rackspace. (n.d.). Linux server security best practices. Rackspace Documentation. https://docs.rackspace.com/docs/linux-server-security-best-practices.................... 20 SecureBits. (n.d.). Linux SSH absichern [Linux SSH hardening]. SecureBits. https://secure-bits.org/en/posts/linux/linux-ssh-absichern/......................................................... 20 SyncBricks. (2024, December). How to Generate and Deploy SSH Keys for Proxmox Cluster Login (Passwordless SSH Access) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkY30sh-vRM 8 [EB1](Format this heading as Heading 1, open its Paragraph Settings, and check Collapsed by default) [EB2]Note: (Format this heading as a standard Heading 1, but make sure Collapsed by default is UNCHECKED so pictures stay open) [EB3]Created with 3 Flash June 21, 2026 at 06:38 AM Published June 21, 2026 at 07:09 AM [EB4]F9 will update links and references [EB5]Macros have been inserted. Refer to My Macros to do this via File > Options > Customize Ribbon. To edit the macros, press Alt+F11, then open Module > Module1. [EB6]To insert a new Code Block It is easier to just copy and paste this block in. Make sure you paste special (entire cell) to maintain formatting. Once you do that you can change the background color (blue for text and Green for bash). To do that you need to select the text and change the color under Paragraph. [EB7]You will also need to change the Caption under the Frame. For a Text file I copy the filename and insert Initial Caps and spaces as needed to make it Human Friendly [EB8]For code I just paste in the file name exactly like it is on the file system. [EB9]For editing these txt or sh files, Notepad++ is recommended, as it has the correct settings to maintain proper structure. Convert any tabs to 2 spaces for a proper code structure. [EB10]If you select some text in the newly created frame you can right click the text and say edit field. In there change just the name of the file and keep all the other location info the same. After you click okay press F9 to update the field. It should contain the new text. [EB11]This must be updated with an other -> Unicode (UTF-8) type [EB12]This must be updated with an other -> Unicode (UTF-8) type [EB13]This must be updated with an other -> Unicode (UTF-8) type [EB14]This must be updated with an other -> Unicode (UTF-8) type [EB15]This must be updated with an other -> Unicode (UTF-8) type