AstraCore is a sci‑fi inspired homelab platform built on Proxmox and Docker, focused on virtualization, automation, and distributed systems.
AstraCore is a multi-phase homelab project designed to evolve from a distributed, low-power cluster into a centralized, enterprise-style infrastructure.
The project serves as both a learning platform and a production-style environment, enabling experimentation with modern infrastructure concepts such as virtualization, containerization, storage, and network architecture.
Active build and experimentation phase using modular, low-power hardware
- 10-node ThinkCentre cluster (M73 / M93)
- Proxmox VE deployed across multiple nodes
- Docker workloads running within virtual machines
- Virtualization: Proxmox VE
- Containers: Docker
- Storage: TrueNAS (NFS)
Core services running within AstraCore, grouped by function
- AdGuard Home — Network-wide DNS filtering & ad blocking
- Traefik — Reverse proxy and dynamic routing
- Cloudflare Tunnel — Secure external access without port forwarding
- WireGuard — VPN for secure remote connectivity
- Authelia — Authentication & access control (SSO / 2FA)
- Proxmox Backup Server — VM and container backups
- Home Assistant OS — Smart home platform
- TP-Link Tapo Integration — Device control and monitoring
- Plex — Media streaming server
- Sonarr — TV show management
- Radarr — Movie management
- Prowlarr — Indexer management
- Overseerr — Media request system
- Immich (Server + Machine Learning) — Self-hosted photo backup with AI features
- Portainer — Container management UI
- Grafana — Metrics dashboards & visualisation
- Prometheus — Metrics collection & monitoring
- Uptime Kuma — Service uptime monitoring
- Gitea — Self-hosted Git service
- Rewards App — Internal/custom reward system
- PostgreSQL — Database backend
- qBittorrent — Download client
- Recyclarr — Automated media quality management
- Ollama — Local LLM runtime
- Open WebUI — Web interface for AI interaction (planned upgrade to 16GB RAM)
- pve-ai2 — Secondary Ollama instance (dedicated AI node)
- Future Use / Overflow — Reserved capacity for experimentation and scaling
- Distributed compute across multiple nodes
- Containerised workloads (media, monitoring, networking)
- Reverse proxy for service exposure
- Remote access and management
- Continuous optimisation and tuning
- Learn clustering and distributed infrastructure concepts
- Experiment with containerised workloads
- Build a modular and flexible homelab environment
🚧 Actively being built, tested, and refined
Full redesign following relocation — transitioning to a centralized, rack-based architecture
- Dell PowerEdge R610 (primary compute host)
- Rack-mounted TrueNAS system (12-bay storage)
- Cisco 48-port managed switch
- Sophos XG firewall
- Centralised compute replacing distributed nodes
- VLAN segmentation (servers, IoT, guest, management)
- Enterprise-grade networking and security
- ZFS-based storage with redundancy
- Simplified power, cooling, and hardware management
- Proxmox deployed on primary server
- Docker workloads hosted within VMs
- Shared storage provided via TrueNAS
- Reverse proxy managing traffic routing
- Secure remote access via VPN
- Improve performance and system reliability
- Reduce operational complexity and power consumption
- Transition to a production-style homelab
- Implement structured networking and security practices
📝 Planned — will begin after relocation
AstraCore represents a modular compute core, built to evolve over time.
The long-term goal is to create a scalable, stable, and high-performance homelab platform that mirrors real-world enterprise infrastructure while remaining flexible for experimentation and learning.
- 🚧 Phase 1: In Development
- ⏳ Phase 2: Planned
This project is continuously evolving as new hardware, tools, and ideas are introduced. Expect regular changes, improvements, and experimentation throughout its development.