Field note
The Missing Piece: Adding a Raspberry Pi 4 to the Homelab
Why adding a dedicated Raspberry Pi 4 Model B for 24/7 low-power DNS & services was the best upgrade for my homelab.
After wanting one for ages, I finally got my hands on a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B. I went all-in on the setup: a 64GB SD card, a dedicated cooling fan, and a solid case. I absolutely love this thing, and it has quickly become a cornerstone of my homelab infrastructure.
Offloading the Core Network
One of the first things I did was migrate my core networking services off my main Proxmox server and onto the Pi.
I successfully moved Pi-hole out of its old Proxmox LXC container and natively onto the Raspberry Pi. While I was at it, I also set up Unbound as a recursive DNS resolver. Having these critical services running on low-power, dedicated hardware means my internet doesn't drop every time I need to reboot or tinker with my main Proxmox host.
The 24/7 Service Hub
Because the Pi runs 24/7 while sipping power, it turned out to be the perfect environment for hosting a whole heap of lightweight services. It's now running my dashboards, monitoring tools, and media streaming apps.
If you want to see the full stack of 12+ apps running on this tiny ARM board, check out my Uses page.
Final Thoughts
The Pi 4 has been an incredible addition to the lab. It's stable, fast, and handles Docker containers like an absolute champion. It's definitely the missing piece I've been looking for!