Latest Posts
03
Jun
The Ultimate 18-Drive Self-Hosted Monolith: Why the Fractal Design Define 7 XL is Still the Best Home Server Case in 2026
A long-term review of the Fractal Design Define 7 XL configured as an 18-drive custom DIY NAS and home server running 58 Docker containers, Home Assistant, and n8n natively.
10 min read
27
May
When Power Outages Break Everything: Recovering an OMV8 NAS After Filesystem Corruption, Kernel Drift, and DKMS Failure
A complete technical post-mortem and recovery guide for OpenMediaVault 8 after rolling power failures corrupt the boot SSD, drift kernels, and break DKMS blocks.
10 min read
27
May
SSD-Deaths & NAS Upgrades, Ghost CMS Home Assistant and Massive Real-Debrid shock & awe!
It’s been a bit quiet around here (Core Lab) lately as I’ve been under the weather (sudden health
4 min read
27
May
How to Integrate Ghost CMS with Home Assistant Natively (2026 Guide)
Stop wasting time checking dashboards. Learn how to natively connect Ghost CMS to Home Assistant to monitor MRR, subscribers, and trigger custom automation.
9 min read
22
May
Real-Debrid ‘Infringing File’ Errors: Best Sonarr, Radarr & Stremio Fixes (2026)
Real-Debrid now blocks many releases with automated filtering, causing “infringing file” errors in Sonarr, Radarr, Decypharr and Stremio. Here’s how to filter blocked keywords, fix queues, and keep your media stack running in 2026.
9 min read
12
May
Visualization, Stronger Ingress & Giving your Homelab a Physical
Over the last few weeks, Core Lab has been in full build mode.
What started as a handful of isolated
6 min read
12
May
The SATA Pivot: Mitigating IOPS Bottlenecks in a 18+ Drive Homelab
Is your ZFS array thrashing under Docker logs? You don't need a new server; you need a better bus. Learn how moving my OS to USB reclaimed SATA III ports for SSD caching - solving IOPS bottlenecks and extending drive life for under $20.
8 min read
12
May
🛠️ The Homelab Physical: A Guide to Annual & Bi-Annual Maintenance
Neglect is the quiet killer of uptime. Don't let dust or "chip creep" sabotage your ZFS pools. This guide covers essential bi-annual routines - from LSI HBA cooling to reseating the "Big Three" - to keep your custom server healthy for the long haul.
11 min read
05
May
Homelable Deployment Guide: Visualize Your Network Topology with Docker (2026)
Master your network observability with this fail-proof Homelable Docker deployment guide. Learn how to visualize your topology, scan subnets, and manage service relationships - the perfect visualization layer for any serious Scrap Lab build.
10 min read
28
Apr
Beyond Default Deny: Reducing Attack Surface & Exposure in 2026
Stop Shodan and Censys from mapping your network. Learn how to use OPNsense 26.1, CrowdSec, and Divert Mode to achieve true Security through Obscurity in 2026.
11 min read