Category Archives: Lab Infrastructure

Keeping Linux up to date with Aria Automation Config

I have several persistent Windows & Linux VMs in my lab. The Windows VMs get their OS updates via Windows Server Update Service (WSUS) managed by group policy. This works pretty consistently and keeps everything current. The Linux VMs are … Continue reading

Posted in Lab Infrastructure, Virtualization | 1 Comment

Easy wildcard certificate for home lab

In my home lab I have a container running Nginx Proxy Manager (discussed in this previous post). This proxy allows for friendlier host names and SSL for various services in the lab. Using a wildcard DNS record and wildcard SSL … Continue reading

Posted in Lab Infrastructure, Virtualization | Leave a comment

Synology iSCSI LUN Thin Provisioning space allocation

I recently did some performance comparisons between NFS and iSCSI on a Synology DS723+ NAS. When creating the iSCSI LUNs from within the Synology, there is a ‘Space Allocation’ drop down that has two values: Thick Provisioning (better performance) and … Continue reading

Posted in Lab Infrastructure, Virtualization | Leave a comment

Storage Device related Network Switch Issues?

I recently resolved a rather odd issue in my home lab.  I don’t fully understand how the symptoms and solution line up, but am writing this article for my future self… if the issue returns I’ll at least have notes … Continue reading

Posted in Lab Infrastructure, Virtualization | Leave a comment

ESXi Datastore Performance Battle: iSCSI vs. NFS on Synology NAS, in-guest performance

After a recent post on Synology iSCSI vs NFS (https://enterpriseadmins.org/blog/virtualization/esxi-datastore-performance-battle-iscsi-vs-nfs-on-synology-nas-with-vaai/) I realized that I had overlooked some important performance characteristics and wanted to follow up to the post. First, the Synology DSM version being used during both tests was 7.2-64570 … Continue reading

Posted in Lab Infrastructure, Virtualization | Leave a comment