Home Lab Weekly 3: Smart Hardware Picks, Proxies comparison, Docker images, and Windows 11 25H2
Essential gear, smarter proxies, top Docker containers, OPNsense tips, and what is new in Windows 11 25H2
Welcome back to Home Lab Weekly. Each week I pull together the latest guides, reviews, and experiments from the site so you can keep leveling up your own lab. This edition covers hardware I always start with, a showdown of reverse proxies, the best Docker containers for desktop, some OPNsense gotchas, and a look at what is coming in Windows 11.
The First Hardware I Always Buy for Any Home Lab
Before you dive into complex clusters or networking builds, you need a few core pieces of hardware. I break this down into the absolute core of your home lab, including switches, mini PCs, UPS, and NAS. Take a look at the hardware and models I consider the foundational gear for any lab, the type of equipment that gets used no matter what direction your projects take. If you are starting fresh or thinking about upgrading, be sure to check this one out!
Nginx Proxy Manager vs NPMplus Which One is Better for Your Home Lab?
Reverse proxies are the gateway into almost every modern home lab, especially if you are delving into running containers. Choosing the right one makes a big difference. Here I compare Nginx Proxy Manager with the newer NPMplus. We break down where each one shines and possibly which one to pick. If you have been debating which proxy tool to trust in your environment, this post gives you a couple of great choices.
Best Docker containers for Docker Desktop in 2025
Docker Desktop is still a popular way to experiment on your local workstation. This is a great way to try things out before you deploy containers on a server at scale, and also, there may be some containers that are better suited to run locally in Docker Desktop. In this write-up, I spotlight the best containers worth running in 2025 in Docker Desktop. If you are looking to sharpen your container game, and run tools locally that you might need day-to-day, you will find some great picks here.
5 Things You Should Know About OPNsense Before You Install It
OPNsense is one of the most popular firewall platforms in the home lab world. But it comes with a few gotchas. Most may not realize, it installs out of the box with missing features you might assume are built-in. These are definitely networking details that can trip you up. This post covers the things I wish I had known early on. It is a great resource for anyone planning to deploy OPNsense or looking to tighten up an existing install.
Windows 11 25H2 ISOs and Enablement Package Download Released Ahead of Launch
Microsoft’s 25H2 update for Windows 11 is just around the corner, but ISOs and the enablement package are already available. I walk through what is included, how to grab the right files, and why this release matters for both desktop and lab testing. If you are interested in keeping your Windows environment ahead of the curve, you will want to take a look.
This week’s video
A video covering the topic of “the first services I spin up in a home lab.”
Wrapping up
That is a wrap for this week’s round up. Thanks for reading and following along! Your support keeps this community going strong. Be sure to share and hack the Google Algorithm! It is hard to get visibility in today’s AI-driven world with content. So your help and shares are much appreciated! I will be back next week with another set of posts to inspire your builds and sharpen your skills.