Getting Started
Welcome to the Kubernerdes Homelab documentation — a single-codebase deployment framework for building a Kubernetes lab using SUSE Rancher, Harvester, and related tooling on Intel NUC hardware.
What You'll Build
A fully operational, on-premises Kubernetes platform consisting of:
- 4× Intel NUC nodes — one admin/bootstrap host plus a 3-node Harvester hypervisor cluster
- Harvester HCI — open-source hyperconverged infrastructure for VMs and Kubernetes workloads
- Rancher Manager — multi-cluster management UI deployed on a 3-node K3s cluster inside Harvester
- Infrastructure services — ISC DHCP, BIND DNS, HAProxy load balancer, Keepalived VIP failover
- Environment-specific layers — Community (public registries), Carbide (RGS registry), or Enclave (air-gapped)
Choose Your Environment
| Environment | Best For | Registry Source |
|---|---|---|
| Community | Getting started, upstream SUSE tooling | Docker Hub / public registries |
| Carbide | RGS hardened images, internet-connected | rgcrprod.azurecr.us (RGS registry) |
| Enclave | Air-gapped operations, FIPS compliance | Local Harbor via Hauler |
Start with Community if you're new to the platform. Community is the base layer — Carbide and Enclave build on top of it.
Architecture Overview
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Community: 10.0.0.0/22 │
│ Carbide/Enclave: 10.10.12.0/22 │
│ │
│ nuc-00 (admin) nuc-01/02/03 (Harvester cluster) │
│ ┌──────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ KVM hypervisor │ │ Harvester HCI │ │
│ │ │ │ VIP: ${IP_PREFIX}.100 │ │
│ │ ┌──────────────┐ │ │ ┌──────────────────────┐ │ │
│ │ │ nuc-00-01 │ │ │ │ rancher-01/02/03 │ │ │
│ │ │ DHCP + DNS │ │ │ │ K3s HA cluster │ │ │
│ │ └──────────────┘ │ │ │ VIP: ${IP_PREFIX}.210│ │ │
│ │ ┌──────────────┐ │ │ └──────────────────────┘ │ │
│ │ │ nuc-00-02 │ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ DNS secondary│ │ │ .101 · .102 · .103 │ │
│ │ └──────────────┘ │ └──────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │ ┌──────────────┐ │ │
│ │ │ nuc-00-03 │ │ │
│ │ │ HAProxy + │ │ │
│ │ │ Keepalived │ │ │
│ │ └──────────────┘ │ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ Apache + TFTP │ │
│ │ (PXE server) │ │
│ └──────────────────┘ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Day 0/1/2 Framework
| Phase | Focus | Where to Start |
|---|---|---|
| Day 0 | Design & planning | Day 0 Overview |
| Day 1 | Initial deployment | Day 1 Overview |
| Day 2 | Ongoing operations | Day 2 Overview |
Prerequisites
Before diving in, you should be comfortable with:
- Linux command line (SSH,
systemctl,journalctl) - Basic networking concepts (subnets, VLANs, DNS, DHCP)
- YAML — for Kubernetes manifests and Harvester config
- Kubernetes basics (pods, deployments, services)
- KVM/libvirt virtualization concepts
For Carbide and Enclave environments, you'll also need:
- RGS Carbide portal access — request a license from the RGS Account Team
- Familiarity with container image signing and Cosign
Source Repository
The automation and configuration source lives at: homelab.kubernerdes.com
The repo contains shell scripts, Ansible playbooks, network config files, and Helm values files that implement everything described in this documentation.