Containers
-
Docker Networking Tutorial: Bridge vs. Macvlan vs. Overlay for Home Labs
Everyone starts out using the default bridge network in a Docker container environment. And, if you are running standalone Docker hosts there is likely nothing wrong with using this network type because it just works. However, like any tool, knowing…
-
Docker Security Tips for Container Hosts & Ansible Playbook
Running containers in your lab or production environment is one of the best things you can do, not only for learning, but running workloads efficiently. Over the last couple of years, I have developed a security checklist that I apply…
-
How I Use Docker Labels and Compose Tricks to Organize 75+ Containers
When you start to have a large number of containers in your fleet, these can begin to become hard to manage. If you are juggling lots of services across many different projects and environments, this is especially true. I have…
-
Freelens is an Open Source and Free Kubernetes IDE for 2025!
I have been playing around with various Kubernetes IDE solutions for years now and there are many different ones that offer great solutions for working with Kubernetes to be honest. I have written about and have been showing solutions like…
-
Docker Rollout: Zero-Downtime Deployments for Docker Compose Made Simple
Have you worked with Docker compose and ever wanted to have a proper blue/green deployment for making sure your services stay up and running when you update them? We have all experienced going down for a few seconds or a…
-
KubeSolo New Kubernetes Edge Distro by Portainer
When I saw Neil Cresswell’s (Portainer’s CEO) post on LinkedIn about a new Kubernetes distribution that was about to be released by Portainer, this got my attention. The new distro, called KubeSolo, was purpose-built to be for Kubernetes environments that…
-
Dozzle Real-Time Docker Log Monitoring Made Easy
One of the struggles that I know I had when starting to implement containers in the home lab a few years back was visibility on what was actually going on in the containers themselves. As you learn how to look…
-
Top Docker Performance Tweaks on Low-Power Hardware
There are two things that I highly recommend for modern home lab environments, Docker and low-power mini PCs. Docker provides a much more efficient way to run apps compared to running full virtual machines. Also, low-power mini PCs are getting…
-
Why I Started Documenting My Docker Containers and What I Include
Running Docker containers and learning them is one of the best things you can do for your IT learning and career in 2025. Containerized technologies are everywhere. They are simple, effective, efficient, and they make self-hosting extremely powerful. However, they…
-
Best Kubernetes Distributions for Home Lab Enthusiasts in 2025
Kubernetes is THE tool to learn for running containers. You can use it in the home lab, and certainly in production and cloud environments. If you are looking at getting into Kubernetes in the home lab environment, which is the…
