Archive / NETWORK / SYSTEMS
PiCluster
Historical / decommissionedA historical three-node self-hosting setup that taught me about networking, Linux, service deployment and the cost of distributed complexity.
This three-node Raspberry Pi 4 cluster was a sandbox for self-hosting and network infrastructure. It is now decommissioned: I moved away from the cluster architecture as my requirements changed.
What the system ran
The nodes used Raspberry Pi OS Lite and Ethernet networking. I experimented with Docker, including an earlier Docker Swarm setup, and ran services including Pi-hole, Cloudflare Tunnel, Samba/NFS storage and self-hosted websites.
A modular 3D-printed enclosure and integrated network-switch mounting brought the nodes and cabling into one physical system.
What I learned
Maintaining the setup taught me about Linux, networking, container deployment, remote access and the practical demands of always-on services.
It also made me question when distributed complexity is useful. Multiple nodes can be valuable for learning, but they introduce coordination and maintenance work that may not suit a small set of home services.
Moving on
Decommissioning the cluster was a change in requirements, not a failed build. My current direction is Pi Dashboard: a more consolidated control and monitoring interface for home infrastructure, still in development.
