Tech Little Brawta guides
Guides that show the work.
Home lab builds, network diagrams, and step-by-step tutorials written so a beginner can follow them and an experienced reader can check the details.
Open Source · September 15, 2024 · 3 min read
Why You Should Get a Red Hat Developer Membership
What the no-cost Red Hat Developer program gives you, what it does not include, and how to put RHEL, Ansible, and OpenShift to work in a learning lab.Read the full guide →
Cybersecurity · September 8, 2024 · 3 min read
Managing Nodes in PNETlab: Checking Status, Stopping, and Starting Nodes in Offline Mode
A complete, illustrated walkthrough for preparing PNETLab, creating a dedicated account, configuring the Python scripts, and testing node controls safely.Read the full guide →
Infrastructure · August 18, 2024 · 2 min read
How to Create a Bootable USB Drive for VMware ESXi Using Rufus
An illustrated Windows guide to downloading ESXi and Rufus, selecting the correct USB drive, writing the installer, and checking the result.Read the full guide →
Infrastructure · January 1, 2024 · 6 min read
Home Lab Naming Conventions
A naming system for sites, environments, devices, and services that stays useful when a small lab grows into a multi-site network.Read the full guide →
Cybersecurity · January 1, 2024 · 3 min read
Home Lab Vlans
The complete VLAN plan for the eight-site Tech Little Brawta lab, with diagrams, subnet tables, and the reasoning behind each segment.Read the full guide →
Infrastructure · December 24, 2023 · 2 min read
Home Lab Physical and Virtual Topology
Two diagrams explain the real hardware, virtual platforms, and eight simulated sites that make up the Tech Little Brawta home lab.Read the full guide →
Open Source · November 25, 2023 · 3 min read
Home Lab Software
A practical comparison of network emulators and hypervisors, including why the first lab used PNETLab and ESXi and what to reconsider today.Read the full guide →
Technology · October 29, 2023 · 2 min read
Home Lab Hardware
The processors, memory, storage, and switching hardware behind the lab—and the trade-offs to consider when buying used enterprise equipment.Read the full guide →
Technology · October 22, 2023 · 2 min read