SumGuy's Ramblings
The art of wasting time.
Docker, self-hosting, AI/LLM, Linux, and DevOps — explained by someone who learned the hard way. No fluff, no enterprise jargon, just practical stuff that actually works on real hardware.
Recent Posts
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Kustomize Without Helm: When Overlays Win
Skip Helm for home lab Kubernetes. Kustomize base + overlays give you dev/staging/prod variants with zero templating pain.
11 min read -
Compose-to-Helm Migration That Doesn't Break
Migrate from Docker Compose to Helm without throwing away your Compose setup. Use kompose, hybrid CI stages, and run both in parallel during the transition.
16 min read -
Ingress Choices in k3s: Traefik vs ingress-nginx vs HAProxy
Traefik, ingress-nginx, or HAProxy on k3s? ingress-nginx retired in March 2026. Install commands, IngressRoute vs Ingress, and the ServiceLB port trap.
18 min read -
k3s Backups: etcd Snapshots + Velero
etcd snapshots and Velero on k3s: the native S3 upload flags, the local-path hostPath trap that silently skips your PV data, and a restore drill that works.
16 min read -
MetalLB for Bare-Metal LoadBalancer
Give your bare-metal Kubernetes cluster load-balanced services with MetalLB. Layer 2, BGP, IPAddressPools, and when to use each.
10 min read -
Longhorn vs OpenEBS for k3s Storage
Battle of the distributed storage drivers: Longhorn's simplicity vs OpenEBS's flexibility for your 3-node k3s cluster.
19 min read -
ArgoCD for Home Lab GitOps
Install ArgoCD on k3s, manage apps declaratively from Git. Secrets, sync waves, app-of-apps pattern explained.
15 min read -
Helm Without the YAML Soup
Master Helm templating sanity. Values files, smart defaults, when to skip Helm entirely, and why nested variables aren't always the answer.
13 min read -
k3s Cluster on 3 Mini PCs From Zero
Build a three node Kubernetes cluster on mini PCs with k3s: static IPs, firewall ports, local-path storage, and a first deployment that actually answers.
· Updated:14 min read -
DBeaver vs pgAdmin vs DataGrip
Compare DBeaver, pgAdmin, and DataGrip for PostgreSQL and MySQL management. Free vs commercial picks, feature breakdown.
15 min read -
MongoDB Self-Hosted in 2026: SSPL and Alternatives
The SSPL only bites if you offer MongoDB itself as a service. What that means for self-hosters, and when FerretDB on Postgres is the better answer.
14 min read -
PgBouncer for Connection Pooling
Why PgBouncer matters for home lab Postgres, connection pooling modes explained, config examples, and when prepared statements break.
16 min read
