However, I don't always have the latest updated version of the installation ISOs, and I'm unable to create a copy of a bare-metal installation in the same way. And after wearing out one too many USB drives through repeated reflashing of different operating systems, it's time for a better way for my home lab.

The solution is rather elegant, involving the setup of a Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) server that stores the ISO files, allowing my client devices to boot from them over the network. I've been playing around with three different variations on how this can be handled, and I'm keeping two of them, because having easy access to bootable media is invaluable.

After using Proxmox on my primary server, I decided the second system would be Ubuntu on bare metal.

My essential self-hosted toolkit

Beszel has become my go-to utility for monitoring the server rigs, SBCs, NAS units, and mini-PCs in my home lab