// Technical Writing
Field notes from building and operating the homelab. Every system documented from the first design decision to final deployment.
Building a Small-Business Stack with Open Source
Four open-source tools on a single Proxmox host -- Active Directory, Faveo, OrangeHRM, and Mailcow -- cover identity, ITSM, HR, and email: nearly everything a small company needs to operate.
Mailcow: A Self-Hosted Mail Server
Running your own mail server with mailcow-dockerized on a Proxmox VM -- full email plus groupware for a small business, and an honest look at the deliverability and security work it demands.
Faveo Helpdesk: Self-Hosted ITSM
Deploying Faveo Helpdesk as a TurnKey Linux appliance on Proxmox to give a small business real ITSM -- ticketing, SLAs, and a knowledge base -- without per-agent SaaS fees.
Active Directory: The Identity Backbone
Standing up Windows Server 2022 Active Directory on Proxmox as the identity backbone for a small-business stack -- and why centralized identity is the first problem to solve.
Self-Hosting OrangeHRM
Evaluating OrangeHRM as an open-source solution to a real business problem -- deployed as a TurnKey Linux appliance on Proxmox -- through both an architecture-and-solutions and a security lens.
CSVActiveDirectory
A PowerShell module that simulates Active Directory using CSV files as the backend -- real AD cmdlets, password validation, and backups, with no domain controller required.
ESXiManScan
An Ansible + PowerCLI tool that runs DISA STIG compliance scans against VMware ESXi hosts and outputs ready-to-submit STIG Viewer (.ckl) checklists.
Trivy Security Center
A self-hosted vulnerability management platform that ingests Trivy and CycloneDX scans, with RBAC, audit logging, waivers, and one-command RPM deployment.
VM Provisioning With Proxmox
Build one VM the right way, get it fully updated and stable, generalize it, and convert it to a Proxmox template -- then clone ready-to-go machines in seconds.