Context For a while, I have been wanting to improve my practical knowledge about networking and system administration. Until now, it was limited to university projects and the administration of my Ubuntu-based laptop and an old HP OptiPlex hosting a few services. On top of that, I had this big list of services that could be self-hosted to replace paid or third-party services. Two events triggered what would then become an infinite rabbit hole, both caused by my friend Julien: him introducing me to Nix, and later, to the concept of mini rack.\n