Homelab AI
Operational question: how do you treat self-hosted inference like an operable system (desired state, validation evidence, and rollback) when you are the only operator?
Homelab AI is an open-source (FOSS) Ansible configuration-as-code project for a personal self-hosted AI inference lab on a commissioned Dell Precision 5820 with dual Intel Arc GPUs.
Git is the desired state. Two independent containerized llama.cpp SYCL workers run one per GPU behind an authenticated gateway. HashiCorp Vault is the secret authority. Validation probes produce evidence bundles; upgrades track current, candidate, and previous_known_good versions with rollback runbooks.
Implemented work includes bootstrap, convergence, patching, and upgrade automation; the commissioned dual-GPU profile; authenticated gateway patterns; Vault-managed secrets; scheduled reconciliation; and schema-validated evidence bundles.
This is a personal lab for one operator. It is FOSS and not a commercial product as it stands. A commercial offering may be built on it later; that is not claimed here. It is not a multi-tenant platform, managed service, or customer deployment. A second node profile remains uncommissioned.
Implemented
- Ansible configuration-as-code for bootstrap, convergence, patching, upgrades, and validation
- Commissioned Dell Precision 5820 dual-GPU inference profile
- Authenticated gateway patterns, Vault-managed secrets, scheduled reconciliation
- Schema-validated evidence bundles and documented rollback paths
Evidence you can inspect
Operations material for a one-operator inference lab. These are representative examples of topology, validation, and recovery documentation—not a managed service or multi-tenant deployment.
Architecture overview
Commissioned dual-GPU inference host profile and layout notes.
Rollback paths
Upgrade tracks for current, candidate, and previous_known_good.
Operations documentation
Convergence, patching, and day-2 host operating notes.
Architecture and recovery path
Two independent llama.cpp workers behind an authenticated gateway with Vault as secret authority. Validation evidence and an explicit previous_known_good path keep recovery written down.
Scope boundaries
- Open source (FOSS); not a commercial product as it stands
- Future commercial offerings built on this work are possible and not claimed here
- One commissioned host; second node remains uncommissioned
- Not a customer or enterprise production service