A mini-PC has modest power demands, but previous-generation enterprise-class servers may draw enough power to require upgrades to your home electrical wiring. Remember that, depending on the hardware you choose, the power draw can put a strain on your home electrical system. Inherent benefits when leveraging virtualization include increased density (multiple hosts/applications/runtimes on a single physical server), the ability to snapshot and easily roll back to test multiple variations, and the ability to leverage pre-built VMs or virtual appliances. For example, container-based apps, automation, and AI are compute heavy, but most can be readily virtualized on energy-efficient devices like mini-PCS or on secondhand server hardware. The compute power you’ll need to support a virtual environment depends on the type of workloads you’re studying. Oracle can provide VirtualBox on top of several operating systems, and there are also open-source projects like bare-metal hypervisors ProxMox, KVM, and the Xen Project that have community backing. Both Microsoft (Hyper-V Server 2019) and VMware (ESXI 8) offer bare-metal hypervisors for free, while Microsoft also offers Hyper-V as a Windows feature. There are several good options for a hypervisor. But if you need more sophisticated networking features, there is a host of open-source network switches or firewall solutions that can be run as virtual appliances: Open vSwitch (OvS), pfSense, Vyos, and OPNsense to name just a few.
If you are learning networking concepts, the simplest solution is leveraging the virtual networking capabilities of a hypervisor. If so, some vendors-for example Juniper with its vLabs! and Cisco with its Cisco Packet Tracer-provide cloud-based lab environments with at least some access for free. If you need vendor-specific networking hardware, that can run into thousands of dollars, which may be prohibitive.
This is especially true if you’re seeking vendor certification on specific devices. But if you’re interested in networking at Layers 1, 2 and 3, you’ll need some physical networking hardware such as routers, switches, or hardware firewalls. If you’re focused on applications, server environments, automation, or identity management, a server for hosting virtual environments may suffice. Start by identifying your learning goals and figuring out the hardware and software they’ll require.
Hands-on experience with network hardware and software can solidify certification-test concepts or let you practice skills that may be part of a cert exam, and the process can be helped along by use of a home lab.
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