As Seen Previously On This Blog

Make sure to read the previous posts in this series:

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4

Home Programming

With the exception of the AWS DDNS client I had previously worked on, I didn’t have any substantial custom-written software for my home technology. That broke in a big way starting in the second half of 2020. I built a custom script to clear out what I termed to be “phantom” clients from my UniFi Controller. You can read a bit more about that project at the link.

As Seen Previously On This Blog

Make sure to read the previous posts in this series:

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3

Hello, Home Assistant

In early 2018 I intentionally acquired another Raspberry Pi, despite the fact that I had a Raspberry Pi 2B laying around which I wasn’t using. I got a Raspberry Pi 3B because I wanted something with more horsepower than the 2B to run Home Assistant. I had a few reasons to give Home Assistant (HA) a try:

As Seen Previously On This Blog

Make sure to read the previous posts in this series:

• Part 1
• Part 2

Smart Home Beginnings

My initial investment into smart home technology began in the middle of 2014 when my fiancee and I moved in together (henceforth, there’ll be a lot more “we” and “us” in this journey than “I” and “me”). I bought a 2nd Generation Nest Thermostat. I had just moved into a new apartment and management didn’t have a problem with my replacing the thermostat, so long as I swapped back to the original unit upon move-out (which turned out to be just a little over 2 years later). The automatic away functionality of the thermostat was nice, and it’s “learning” features worked relatively well for my use case.

As Seen Previously On This Blog

Make sure to read Part 1!

Downsizing & Reboot

In early 2011 my life changed drastically. I moved from one metropolitan area to another and left behind a substantial amount of belongings and technology… including my cat (never fear, she’s back with me today, and is still the sweetest cat you’d ever meet - that’s not hyperbole). I rented a single bedroom from a homeowner. The only networked devices I took with me were the following:

Prologue

My home network and infrastructure (and by extension, my home lab) has had quite an evolution from whenever my first WiFi network was installed. I don’t quite remember the details all the way back that far, but when I first left my father’s home would be when I setup my first WiFi home network. It was a 1-bedroom apartment, and I was entering my final semester of undergraduate college study.