Currently Running
Authentik, Home Assistant, Vaultwarden, media tooling, and a stack of cloud-hosted lab services.
System Profile
Cloud labs // home systems // practical tinkering
IT specialist building useful systems and self-hosted lab projects.
I’m Callan Cooper, an IT Specialist and tech enthusiast focused on keeping systems useful, reliable, and interesting. This site is my personal node for experiments, self-hosted services, cloud test environments, and the kinds of technical problems worth solving after hours.
Node Snapshot
15+
active services
2
core environments
24/7
steady tinkering
A useful personal lab refined into a public-facing node for projects, services, and experiments worth sharing.
Exploring
AI assistant coding workflows, n8n automations, and better routing patterns between cloud and home services.
Helping With
Troubleshooting tech issues, refining setups, and making systems easier to live with.
- IT Specialist, Tech Enthusiast
- Cloud experiments and self-hosting
- Hands-on troubleshooting mindset
Lab Inventory
Featured services and the full lab inventory
A few services do the most visible work day to day, while the rest support the broader lab behind the scenes.
Cloud // Identity
Authentik
Identity provider for cleaner sign-in flows and centralized access across backend services, helping the lab feel more cohesive and easier to manage.
Cloud // Automation
n8n Automation
Workflow automation platform for experimenting with repeatable jobs, integrations, and service-to-service orchestration across the cloud side of the environment.
Cloud // Routing
Nginx Proxy Manager
Main routing layer for domains, TLS, and publishing services cleanly through a single entry point, tying the public side of the lab together.
Home // Media + Automation
Home Systems
Raspberry Pi with Home Assistant OS, Buffalo NAS storage, and TrueNAS running the arr suite and local services that keep the home side useful every day.
Full Inventory
Everything currently running across the cloud and home layers.
Open list
Full Inventory
Everything currently running across the cloud and home layers.
Cloud // Security
Vaultwarden
Password management hosted as part of a practical and privacy-conscious personal stack.
Cloud // Containers
Portainer
Container management for keeping cloud services organized, visible, and easier to maintain.
Cloud // Web
Homepage
This landing page acts as the public-facing front door for the lab, its services, and the overall environment.
Cloud // Documentation
Flowchart
Dedicated draw.io service for mapping infrastructure, documenting routes, and visualizing how the lab fits together.
Cloud // Utility
Wishlist
Family-focused service for collecting gift ideas and keeping track of what people may want for birthdays, holidays, or special occasions.
Cloud // App
Wordle
Self-hosted Wordle-style app exposed as a lightweight side project for personal use and anyone who wants to play.
Cloud // Archiving
ArchiveWarrior-Team
The ArchiveTeam Warrior is a virtual archiving appliance, run here as part of broader experimentation with preservation-focused services.
Cloud // Monitoring
Beszel Monitoring
Server monitoring for keeping visibility into uptime, system health, and the overall condition of cloud-hosted services.
Cloud // Mail
Postfix Relay
Mail relay service used for notifications, alerts, and practical outbound messaging across the environment.
Home // Network
UniFi Home Network
Core home network environment providing the foundation for connectivity, segmentation, and stable access to local services.
Home // Media
Plex Media Server
Self-hosted media server for organizing and streaming content as part of the broader home-lab media environment.
The lab mixes cloud-hosted tools with home infrastructure so new ideas can be tested in a setup that still feels useful every day.
Lab Stack
Cloud and home layers at a glance
Authentik
n8n
Homepage
Flowchart
Vaultwarden
Portainer
Wishlist
Wordle
Nginx Proxy Manager
ArchiveWarrior-Team
Beszel
Postfix
UniFi
Plex
Home Assistant
Buffalo NAS
TrueNAS
Arr Suite
Public Services
Visitor-facing tools worth opening
The public side of the lab is intentionally small: a couple of lightweight services that are easy to explore right away.
Topology
How the lab is routed
Expand to inspect the routing map between cloud services and home infrastructure.
Open map
Topology
How the lab is routed
Expand to inspect the routing map between cloud services and home infrastructure.
Internet / Domains
Public requests arrive through `coopnet.us` and related endpoints.
Cloud
Nginx Proxy Manager
Primary entry point, TLS handling, and reverse proxy routing.
Authentik
SSO / identity
n8n
Automation
Homepage
Public site
Flowchart
draw.io diagrams
Vaultwarden
Passwords
Portainer
Containers
Wishlist
Utility service
Wordle
Containerized app
ArchiveWarrior-Team
Archival tooling
Beszel
Monitoring
Postfix
Mail relay
Home
Local Environment
Home services and storage-backed systems.
UniFi
Network foundation
Plex
Media server
Raspberry Pi
Home Assistant OS
Buffalo NAS
Network storage
TrueNAS
Core local platform
Arr Suite
Media automation
About
A little more beyond the rack
Outside of day-to-day IT work, I enjoy tinkering with services, refining home-lab setups, and seeing how different tools fit together in practice. A lot of that time turns into learning by doing: building, breaking, fixing, and improving.
When I step away from the terminal, I like spending time with strategy games such as Civilization and Dynasty Warriors Empires, and most importantly being with family.
Operations
How I spend my technical downtime
01
Build and maintain personal services that sharpen real-world troubleshooting, administration, and deployment skills.
02
Use spare time to help solve technical issues, whether that means tracking down a stubborn problem or simplifying a setup for someone else.
03
Treat the lab like an active learning space for infrastructure, media services, automation, and the small details that keep systems dependable.