Architecture - Flynn Family

Network Flow

Zero-trust architecture with Cloudflare Tunnel for secure external access

graph TB Internet([Family & Internet]) CF[Cloudflare Edge] Tunnel[Encrypted Tunnel] Gateway[Web Gateway] Media[Media Server] Storage[Storage Server] Aux[Auxiliary Node] Internet --> CF CF --> |SSL/TLS| Tunnel Tunnel --> Gateway Tunnel --> Media Gateway --> |Serves| Web[Web Services] Gateway --> |Monitors| Health[System Health] Gateway --> |Routes| VPN[VPN Access] Media --> |Streams| Content[Media Content] Media --> |Processes| Data[Heavy Processing] Media --> |Protects| Security[Security Layer] Storage --> |Provides| Files[File Storage] Storage --> |Manages| DNS[Network DNS] Storage --> |Handles| Backup[Backup Storage] Aux --> |Supports| Tools[Network Tools] Aux --> |Provides| Redundancy[Failover Services] style Internet fill:#667eea,stroke:#764ba2,color:#fff style CF fill:#f6821f,stroke:#f6821f,color:#fff style Tunnel fill:#667eea,stroke:#764ba2,color:#fff style Gateway fill:#10b981,stroke:#059669,color:#fff style Media fill:#8b5cf6,stroke:#7c3aed,color:#fff style Storage fill:#f59e0b,stroke:#d97706,color:#fff style Aux fill:#06b6d4,stroke:#0891b2,color:#fff

🐳 Containerization

Docker for isolation
Docker Compose for orchestration
Reproducible deployments
Version-controlled configs

☁️ Cloud Integration

Cloudflare Tunnel
Zero-trust access
Automatic SSL/TLS
Global CDN acceleration

🔒 Security Layers

OAuth authentication
Intrusion detection
Network-wide filtering
Encrypted connections

📊 Monitoring

Real-time health checks
Resource tracking
Alert notifications
Performance metrics

Service Layers

Services organized by function and accessibility

graph LR subgraph Public ["🌐 Public Layer"] Web[Website] Dashboard[Dashboard] Media[Media Streaming] end subgraph Protected ["🔐 Protected Layer"] Files[File Sharing] Admin[Admin Panels] Tools[Management Tools] end subgraph Internal ["🏠 Internal Layer"] DNS[DNS Services] Security[Security] Monitoring[Monitoring] Backup[Backups] end Users([Users]) --> Public Public -.authenticated.-> Protected Protected --> Internal style Public fill:#667eea,stroke:#764ba2,color:#fff style Protected fill:#8b5cf6,stroke:#7c3aed,color:#fff style Internal fill:#10b981,stroke:#059669,color:#fff style Users fill:#f59e0b,stroke:#d97706,color:#fff

Design Principles

🎯 Simplicity

Complex systems built from simple, well-understood components. Easy to maintain, easy to understand.

🔒 Security First

Zero-trust by default. Every service authenticated, every connection encrypted, every access logged.

⚡ Redundancy

Critical services have failover. If one node fails, services continue. Uptime is a priority.

📦 Portability

Everything containerized. Entire infrastructure can be rebuilt from configuration files.

🔍 Observability

Comprehensive monitoring and logging. Know what's happening, catch issues before they impact users.

🌱 Sustainability

Energy-efficient hardware choices. Measured power consumption, optimized resource usage.

Modern Homelab Principles

Infrastructure as Code

Every service is defined in version-controlled configuration files. The entire infrastructure can be rebuilt from scratch using Docker Compose files and documentation. No manual configuration, no "it works on my machine" - everything is reproducible.

Progressive Enhancement

Started with basic services and incrementally added capability. Each new service is evaluated for value, tested thoroughly, and documented before going into production. Build complexity gradually.

Continuous Learning

Every deployment is a learning opportunity. Modern DevOps practices like containerization, CI/CD pipelines, monitoring, and incident response are all practiced hands-on. The homelab is both infrastructure and classroom.

🏗️ System Architecture