--- title: Blog url: 'http://itlad.uk/blog' markdown: 'http://itlad.uk/blog.md' date: '2026-09-26' description: 'Daily IT posts covering homelab, networking, cybersecurity, dev tools, AI and gear reviews with Amazon affiliate links.' --- # Blog IT tips, gear reviews and homelab builds — one post a day. homelab ### [My Docker Stack: 12 Containers Running on a Laptop](http://itlad.uk/blog/my-docker-stack) My personal Docker stack — 12 containers including Open WebUI, n8n, Trilium, MinIO, PostgreSQL, Grav, MeTube, Dockge and more, all running on a laptop. 10 Jun 2026 3 min read [Read post →](http://itlad.uk/blog/my-docker-stack) homelab ### [My VirtualBox Collection: 37 VMs Covering Security, Networking and Every Linux Distro I Could Find](http://itlad.uk/blog/my-virtualbox-vm-collection) My VirtualBox VM collection — 37 virtual machines covering Kali, ParrotOS, pfSense, OPNsense, TrueNAS, macOS, Whonix, Wazuh and more than a dozen Linux distros. 9 Jun 2026 4 min read homelab ### [My Hyper-V Lab: 12 Enterprise VMs on a Laptop](http://itlad.uk/blog/my-hyper-v-lab) My Hyper-V lab setup on a laptop — 12 enterprise VMs covering Dynamics CRM, SQL Server, IIS clusters, VPN, AD domain and logging infrastructure. 8 Jun 2026 2 min read gear ### [My Daily Driver: i7-8750H Laptop Running 64GB, Dual 2TB NVMe and a GTX 1060](http://itlad.uk/blog/my-laptop-specs-daily-driver) My daily driver laptop specs — Intel i7-8750H, 64GB DDR4, dual Samsung 970 EVO Plus 2TB NVMe, GTX 1060 Max-Q, running Hyper-V, VirtualBox and Docker. 7 Jun 2026 2 min read databases ### [PostgreSQL: Setup, Performance and Management for IT Pros](http://itlad.uk/blog/postgresql-setup-management-guide) PostgreSQL setup and management guide for IT professionals — installation, configuration tuning, pgAdmin, useful extensions and Docker development setup. 6 Jun 2026 3 min read databases ### [SQL Server Setup and Tuning for IT Professionals](http://itlad.uk/blog/sql-server-setup-tuning-guide) SQL Server setup and performance tuning for IT professionals — installation, backup strategy, index maintenance, query analysis and Docker development setup. 5 Jun 2026 3 min read microsoft ### [Model-Driven Apps in Power Platform: The Right Tool for Complex Data](http://itlad.uk/blog/model-driven-apps-power-platform) Model-driven apps in Microsoft Power Platform explained — how they differ from canvas apps, Dataverse tables, business rules, views and when to choose them. 4 Jun 2026 2 min read microsoft ### [Microsoft Power Pages: Build External-Facing Sites on Dataverse](http://itlad.uk/blog/microsoft-power-pages-guide) Microsoft Power Pages guide for IT professionals — what it is, how it differs from Power Apps, authentication, Dataverse integration and when to use it. 3 Jun 2026 2 min read microsoft ### [Microsoft Power Apps: What IT Pros Actually Need to Know](http://itlad.uk/blog/microsoft-power-apps-guide) Microsoft Power Apps explained for IT professionals — canvas vs model-driven apps, licensing, Dataverse, deployment and when Power Apps is the right tool. 2 Jun 2026 2 min read ai ### [Run AI Models Locally with Ollama: A Practical Setup Guide](http://itlad.uk/blog/ollama-local-ai-models-guide) Set up Ollama to run AI models locally on your own hardware — model selection, GPU acceleration, Open WebUI frontend and hardware recommendations. 1 Jun 2026 2 min read - « - 1 - [2](http://itlad.uk/blog/page:2) - [3](http://itlad.uk/blog/page:3) - [»](http://itlad.uk/blog/page:2) --- ## Navigation - Previous: [IT Lad](http://itlad.uk/index.md) - Next: [About IT Lad](http://itlad.uk/about.md) - Children: - [AI Tools I Actually Use as a Sysadmin in 2026](http://itlad.uk/blog/ai-tools-sysadmin-2026.md) - [Best KVM Switches for Multi-Monitor and Multi-Computer Setups](http://itlad.uk/blog/best-kvm-switches-multi-monitor.md) - [Best Mechanical Keyboards for IT Professionals in 2026](http://itlad.uk/blog/best-mechanical-keyboards-it-pros.md) - [Best NAS Drives for Your Homelab in 2026](http://itlad.uk/blog/best-nas-drives-homelab.md) - [Best USB Hubs and Docks for Your Workstation in 2026](http://itlad.uk/blog/best-usb-hubs-docks-workstation.md) - [Best Budget Network Switches for Your Homelab in 2026](http://itlad.uk/blog/budget-network-switches-homelab.md) - [How to Build a Cybersecurity Homelab from Scratch](http://itlad.uk/blog/cybersecurity-homelab-getting-started.md) - 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[Run AI Models Locally with Ollama: A Practical Setup Guide](http://itlad.uk/blog/ollama-local-ai-models-guide.md) - [pfSense vs OPNsense in 2026: Which One Should You Run?](http://itlad.uk/blog/pfsense-vs-opnsense-2026.md) - [Pi-hole Setup Guide: Block Ads for Your Entire Network](http://itlad.uk/blog/pihole-network-adblocking-guide.md) - [PostgreSQL: Setup, Performance and Management for IT Pros](http://itlad.uk/blog/postgresql-setup-management-guide.md) - [Proxmox VE: A Beginner's Setup Guide for Your Homelab](http://itlad.uk/blog/proxmox-ve-beginners-guide.md) - [7 Raspberry Pi Projects Every IT Guy Should Build](http://itlad.uk/blog/raspberry-pi-projects-it-guys.md) - [SQL Server Setup and Tuning for IT Professionals](http://itlad.uk/blog/sql-server-setup-tuning-guide.md) - [Top 10 Docker Containers Every Homelab Should Run in 2026](http://itlad.uk/blog/top-docker-containers-homelab.md) - [Best VSCode Extensions for Sysadmins and IT Pros](http://itlad.uk/blog/vscode-extensions-sysadmins.md) - 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