---
title: '7 Raspberry Pi Projects Every IT Guy Should Build'
url: 'http://itlad.uk/blog/raspberry-pi-projects-it-guys'
markdown: 'http://itlad.uk/blog/raspberry-pi-projects-it-guys.md'
date: '2026-05-26'
description: '7 practical Raspberry Pi projects for IT professionals — Pi-hole, WireGuard VPN, network monitor, print server, local AI and more.'
taxonomy:
  category:
    - homelab
    - gear
  tag:
    - 'raspberry pi'
    - homelab
    - pi-hole
    - self-hosting
    - projects
---

[ Home ](http://itlad.uk/)     [ Blog ](http://itlad.uk/blog)      7 Raspberry Pi Projects Every IT Guy Should Build    

# [7 Raspberry Pi Projects Every IT Guy Should Build](http://itlad.uk/blog/raspberry-pi-projects-it-guys)

 By [IT Lad](http://itlad.uk/about) 26 May 2026 

  [raspberry pi](http://itlad.uk/blog/tag:raspberry%20pi#body-wrapper) [homelab](http://itlad.uk/blog/tag:homelab#body-wrapper) [pi-hole](http://itlad.uk/blog/tag:pi-hole#body-wrapper) [self-hosting](http://itlad.uk/blog/tag:self-hosting#body-wrapper) [projects](http://itlad.uk/blog/tag:projects#body-wrapper)  

A Raspberry Pi 4 costs around $55 and draws 5W at idle. These are the projects worth running on one.

## 1. Pi-hole (Network Ad Blocker)

Pi-hole is a DNS sinkhole that blocks ads and trackers at the network level — every device on your LAN benefits without installing anything on them. Setup takes 20 minutes. Run it in a Docker container so it's easy to update.

Block lists I use: Steven Black's hosts file, OISD, and HaGeZi's multi-pro list from firebog.net.

## 2. WireGuard VPN Server

A Pi 4 runs wg-easy comfortably for a household. See the [WireGuard setup guide](http://itlad.uk/blog/wireguard-vpn-home-server-setup) for the full config.

## 3. Network-Wide Monitoring with Netdata

Deploy Netdata on a Pi and point it at your router and switches via SNMP. Get bandwidth graphs, packet loss alerts and latency tracking from a single dashboard.

## 4. Print Server

Turn a USB printer into a network printer using CUPS on a Pi. Every device on your network prints to it wirelessly, including phones. Took less time to set up than I expected.

## 5. Local AI Inference with Ollama

A Pi 5 with 8GB RAM runs 3B and 7B quantized models in CPU mode. Slow compared to a GPU, but fully offline. Good for a private assistant that never touches the internet.

A Pi 4 handles smaller models (1B–3B) at acceptable speed for text tasks.

## 6. Uptime Kuma (Status Monitor)

Run Uptime Kuma on a Pi to monitor all your services — websites, Docker containers, SMTP servers. It sends Telegram or Discord notifications when something goes down. Keep it on a UPS so it stays up when your main server reboots.

## 7. Tailscale Exit Node

Set up a Pi as a Tailscale exit node at a location you trust — office, parent's house, cloud VM. Route your traffic through it when you're on public Wi-Fi. Easier than WireGuard to set up for multiple users.

## What to Buy

- [Raspberry Pi 5 8GB](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=raspberry%2Bpi%2B5%2B8gb&tag=itlad-21) — current best model for compute-heavy tasks
- [Raspberry Pi 4 4GB](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=raspberry%2Bpi%2B4%2B4gb&tag=itlad-21) — slightly cheaper, still great for Pi-hole and monitoring
- [Official Pi PoE+ HAT](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=raspberry%2Bpi%2Bpoe%2Bhat&tag=itlad-21) — power over Ethernet, no wall adapter needed
- [Samsung microSD Endurance 64GB](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=samsung%2Bmicrosd%2Bendurance%2B64gb&tag=itlad-21) — high-endurance card for 24/7 write workloads

---

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