How Zerotier changed my (Home)Lab

In the past, my home lab runs on the famous intel nuc. It has aged well over the last 3 years and is still incredible. But the load of the virtual infrastructure becomes more as it does not run only my Graylog Setup, but also the Minecraft server, the UniFi controller, the IPsec-VPN and is the base station for all my servers backup.

I want more flexibility, more power to drive all of the above and even more. Wouldn't it be nice to spin-up some cloud servers if I need/want them and have the ability to access them like they are in my home network?

explore the unknown

In the last year, I discovered how the OpenSoc-Team run their environment. How others do that and I had this guy speaking about Zerotier. Then the Lab at work shifted in parts into a Network that is only reachable via Zerotier.

The wish more power for the home lab and the fascination of having a (virtual) private network that has no classical boundaries made me upbeat. The party started and I build first my own Zerotier network, containing my already given infrastructure at home and some servers I already have.
Added some DNS entries for the private network range I had chosen and started working with them. Suddenly - and with no issues - my server in the cloud was able to mount my Synology at home. Not using this hacky way I had developed in the past years. Just by using the name I had given in DNS to my Synology Box at home, behind my dialup line and no public access.

the new way

Now I have unlimited options to expand my home lab - I can add any Server or device that Zerotier runs on. I only need to take care of the services I create listen on the Zerotier interfaces and not the public ones.

It feels powerful to have this tool and I guess that I did not explore the full power - but what I already have satisfied me more than the hacky solutions from the past.