SouthEast Linux Fest 2024

Rook/Ceph in the Home Lab
06-07, 16:00–16:50 (EST5EDT), Rocky Linux (BallroomB)

Ceph is an established storage solution with a reputation for scalability and high availability, with pitfalls that need to be considered when running Ceph at small scale.

I will introduce Ceph, its benefits, how to go about adopting it in the homelab using Rook, and its unique architecture.


Ceph is an established storage solution with a reputation for scalability and high availability. Whether for these benefits or for learning it may be desirable to adopt it for personal storage. However, there are some pitfalls that need to be considered when running Ceph at small scale.

This talk will be an introduction to Ceph, its benefits, and how to go about adopting it, with special attention to considerations and lessons learned from operating it at small scale. The focus will be on orchestrating it under Kubernetes using Rook, but the same principles will apply with other methods of deployment (with a brief discussion of those methods pros/cons).

Where practical the design/architecture of Ceph will be discussed, and why it is such a strong solution in the Enterprise.

I have been a linux user and contributor for over 20 years, and have been experimenting with distributed filesystems for several years, having migrated from ZFS, to LizardFS, to MooseFS, and am currently running my storage on Rook/Ceph. I work as a scientist in an IT/Compliance role.