DEV Community: Tejas Patil

🚀 From Sci-Fi to Theme Parks : Our Favourite Robots Are Coming to Life! 🤖💙

Tejas Patil — Sun, 23 Mar 2025 21:04:05 +0000

I just watched Nvidia’s GTC keynote and... wow. They introduced a new robot called "Blue", built in collaboration with Disney and Google DeepMind, and honestly, it feels like something straight out of Star Wars. But this isn’t a movie anymore. This is real.

Blue isn’t just walking around. It learns, moves with emotion, and can even express itself through gestures and beeps. It’s powered by Nvidia’s new Newton physics engine, trained in virtual environments to move and behave like a real-life droid. And the best part? It’s heading to Disney theme parks soon. Yes, we’ll actually get to meet it!

But here’s what really gets me excited:
If we can bring Blue to life…
✨ What’s stopping us from building the next WALL·E?
✨ Or a real-life Baymax that helps and heals?

It feels like we’re just getting started. This isn’t just tech progress, this is storytelling, creativity, and human connection coming together through robotics.

Imagine a world where robots aren’t just tools, but companions, helpers, entertainers, designed not to replace us, but to work with us. That’s the future I’m rooting for.

I’d love to see more companies take inspiration from characters we all love. Let’s bring WALL·E’s kindness, Baymax’s care, and R2-D2’s charm into the real world. 💡

Who’s with me?

How I Built My Self-Hosted Cloud with Proxmox, Terraform & Docker

Tejas Patil — Sun, 23 Feb 2025 20:36:16 +0000

how I transformed a Mini PC into a private cloud, running virtual machines, containers, and CI/CD pipelines, all while ensuring secure remote access with Cloudflare Zero Trust. This setup mirrors real-world cloud infrastructure but remains fully self-hosted. 🏠☁️

🛠 My Hardware Setup

Mini PC: Lenovo ThinkCentre M710q
- CPU: Intel Core i5-7400T
- RAM: 8GB DDR4
- Storage: 256GB SSD
Router: GL.iNet MT3000 (Beryl AX)
Network Bridge: vmbr0 (Proxmox-managed)

🖥️ Architecture Overview

Architecture of my self-hosted cloud setup

The architecture consists of six main components:

👤 User Access (Cloudflare Zero Trust)
- Ensures secure, remote access without exposing ports.
- Acts as a proxy between users and my self-hosted services.
💾 Private Cloud (Mini PC with Proxmox VE)
- Runs Proxmox as the hypervisor to manage VMs.
- Uses vmbr0 as a virtual bridge for networking.
⚙️ VM Provisioning (Terraform + Cloud-Init)
- Automates VM creation on Proxmox.
- Cloud-Init configures VMs with static IPs on boot.
📦 Dockerized Applications
- Each VM runs Docker to host essential services:
  - Casa OS (Personal Cloud OS)
  - Plex (Media Streaming)
  - Vaultwarden (Password Management)
  - Kavita (eBook Management)
  - Portainer (Container Management UI)
🔄 CI/CD Automation (GitHub Actions)
- Triggers Terraform updates when infrastructure changes.
- Ensures consistent VM provisioning.
🔗 Secure Connectivity & Networking
- Cloudflare tunnels protect services from direct exposure.
- VMs communicate via Proxmox-managed networking.

🔹 Workflow & Connectivity

1️⃣ Secure User Access via Cloudflare Zero Trust

The entry point for accessing any self-hosted services is Cloudflare Zero Trust. This eliminates the need to expose ports on my home network, significantly enhancing security.
Instead of relying on traditional VPNs, users authenticate through Cloudflare, which applies access policies, identity-based authentication, and additional security layers.
Once authenticated, Cloudflare acts as a secure reverse proxy, allowing authorized users to connect seamlessly to internal applications hosted within my private cloud.

2️⃣ Proxmox as the Core of the Private Cloud

The Lenovo ThinkCentre M710q Mini PC serves as my private cloud infrastructure, running Proxmox Virtual Environment (VE) as the hypervisor.
Proxmox manages multiple virtual machines (VMs), each dedicated to different services. Networking between these VMs is handled through a virtual bridge (vmbr0), which allows internal communication while keeping them isolated from the external network.
This approach provides the flexibility to deploy different operating systems and environments while maintaining efficient resource allocation.

3️⃣ Automated VM Provisioning with Terraform & Cloud-Init

Instead of manually creating and configuring VMs, I use Terraform, an Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tool, to automate VM deployment.
Terraform provisions new VMs on Proxmox, defining their configurations such as CPU, memory, disk size, and network settings.
Cloud-Init is then used within each VM to automatically apply post-installation configurations. This includes:
- Setting static IP addresses to ensure predictable networking.
- Pre-configuring SSH access and system users.
- Applying any additional customizations needed for specific workloads.
This automated approach saves time, ensures consistency, and makes scaling effortless.

4️⃣ CI/CD Automation with GitHub Actions

GitHub Actions is used to automate updates and configuration changes.
Whenever I make modifications to the Terraform configuration files, GitHub Actions triggers a CI/CD pipeline that:
- Validates the Terraform configuration.
- Applies changes to the infrastructure on Proxmox.
- Ensures that any modifications to networking, security, or VM settings are instantly reflected.
This keeps my infrastructure version-controlled, allowing me to track changes and quickly rollback if needed.

5️⃣ Cloudflare Tunnels for Secure Connectivity

Instead of exposing services directly to the internet, I use Cloudflare Tunnels to securely route traffic.
Cloudflare’s tunnel service establishes an outbound-only connection from my network to Cloudflare’s edge servers, eliminating the need for port forwarding.
Each application, whether it’s Plex for media streaming, Vaultwarden for password management, Kavita for eBook hosting, or Portainer for Docker container management, is accessible only through Cloudflare-protected URLs.
This ensures that unauthorized external traffic never reaches my home network, adding an extra layer of protection.

This fully automated, self-hosted cloud setup combines Proxmox, Terraform, Cloud-Init, Docker, and Cloudflare to create a secure, scalable, and maintainable environment. By leveraging CI/CD pipelines and Infrastructure as Code (IaC), I can dynamically manage VMs, automate updates, and ensure all services remain protected and accessible from anywhere in the world.

🚀 Why This Setup Is Powerful

✅ Private Cloud – No reliance on external providers.

✅ Fully Automated – Terraform provisions and configures VMs.

✅ Secure – No open ports, all traffic secured via Cloudflare.

✅ Efficient – Docker ensures lightweight, containerized deployments.

✅ CI/CD-Driven – Infrastructure as Code keeps everything repeatable.

This setup allows me to self-host my own cloud-like environment, making it a great showcase of cloud engineering, automation, and security best practices.

💬 What do you think about self-hosting? Have you built something similar? Let’s discuss in the comments! 👇

Automate File Transfers to Azure Storage with Synology Cloud Sync

Tejas Patil — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:23:56 +0000

Managing file transfers efficiently between your local storage and Azure Storage can be a challenge, especially if you're looking for a no-code solution with scheduling and encryption. Instead of writing an API or setting up a cron job to push files, I discovered that Synology Cloud Sync provides a seamless way to sync files automatically to Azure Storage.

Why Synology Cloud Sync?

✅ No custom API required – Simple GUI-based setup.
✅ Automated scheduling – No need for additional cron jobs or scripts.
✅ One-way sync from local to cloud – Files remain on Azure even if deleted locally.
✅ Built-in encryption – Secure your data transfer.
✅ Fast and reliable – Optimized sync speeds.

Let's go through the step-by-step guide to set up Synology Cloud Sync for Azure Storage.

Step 1: Install Cloud Sync on Synology NAS

Open Synology DSM and go to the Package Center.
Search for Cloud Sync and install it.

Step 2: Select Azure Storage as Cloud Provider

Launch Cloud Sync and click on the + (Add) button.
Select Azure Storage from the list of cloud providers.
Click Next.

Step 3: Configure Azure Storage Account

Enter your Azure Storage Account Name.
Copy the Access Key from your Azure portal.
Choose the Blob Container where you want to sync files.
Click Next.

Step 4: Configure Sync Settings

Select your Local Folder on Synology NAS.
Choose the Remote Path (Root Folder of Azure Storage container).
Set the Sync Direction:
- Upload local changes only (Recommended for backups).
- Bidirectional sync (Keeps both local and cloud updated).
Enable Advanced Consistency Check (for better reliability).
Enable Data Encryption if required.
Click Next.

Step 5: Adjust Sync Options

In Task Settings, configure additional options:
- Don't remove files from cloud if deleted locally (prevents accidental loss).
- Enable Advanced Consistency Check for reliability.
Click OK to finalize.

###### Step 6: Monitor and Verify Sync

Go to Cloud Sync Dashboard and check the status.
Verify files in Azure Storage via the Azure portal.
Confirm the correct files have been uploaded.

With this setup, your Synology NAS will automatically sync files to Azure Storage, eliminating the need for manual uploads or custom scripts. Plus, you get scheduling, encryption, and easy UI-based management.