Core Lab Q1 Update: Homelab SIEM, CG-NAT Bypassing & Modernization!

Core Lab Q1 update: new homelab SIEM stack, CG-NAT Plex bypass, networking guide overhaul, hardware updates, and upcoming firewall & NAS build guides.

Cyberpunk-inspired homelab server with an exposed side panel and glowing quantum CPU core displaying “Updates Applied,” symbolizing Core Lab’s Q1 homelab upgrades and modernization.

It has been an incredibly busy stretch here at Core Lab since our last major check-in midway through January. Behind the scenes, the lab's infrastructure has seen a massive overhaul. Some invisible (SEO & blog architecture tweaks) and some visible. My publishing pace always fluctuates but I try to get at least 1 post a week out, however there's still a lot of backend optimization of the site, so that may bite into my publishing time frames a bit...

Several core guides also received major upgrades, including the Best Homelab Hardware Guide (2026) with refreshed Intel and AMD builds.

In the meantime, the publication schedule has been packed. If you've missed any of the drops over the last several weeks, here is the complete roundup of everything new on the site, broken down by category so you can get right to the good stuff.

📊 Homelab Security & Monitoring

Building a Homelab Mini-SIEM with Grafana, Loki, and Promtail

(March 3): Turn siloed OPNsense and NGINX logs into a real-time global threat map. This guide covers deploying the lightweight GLP stack to visualize attacks, complete with GeoIP tracking and Discord alerts!

🍿 Media Server Networking & Management

Running Plex/Jellyfin Behind CG-NAT: Secure VPS Relay

(Feb 26): Stop suffering through Plex Relay throttling. This guide walks through bypassing ISP CG-NAT using a secure cloud VPS relay with WireGuard or Headscale for full-bitrate remote access.

JellyWatch Review: The Ultimate Jellyfin Admin Dashboard for Android

(Feb 20): A deep dive into JellyWatch, a mobile-native admin app featuring "Arr" integration, real-time analytics, and a fantastic "Watch Pass" feature.

Hello Seerr: A Guide to Migrating from Overseerr & Jellyseerr

(Feb 16): A quick and painless migration walk-through for those looking to unify their media request tracking under the new Seerr fork.

🐧Overhauls & Updates on Existing Content

The entire Homelab Networking series was given a really thorough overhaul

Numerous other guides received combing overs and updates, I should have kept better track but everything from Stremio, Real-Debrid and Plex/Jellyfin received massive overhauls.
As mentioned, my Best Homelab Hardware guide received some March 2026 love, with updated Intel and AMD builds, new and (very IMO) improved tables for the different tiers as well.

You can also read my last update "meta-post", Updates from Core Lab!, published on Feb 12th for a brief snapshot of the site's ongoing trajectory.

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What are you building this week? Drop a comment or hit me up in the community.

🗺️Coming Next/Soon-ish (In no particular order)

Day 2 OPNsense / firewall ops: Useful firewall rules for homelabs
Setting up IDS/IPS for your network (Suricata)
Expanded build guides focusing on specific types of builds such as:
- Low powered builds (Electricity isn't getting cheaper, anywhere...)
- Best Hardware for Plex / Media Servers
- Specific NAS builds (Small, medium & large)
Design Blueprint for Homelabs (First one, or migrating from one NAS to others)
Optimizing some Aarrs (Sonarr, Radarr etc)
- LOTS of guides out there on how to set them up for basic functionality, not many delving into their inner workings and having them automate curation of your media
+ Pleeennnttyyy more where that comes from, all in good time!

Forge on!

Joe, Core Lab