Homelabbing for Continuous Learning With Eric Reichwaldt

Abstract:
Homelabbing is one of the most effective ways for developers to build hands-on experience with networking, security, automation, and infrastructure outside of their day-to-day job. By running small, purpose-driven environments on minimal hardware, developers gain the freedom to experiment, break things safely, and develop intuition that’s difficult to build through tutorials or production systems alone.

This session shows how to use a homelab as a deliberate learning tool rather than a hardware hobby. We’ll cover practical lab patterns that reinforce core skills—networking fundamentals, identity and access management, automation, observability, and system reliability—and discuss how AI-assisted tools can accelerate learning by helping explain configurations, analyze logs, and generate infrastructure templates without bypassing understanding. Attendees will leave with clear starting points and concrete ideas they can apply immediately.

Bio:
Eric Reichwaldt spent over ten years leading diverse teams in the Air Force as an operational weather forecaster before transitioning to tech entrepreneurship. He is a co-founder of Shyft Solutions, a software company specializing in military operations, cloud computing, and atmospheric intelligence. His current work focuses on the practical use of AI in software development, emphasizing context engineering, tooling, and verification to produce reliable outcomes and support continuous learning. Eric is passionate about mentoring and helping individuals grow both technically and professionally.