Setting Up a Mini Rack: Essential Software Configurations for Your Homelab

I use a Raspberry Pi 4B in a compact rack to run local file services. This guide walks through the software setup I use for SyncThing and vsFTP. It gives commands, config snippets and testing steps so you can copy and adapt the setup for a LAN-only mini rack.

Getting Started with Your Raspberry Pi 4B

Selecting the Right Raspberry Pi Model

I recommend a Raspberry Pi 4B with 4 GB or 8 GB RAM for smoother behaviour when running SyncThing and vsFTP alongside occasional other services. Choose the 4B for its USB 3 ports and gigabit Ethernet; both matter when you attach an external SSD and need reliable LAN throughput. If you plan heavy sync jobs, pick 8 GB.

Preparing Your Raspberry Pi for Setup

Flash Raspberry Pi OS Lite (64-bit preferred) to an SD card. Boot the Pi and complete the initial setup.

Essential commands I run first:

• Update packages and reboot if kernels change:

  sudo apt update
  sudo apt full-upgrade -y
  sudo reboot

• Create a mount point for the external SSD and get its UUID:

  sudo blkid
  sudo mkdir -p /mnt/storage

• Add an /etc/fstab entry by UUID so the drive mounts on boot. Example fstab line:

  UUID=xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx /mnt/storage ext4 defaults,noatime 0 2

Replace the UUID with the one you saw from blkid. I format the SSD as ext4 unless you need NTFS for cross-platform compatibility.

Make sure SSH is enabled if you prefer headless work:

sudo systemctl enable ssh
sudo systemctl start ssh

Installing the Required Software

I install syncthing and vsftpd from Debian/Ubuntu repos for simplicity. On Raspberry Pi OS the commands are:

sudo apt install -y syncthing vsftpd

When the package installs, syncthing provides a systemd user unit. Do not run syncthing as root. Use the pi user or a dedicated user. For FTP, vsftpd will run as a system service.

If you want newer syncthing builds, follow Syncthing’s APT repo instructions. I stick to the repo version unless a feature in a newer release is required.

Setting Up SyncThing and vsFTP

Configuring SyncThing for File Synchronisation

Start syncthing under your regular user:

systemctl –user enable syncthing
systemctl –user start syncthing

Open the web GUI from a browser on the LAN at http://<pi-ip>:8384. Default device ID is shown there.

Practical settings I use:

• Set a root folder on the mounted SSD, for example /mnt/storage/sync.
• Configure folder type as simple sync and set appropriate ignore patterns (e.g. *.tmp).
• Enable GUI authentication: Settings → GUI → Use HTTPS and set a username and password. Generate or paste a self-signed cert if you prefer.
• Limit listening addresses to the LAN interface if you want LAN-only: Settings → GUI → GUI Listen Addresses, use http://192.168.1.10:8384 replacing with Pi’s LAN IP.

Share the folder with other devices by adding their device ID. SyncThing handles versioning and conflict files; pick a versioning strategy that matches how often you modify files. I use simple file versioning with a small number of versions to limit disk use.

Setting Up vsFTP for File Transfers

Edit /etc/vsftpd.conf to make vsftpd LAN-only and reasonably locked down. Key options I set:

listen=YES
listenaddress=192.168.1.10
anonymousenable=NO
localenable=YES
writeenable=YES
chrootlocaluser=YES
pasvminport=40000
pasvmaxport=40100

Bind to the Pi’s LAN IP with listen_address so vsftpd does not accept connections from other interfaces. Create a dedicated local user for FTP access and set its home to the shared path:

sudo adduser ftpshare –home /mnt/storage/ftp –shell /usr/sbin/nologin
sudo passwd -l ftpshare # lock shell login, keep FTP account active

If FTP clients require write access, set ownership and permissions carefully on /mnt/storage/ftp.

Restart the service:

sudo systemctl restart vsftpd

Testing Your Network Configuration

Check services and ports:

ss -tuln | grep -E “8384|21|40000”

Test SyncThing GUI from a laptop on the LAN by visiting http://<pi-ip>:8384. For FTP, test with a client pointing to the Pi’s LAN IP and passive ports you set. Use curl to check HTTP endpoints:

curl -I http://:8384

If passive FTP fails, confirm the passive port range is allowed through the Pi’s firewall (UFW or iptables). Example UFW rules:

sudo ufw allow from 192.168.1.0/24 to any port 21
sudo ufw allow from 192.168.1.0/24 to any port 40000:40100 proto tcp

Run a sync job and check transfer speeds to confirm USB 3 and gigabit Ethernet are giving expected throughput.

Securing Your Setup for Local Access

Locking services to LAN is the main security move for a mini rack facing only a home network. Extra steps I follow:

• Bind SyncThing and vsftpd to the Pi’s LAN IP.

• Require GUI authentication and HTTPS for SyncThing.

• Use a dedicated, chrooted FTP user with a non-login shell.

• Apply UFW rules that only allow the home subnet to access ports 21, 8384 and the passive range.

• Keep OS and packages updated. Schedule a weekly check:

  sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Backups matter. Run a weekly sync snapshot to a second drive or off-site mirror if the data is important. Keep logs modest and rotate them so the SSD does not fill.

Concrete outcome: a Raspberry Pi 4B in a mini rack, serving fast local sync via SyncThing and LAN-only FTP via vsftpd, with the SSD mounted reliably and firewall rules that minimise exposure. Test after each change, record IPs, ports and users, and keep the Pi updated.