Waveshare HomeRack 8U Review – Premium 10-Inch Mini Server Rack for a Home Lab

Waveshare sent me its HomeRack 8U, a compact 10-inch server rack made from aluminum alloy.

What makes this rack interesting is its premium design and the ability to mount not only networking equipment, but also Raspberry Pis, single-board computers, storage, and even a touchscreen display.

For my setup, I turned it into a compact home lab with a Home Assistant monitoring dashboard.

Premium Aluminum Design

The HomeRack arrives completely disassembled, with all the major parts required to build the rack.

Inside the package you get:

• Aluminum side panels

• Top and bottom plates

• Handles and feet

• 10-inch rack shelf

• SBC mounting shelf

• Blank rack plates

• Raspberry Pi adapter boards

• Screws, spacers, and assembly tools

The aluminum parts are precisely cut and fit together nicely, giving the finished rack a premium metal appearance.

Mounting Raspberry Pi and SBCs

The included SBC shelf supports several popular development boards.

It can be used with boards such as:

• Raspberry Pi

• Radxa Rock 5B

• Jetson Orin

• Other compatible SBCs

There are also mounting points for SSDs and hard drives.

For my rack, I installed a Raspberry Pi using the supplied adapter board and spacers.

I also mounted my Radxa Dragon Q8B alongside it.

This keeps both boards neatly organized instead of leaving them loose on a desk.

Adding a 7-Inch Touchscreen

One of my favorite additions is the optional 7-inch capacitive touchscreen.

The display mounts directly onto the front of the rack, while a Raspberry Pi sits neatly behind it.

The Raspberry Pi powers and controls the screen, so I only need a power connection going to the Pi.

For my setup, the screen displays a Home Assistant dashboard showing performance information from the devices running inside my rack and around my home.

Price and Final Thoughts

The main downside is the price.

I found the rack costing roughly $129 on Wavesahre, around €190 on AliExpress including shipping, depending on the seller and €230 on Amazon.

There are definitely cheaper DIY options, But with the HomeRack, you are paying for:

• Premium aluminum construction

• Clean 10-inch rack design

• SBC mounting support

• Expandability

• Optional touchscreen integration

• A much cleaner overall home lab setup

If your priority is building the cheapest possible home lab, there are better alternatives.

But if you want a premium-looking 10-inch server rack for Raspberry Pis, networking equipment, Home Assistant, and other home lab hardware, the Waveshare HomeRack 8U is an interesting option.