About ReadTheManual
For the builders. The breakers. The late-night tinkerers.
ReadTheManual bridges two worlds that most people think are separate: enterprise infrastructure and the homelab. The same skills that secure a 500-seat corporate network are the ones you learn at 2am debugging Docker containers on a Raspberry Pi.
We teach both – because they are not mutually exclusive.
About Eric
I’m Eric Lonsdale – an infrastructure architect with 18+ years in enterprise IT. I’ve designed and secured cloud platforms for businesses across the UK, led Azure migrations, built monitoring stacks, hardened production environments, and written more Ansible playbooks than I can count.
By night, I run a homelab that most small businesses would envy: 13 servers, 30+ self-hosted services, a full SIEM (Wazuh with 16 agents), fleet monitoring in Grafana, automated deployments, and a private AI stack that never phones home.
I started ReadTheManual after a single LinkedIn post about self-hosting hit 97,000 impressions. The message was clear: people want practical, experience-based content from someone who actually runs this stuff – not recycled vendor documentation.
What I bring to the table
- 18+ years in enterprise IT – from helpdesk to infrastructure architect, across public sector, MSPs, and consultancy
- Azure and cloud architecture – designing, migrating, and managing cloud platforms for UK businesses
- Cybersecurity consulting – securing environments from SMBs to enterprise, including Wazuh SIEM, CrowdSec, zero trust, and compliance frameworks
- Self-hosting practitioner – running 30+ services on my own infrastructure (Proxmox, Docker, Kubernetes, Nginx, WireGuard, Nextcloud, Jellyfin, and more)
- Linux and open source – daily driver for servers, automation, and development
- Content that works – 160,000+ LinkedIn impressions across 5 posts, because practitioners recognise practitioners
My infrastructure (yes, I actually run all of this)
| Category | What I run |
|---|---|
| Virtualisation | Proxmox VE cluster (13 hosts) |
| Monitoring | Grafana, Prometheus, Uptime Kuma |
| Security | Wazuh SIEM (16 agents), CrowdSec, Trivy, DefectDojo |
| Automation | n8n, Ansible, custom MCP servers |
| Containers | Docker across 5 hosts, K3s cluster on Raspberry Pis |
| AI (self-hosted) | Ollama, Open WebUI, Perplexica, ComfyUI |
| Data sovereignty | Nextcloud, FreshRSS, ArchiveBox, SearXNG, Vaultwarden |
| Networking | WireGuard mesh, Nginx reverse proxy, Twingate ZTNA |
Every tutorial, guide, and opinion on this site comes from running these services in production – not from reading someone else’s blog post about them.
What you’ll find here
- Homelab builds – from a $30 Raspberry Pi to a full rack, step by step
- Self-hosting guides – replace cloud services with infrastructure you own
- Linux fundamentals – the 12-part series that takes you from basics to job-ready
- Cloud and DevOps skills – Azure, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, Ansible
- Security – practical hardening, monitoring, and zero trust for homelabs and businesses
- Career guidance – for career changers, early-career techs, and anyone building skills outside the traditional path
Why “ReadTheManual”?
Because it’s what we all used to get told – often sarcastically.
But here? It’s a badge of honour. If you’re the kind of person who figures it out yourself, builds your own tools, and learns by doing – this is your space.
Connect
- LinkedIn: Eric Lonsdale
- Email: eric [at] readthemanual.tech
Your lab. Your rules.