In order to provide upkeep of my skill set, I saw the purpose of creating a homelab where I can practice of what I read from eBooks, Online Training & CBT's, White Papers & Technical Presentations. As I worked for many VAR's I found it hard to use a shared labs; if you shared the same space with other Virtual Engineers & Architects, everybody had there on idea of what a lab should be and with multiple configurations occurring daily the lab environment change. The key was to ensure we ALL had the basic concepts of Design, Installation, Configuration and Troubleshooting Methods End to End. This helps me develop strong MS Visio Diagrams (Digital Whiteboards) for the Customers I service.
HP: http://www.gregelectronics.com/