Do you have any advice or suggestions about it?

  • Hardware (what should be enough for a local PC, or VPS…)
  • Software (OS [Debian, Yunohost, other…], “containerization” (Docker, virtual machines?), dashboard, management, backups, VPN tunneling…)
  • “Utilities” to host (Lemmy, Peertube, Matrix, Mastodon, Actual Budget, Jellyfin, Forgejo, Invidious/Piped, local Pi-Hole, email, dedicated videogame servers like for Minecraft, SearXNG, personal file storage like Drive, AI [in the future, when I can afford a rig that can run a local model decently]…)

I’m aware it’s a lot of stuff to take on, so, do you have any advice on where to start? (how to find a cheap PC to experiment with, if not get a VPS, what to test on it, what “utilities” to try self-hosting first…)

  • MuttMutt@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    3 hours ago

    I have one question. Are you using an of the shelf router or something like OpnSense?

    If the answer is no then you have found a good place to get started. As you begin to self host you will need to look at securing your new toys.

    You will gain a ton over a consumer router. They are often just powerful enough to get the job done today. They rarely get updated and if the product is end of life you can only hope a project has picked it up or replace it with similar risks. Building your own you can shoot the specs to a point where you have room to run other features and last a long time. You can run something like CrowdSec, multiple vLan’s, time server, DNS servers with multiple upstream servers and ad blocking similar to piHole, Caddy, ACME client, captive portal for guest networks, Intrusion Detection, and a lot more.

    Then you will not only have some understanding of the function and use while you expand your self hosting journey to all those fun services you will also have the flexibility to secure your network when you begin to integrate those things into your home and life.

    I’m running my own router using OpnSense, server running TrueNAS, smart home with HomeAssistant and fairly complex network of devices. I have a 10Gbps fiber backbone and a 48 port switch for my 1Gbps ethernet. It can be addictive especially when you are rebuilding a house.

    After that figure out what you need, want, and desire. But keep your router as a separate device from everything else. And remember that what you think you need will only work for today, software is only going to get more complex and need more horsepower to keep it going.

    For hardware there are two schools of thought, newer lower power devices and older stuff. The choice is spend now or over time. My used X10SLL-F with a xeon E3-1226 v3 router, my X10DRH-C with a pair of E5-2683 v3’s and my desktop Ryzen 5800X which is currently also my Frigate NVR host along with other miscellaneous hardware draws along with the other devices in the house (fridge, deep freezer, smarthome stuff, and the like) draw about 1100 watts. So my baseload is about the same as any other us household.