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(What Can I do With a Home Server?)
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Welcome to /g/'s comprehensive guide on home servers! This guide is designed to assist you in setting up and managing your own home server, effortlessly navigating through the complexities that come with running servers in your personal spaces such as your basement or closet.
 
Welcome to /g/'s comprehensive guide on home servers! This guide is designed to assist you in setting up and managing your own home server, effortlessly navigating through the complexities that come with running servers in your personal spaces such as your basement or closet.
  
'''"Homelab"''' is a term you may have encountered, but what does it signify? Essentially, it refers to a personal datacenter located within your own home. It serves as a platform for acquiring new skills and solving technical problems in your own life. Many are drawn to this hobby by the promises of freedom from the winds of the larger internet. Within this homelab are your ''home servers''. There can be as many, or as few, as you want.
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'''"Homelab"''' is a term you may have encountered, but what does it signify? Essentially, it refers to a personal data center located within your own home. It serves as a platform for acquiring new skills and solving technical problems in your own life. Many are drawn to this hobby by the promises of freedom from the winds of the larger internet. Within this homelab are your ''home servers''. There can be as many, or as few, as you want.
  
 
Contrary to what some may suggest, there are no hard and fast rules in this hobby. However, there are certainly less effective ways of doing things. This guide aims to help you steer clear of common pitfalls that beginners often encounter.
 
Contrary to what some may suggest, there are no hard and fast rules in this hobby. However, there are certainly less effective ways of doing things. This guide aims to help you steer clear of common pitfalls that beginners often encounter.
 
  
  
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There are two reasons a man will run a home server:
 
There are two reasons a man will run a home server:
  
1. Solve a problem. Maybe he was fed up with cloud storage or maybe he was tired of the constant service outages? Or maybe the solution to his problem doesn't exist yet? Either way, he knows he can do it better himself.
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# Solve a problem. Maybe he was fed up with cloud storage or maybe he was tired of the constant service outages? Or maybe the solution to his problem doesn't exist yet? Either way, he knows he can do it better himself.
2. Learn a new skill and get a new hobby. Home servers and homelabs can scale infinitly. There is always room to learn something new or do things slightly different.
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# Learn a new skill and get a new hobby. Home servers and homelabs can scale infinity. There is always room to learn something new or do things slightly different.
  
If you're here and considering building a lab, you probably already have a purpose in mind. If not, check out [https://github.com/awesome-selfhosted/awesome-selfhosted awesome-selfhosted] for a gigantic list of applications you can host yourself.
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<br>
  
Some applications popular with /hsg/ anons include:
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If you're here and considering building a lab, you probably already have a purpose in mind. If not, check out [https://github.com/awesome-selfhosted/awesome-selfhosted awesome-selfhosted] for a gigantic list of applications you can host yourself. Some applications popular with /hsg/ anons include:
 
* Media streaming
 
* Media streaming
 
** [https://jellyfin.org/ Jellyfin]
 
** [https://jellyfin.org/ Jellyfin]
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** [https://www.truenas.com/ TrueNAS]
 
** [https://www.truenas.com/ TrueNAS]
 
* Game servers
 
* Game servers
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* Personal websites
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__TOC__
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<br>
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==Your First Server ==
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The first step to setting up your homelab is to aquire your first server. You have a few options to choose from:
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* [[Home_Server/Single_Board_Computers|Single board computers]] like the Raspberry Pi, Intel NUCs, or thin clients.
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* [[Home_Server/Old_Desktop_Machines|Old desktop machines]].
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* [[Home_Server/Build_Your_Own|Build your own]].
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* [[Home_Server/Used_Servers|Used Servers]].
  
==Getting Started==
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Your old gaming PC, workstation, or laptop is a great option for a home server (provided they are not too old). Performance and capability will vary wildly from machine to machine. When in doubt, post specs in /hsg/ and ask. Laptops are not really designed for 24/7 use but their battery does act as a built in UPS.
It's best to have a plan before you jump in!
 
  
'''What are your goals?''' Are you hosting for yourself or your friends and family? Is this just for fun or is it to solve a problem you're facing?
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Hardware you already own is free, which is very appealing and a great way to get started. Keep in mind that older hardware can be less energy efficient and if power usage is a concern you may want to purchase newer hardware.

Revision as of 03:43, 19 February 2024

What a homelab inevitably devolves into...
Home servers are about learning and expanding your horizons. De-botnet your life. Learn something new. Serving applications to yourself, your family, and your frens feels good. Put your /g/ skills to good use for yourself and those close to you. Store their data with proper availability redundancy and backups and serve it back to them with a /comfy/ easy to use interface.

Most people get started with NAS. It’s nice to have a /comfy/ home for all your data. Streaming your movies/shows around the house and to friends. Know all about NAS? Learn virtualization. Spin up some VMs. Learn networking by setting up a pfSense box and configuring some VLANs. There's always more to learn and chances to grow. Think you’re god tier already? Setup openstack and report back to /hsg/.

Things that are online today might not be online forever. It's good to have a copy of something because you never know when it might get taken down due to copyright strikes.
—Anon, Standard /hsg/ OP


Welcome to /g/'s comprehensive guide on home servers! This guide is designed to assist you in setting up and managing your own home server, effortlessly navigating through the complexities that come with running servers in your personal spaces such as your basement or closet.

"Homelab" is a term you may have encountered, but what does it signify? Essentially, it refers to a personal data center located within your own home. It serves as a platform for acquiring new skills and solving technical problems in your own life. Many are drawn to this hobby by the promises of freedom from the winds of the larger internet. Within this homelab are your home servers. There can be as many, or as few, as you want.

Contrary to what some may suggest, there are no hard and fast rules in this hobby. However, there are certainly less effective ways of doing things. This guide aims to help you steer clear of common pitfalls that beginners often encounter.


What Can I do With a Home Server?

There are two reasons a man will run a home server:

  1. Solve a problem. Maybe he was fed up with cloud storage or maybe he was tired of the constant service outages? Or maybe the solution to his problem doesn't exist yet? Either way, he knows he can do it better himself.
  2. Learn a new skill and get a new hobby. Home servers and homelabs can scale infinity. There is always room to learn something new or do things slightly different.


If you're here and considering building a lab, you probably already have a purpose in mind. If not, check out awesome-selfhosted for a gigantic list of applications you can host yourself. Some applications popular with /hsg/ anons include:





Your First Server

The first step to setting up your homelab is to aquire your first server. You have a few options to choose from:

Your old gaming PC, workstation, or laptop is a great option for a home server (provided they are not too old). Performance and capability will vary wildly from machine to machine. When in doubt, post specs in /hsg/ and ask. Laptops are not really designed for 24/7 use but their battery does act as a built in UPS.

Hardware you already own is free, which is very appealing and a great way to get started. Keep in mind that older hardware can be less energy efficient and if power usage is a concern you may want to purchase newer hardware.