Hardware Suggestions For A Beginner?
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Specifically talking about the FireTV, 99% sure the app doesn't have a Killswitch, I've checked. I use it all the time on PC and Mobile though
Setting up the VPN on the router sounds great, but can home routers (I have Cox) flash VPN software on them (thought they couldn't)? Also is it MAC or IP filtering (would I have to set a device to static IP) for deciding which devices use the VPN tunnel? How good is it about switching servers (like if a server I'm connected to is on maintenance or is overloaded)? Not too worried about the web issues, can always hop back on the regular Wi-Fi and use the app.
I think it's MAC based, but I'm not sure
Specifically talking about the FireTV, 99% sure the app doesn't have a Killswitch, I've checked. I use it all the time on PC and Mobile though
Ah! I can't get a fire stick here so no experience with that.
Setting up the VPN on the router sounds great, but can home routers (I have Cox) flash VPN software on them (thought they couldn't)?
The asus router I have has a feature called VPN fusion. I specifically bought a set of routers for my home that are in front of my ISP router because I wanted a single SSID and wanted to set my own DNS servers without having to specify them per device . They (ISP) keep restricting features on their router ( can barely do anything on them nowadays ). Also switching ISPs became easier as any config is done in my devices rather than theirs.
Also is it MAC or IP filtering (would I have to set a device to static IP) for deciding which devices use the VPN tunnel? How good is it about switching servers (like if a server I'm connected to is on maintenance or is overloaded)? Not too worried about the web issues, can always hop back on the regular Wi-Fi and use the app.
I THINK it's Mac based, but I really can't say. I named the devices on my router and they keep reconnecting as the same device. Either that or it uses some combination of info from the device to identify it.
E.g.: my work MacBook should switch MAC addresses every time it connects to a WiFi, but it's consistently identified by my router.
Additionally, they have some routers that are supported by custom firmware ( asuswrt-merlin ). Mine don't support it unfortunately.
https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/ -
Hello, I've been saying it to myself for a year now, but I'm on summer break rn and I really need to do something with my life. Here's some of the software I plan to host. Goal is to not spend more than $150-200, I do have some gift cards though.
Absolutely Will Run:
Nextcloud & Immich - I want to replace Google and OneDrive
Might do in the near future:
Jellyfin - my mom and I usually just bootleg by using Kodi on our FireTV, so not a major need rn, but might be nice for future purposes.
piHole - better overall ad blocking, so I don't have to use nextDNS on all my devices, and maybe help my mom out.
VPN - I currently pay for Proton, and we use it on the FireTV, the TV app sucks cause it doesn't have killswitch (PC and mobile have Killswitch). I have several devices and profiles that I use, so I was thinking maybe just an overall VPN might be nice
Seeding - I think it would be nice to give back to the community, since I torrent every now and then.
OS Plan:
I plan to use Proxmox as I have a little bit of experience using it, and others seem to like it a lot for managing multiple software.I know I don't need to go full power mode rn, so I wanna stick with something low end that I could maybe upgrade in the future. Should I just buy a used laptop/PC, or get like an Optiplex or ThinkServer? I don't wanna rack up my parent's electric bill. I already got some hard drives a year ago, so but is using an external drive bad?
I know to use the Ethernet ports so my signal isn't shit, but I gotta work out the best spot I can put my server. I do know an okay amount of networking knowledge, and I'm a cyber student anyway so this is like a fun yet educational personal project for me.
When it comes to external access and security of these services, should I stick with Tailscale? Some people have concerns over the proprietary bits and are using headscale instead I guess.
Any guidance is much appreciated!
I would suggest a used laptop with a gtx10xx GPU and min 16gb RAM. 1 to 2 TB SSD and if there is still room And budget still 4tb HDD for jellyfin Content.
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Hello, I've been saying it to myself for a year now, but I'm on summer break rn and I really need to do something with my life. Here's some of the software I plan to host. Goal is to not spend more than $150-200, I do have some gift cards though.
Absolutely Will Run:
Nextcloud & Immich - I want to replace Google and OneDrive
Might do in the near future:
Jellyfin - my mom and I usually just bootleg by using Kodi on our FireTV, so not a major need rn, but might be nice for future purposes.
piHole - better overall ad blocking, so I don't have to use nextDNS on all my devices, and maybe help my mom out.
VPN - I currently pay for Proton, and we use it on the FireTV, the TV app sucks cause it doesn't have killswitch (PC and mobile have Killswitch). I have several devices and profiles that I use, so I was thinking maybe just an overall VPN might be nice
Seeding - I think it would be nice to give back to the community, since I torrent every now and then.
OS Plan:
I plan to use Proxmox as I have a little bit of experience using it, and others seem to like it a lot for managing multiple software.I know I don't need to go full power mode rn, so I wanna stick with something low end that I could maybe upgrade in the future. Should I just buy a used laptop/PC, or get like an Optiplex or ThinkServer? I don't wanna rack up my parent's electric bill. I already got some hard drives a year ago, so but is using an external drive bad?
I know to use the Ethernet ports so my signal isn't shit, but I gotta work out the best spot I can put my server. I do know an okay amount of networking knowledge, and I'm a cyber student anyway so this is like a fun yet educational personal project for me.
When it comes to external access and security of these services, should I stick with Tailscale? Some people have concerns over the proprietary bits and are using headscale instead I guess.
Any guidance is much appreciated!
First question: what will you do about data backup? Nextcloud and Immich both imply important data that you don't want to lose. You say you have some harddrives, so look for some computer that can take more than one harddrive and then setup RAID with snapshots. I'd go for a RAID setup such that you need two drives to fail before you lose data, but there are plenty of debate. We often say RAID is not a backup - you should start thinking about the next step in your backup setup soon.
Used vs new is always the question. In general the newer the system the less power it will use to do the same work. However ARM will almost always use less power than x86 even if the x86 is much newer. I specified work here, your computer will nothing most of the time so idle power matters too.
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First question: what will you do about data backup? Nextcloud and Immich both imply important data that you don't want to lose. You say you have some harddrives, so look for some computer that can take more than one harddrive and then setup RAID with snapshots. I'd go for a RAID setup such that you need two drives to fail before you lose data, but there are plenty of debate. We often say RAID is not a backup - you should start thinking about the next step in your backup setup soon.
Used vs new is always the question. In general the newer the system the less power it will use to do the same work. However ARM will almost always use less power than x86 even if the x86 is much newer. I specified work here, your computer will nothing most of the time so idle power matters too.
I definitely plan to used RAID for my drives.
To follow 3-2-1, have the working copy, a copy on a SD, and a copy on cloud (encrypted of course). Depending on the size of the snapshot it will go to Proton or Google Drive (Sticking to Google is silly, I know, but I don't have a second location to have secure my data lol). 2 is met by having it on SD and Cloud. 1 is met by saving encrypted snapshot on cloud.
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I think we've got an old MacBook with a broken screen, and a Windows laptop that slowed down because got a virus on it. Didn't think I could use something with a broken screen, but I'll try it maybe.
Edit: Not sure if I have their chargers though...
wrote last edited by [email protected]Either or both will likely work just fine depending on how broken the screen is. The virusy windows would be easiest (sometimes macbooks are harder to get everything working due to drivers, windows ones typically just work). But the virus will be removed when you install proxmox. I currently have 3 laptops in various degrees of old and broken being used as a proxmox cluster.
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Hello, I've been saying it to myself for a year now, but I'm on summer break rn and I really need to do something with my life. Here's some of the software I plan to host. Goal is to not spend more than $150-200, I do have some gift cards though.
Absolutely Will Run:
Nextcloud & Immich - I want to replace Google and OneDrive
Might do in the near future:
Jellyfin - my mom and I usually just bootleg by using Kodi on our FireTV, so not a major need rn, but might be nice for future purposes.
piHole - better overall ad blocking, so I don't have to use nextDNS on all my devices, and maybe help my mom out.
VPN - I currently pay for Proton, and we use it on the FireTV, the TV app sucks cause it doesn't have killswitch (PC and mobile have Killswitch). I have several devices and profiles that I use, so I was thinking maybe just an overall VPN might be nice
Seeding - I think it would be nice to give back to the community, since I torrent every now and then.
OS Plan:
I plan to use Proxmox as I have a little bit of experience using it, and others seem to like it a lot for managing multiple software.I know I don't need to go full power mode rn, so I wanna stick with something low end that I could maybe upgrade in the future. Should I just buy a used laptop/PC, or get like an Optiplex or ThinkServer? I don't wanna rack up my parent's electric bill. I already got some hard drives a year ago, so but is using an external drive bad?
I know to use the Ethernet ports so my signal isn't shit, but I gotta work out the best spot I can put my server. I do know an okay amount of networking knowledge, and I'm a cyber student anyway so this is like a fun yet educational personal project for me.
When it comes to external access and security of these services, should I stick with Tailscale? Some people have concerns over the proprietary bits and are using headscale instead I guess.
Any guidance is much appreciated!
get a cheap N100 box. do not overspend.
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Hello, I've been saying it to myself for a year now, but I'm on summer break rn and I really need to do something with my life. Here's some of the software I plan to host. Goal is to not spend more than $150-200, I do have some gift cards though.
Absolutely Will Run:
Nextcloud & Immich - I want to replace Google and OneDrive
Might do in the near future:
Jellyfin - my mom and I usually just bootleg by using Kodi on our FireTV, so not a major need rn, but might be nice for future purposes.
piHole - better overall ad blocking, so I don't have to use nextDNS on all my devices, and maybe help my mom out.
VPN - I currently pay for Proton, and we use it on the FireTV, the TV app sucks cause it doesn't have killswitch (PC and mobile have Killswitch). I have several devices and profiles that I use, so I was thinking maybe just an overall VPN might be nice
Seeding - I think it would be nice to give back to the community, since I torrent every now and then.
OS Plan:
I plan to use Proxmox as I have a little bit of experience using it, and others seem to like it a lot for managing multiple software.I know I don't need to go full power mode rn, so I wanna stick with something low end that I could maybe upgrade in the future. Should I just buy a used laptop/PC, or get like an Optiplex or ThinkServer? I don't wanna rack up my parent's electric bill. I already got some hard drives a year ago, so but is using an external drive bad?
I know to use the Ethernet ports so my signal isn't shit, but I gotta work out the best spot I can put my server. I do know an okay amount of networking knowledge, and I'm a cyber student anyway so this is like a fun yet educational personal project for me.
When it comes to external access and security of these services, should I stick with Tailscale? Some people have concerns over the proprietary bits and are using headscale instead I guess.
Any guidance is much appreciated!
How much is a kWh in your parts? Noise, ambient temperature? You can buy very decent refurbished Lenovo tiny PCs with some 16 GB RAM and 6 cores and half a TB SSD which will run Proxmox and are low power and noise. You can go multi-node Proxmox later if you want to expand. k8s and related are also an option.
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Either or both will likely work just fine depending on how broken the screen is. The virusy windows would be easiest (sometimes macbooks are harder to get everything working due to drivers, windows ones typically just work). But the virus will be removed when you install proxmox. I currently have 3 laptops in various degrees of old and broken being used as a proxmox cluster.
wrote last edited by [email protected]But the virus will be removed when you install proxmox
Oh yeah, if I do use it I was gonna fully wipe windows into oblivion
I currently have 3 laptops in various degrees of old and broken being used as a proxmox cluster.
Oh so you can cluster multiple devices? I'll have to check that out.
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Hello, I've been saying it to myself for a year now, but I'm on summer break rn and I really need to do something with my life. Here's some of the software I plan to host. Goal is to not spend more than $150-200, I do have some gift cards though.
Absolutely Will Run:
Nextcloud & Immich - I want to replace Google and OneDrive
Might do in the near future:
Jellyfin - my mom and I usually just bootleg by using Kodi on our FireTV, so not a major need rn, but might be nice for future purposes.
piHole - better overall ad blocking, so I don't have to use nextDNS on all my devices, and maybe help my mom out.
VPN - I currently pay for Proton, and we use it on the FireTV, the TV app sucks cause it doesn't have killswitch (PC and mobile have Killswitch). I have several devices and profiles that I use, so I was thinking maybe just an overall VPN might be nice
Seeding - I think it would be nice to give back to the community, since I torrent every now and then.
OS Plan:
I plan to use Proxmox as I have a little bit of experience using it, and others seem to like it a lot for managing multiple software.I know I don't need to go full power mode rn, so I wanna stick with something low end that I could maybe upgrade in the future. Should I just buy a used laptop/PC, or get like an Optiplex or ThinkServer? I don't wanna rack up my parent's electric bill. I already got some hard drives a year ago, so but is using an external drive bad?
I know to use the Ethernet ports so my signal isn't shit, but I gotta work out the best spot I can put my server. I do know an okay amount of networking knowledge, and I'm a cyber student anyway so this is like a fun yet educational personal project for me.
When it comes to external access and security of these services, should I stick with Tailscale? Some people have concerns over the proprietary bits and are using headscale instead I guess.
Any guidance is much appreciated!
wrote last edited by [email protected]VPN - I currently pay for Proton, and we use it on the FireTV, but it sucks cause it doesn’t have killswitch.
I have been using Private Internet Access so long I can't remember when I first started but it's been years. I've had great success with PIA and I never fire up a device locally without it. It does have a killswitch, advanced killswitch, split tunnel, multi-hop with shadowsocks or socks5 proxy, openVPN or Wireguard configurations, and a dedicated IP option.
I've tried other top name VPNs, but imho, none come up to what PIA does.
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VPN - I currently pay for Proton, and we use it on the FireTV, but it sucks cause it doesn’t have killswitch.
I have been using Private Internet Access so long I can't remember when I first started but it's been years. I've had great success with PIA and I never fire up a device locally without it. It does have a killswitch, advanced killswitch, split tunnel, multi-hop with shadowsocks or socks5 proxy, openVPN or Wireguard configurations, and a dedicated IP option.
I've tried other top name VPNs, but imho, none come up to what PIA does.
Sorry, corrected my post as I have confused several people lol. Proton has killswitch on mobile and PC, just not Fire TVs.
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Sorry, corrected my post as I have confused several people lol. Proton has killswitch on mobile and PC, just not Fire TVs.
Ahh...gotcha.
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But the virus will be removed when you install proxmox
Oh yeah, if I do use it I was gonna fully wipe windows into oblivion
I currently have 3 laptops in various degrees of old and broken being used as a proxmox cluster.
Oh so you can cluster multiple devices? I'll have to check that out.
Yes you can cluster devices. I have a NAS in addition to the my laptop proxmox cluster. It lets me use the NAS as storage, so the VMs/lxc's virtual disks are actually on the NAS. This allows me to make the VM/LXCs Highly Available. So if one laptop crashes it'll automatically spin up the things running on that laptop on a different one. This can also be done with ceph, but I already had the NAS, so ceph seemed redundant.
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Hello, I've been saying it to myself for a year now, but I'm on summer break rn and I really need to do something with my life. Here's some of the software I plan to host. Goal is to not spend more than $150-200, I do have some gift cards though.
Absolutely Will Run:
Nextcloud & Immich - I want to replace Google and OneDrive
Might do in the near future:
Jellyfin - my mom and I usually just bootleg by using Kodi on our FireTV, so not a major need rn, but might be nice for future purposes.
piHole - better overall ad blocking, so I don't have to use nextDNS on all my devices, and maybe help my mom out.
VPN - I currently pay for Proton, and we use it on the FireTV, the TV app sucks cause it doesn't have killswitch (PC and mobile have Killswitch). I have several devices and profiles that I use, so I was thinking maybe just an overall VPN might be nice
Seeding - I think it would be nice to give back to the community, since I torrent every now and then.
OS Plan:
I plan to use Proxmox as I have a little bit of experience using it, and others seem to like it a lot for managing multiple software.I know I don't need to go full power mode rn, so I wanna stick with something low end that I could maybe upgrade in the future. Should I just buy a used laptop/PC, or get like an Optiplex or ThinkServer? I don't wanna rack up my parent's electric bill. I already got some hard drives a year ago, so but is using an external drive bad?
I know to use the Ethernet ports so my signal isn't shit, but I gotta work out the best spot I can put my server. I do know an okay amount of networking knowledge, and I'm a cyber student anyway so this is like a fun yet educational personal project for me.
When it comes to external access and security of these services, should I stick with Tailscale? Some people have concerns over the proprietary bits and are using headscale instead I guess.
Any guidance is much appreciated!
You can buy a used office computer from businesses that are upgrading (downgrading) to win11 for less than 50 bucks. They tend to be relatively low power, relatively quiet, lots of PCI slots and USB ports so there are many upgrade options, yet low entry price for a decent computer. If you plan on using as a jellyfin server: either mind the chip now for transcoding capabilities (there's lists out there) or know that if you want that, you'll have to put in a GPU at some point if the onboard can't transcode well.
I have a mix of external and internal SSD's. Some are running way not as fast as they theoretically could, but it all works well enough for me. You can start with what you have, storage is still expensive.
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Hello, I've been saying it to myself for a year now, but I'm on summer break rn and I really need to do something with my life. Here's some of the software I plan to host. Goal is to not spend more than $150-200, I do have some gift cards though.
Absolutely Will Run:
Nextcloud & Immich - I want to replace Google and OneDrive
Might do in the near future:
Jellyfin - my mom and I usually just bootleg by using Kodi on our FireTV, so not a major need rn, but might be nice for future purposes.
piHole - better overall ad blocking, so I don't have to use nextDNS on all my devices, and maybe help my mom out.
VPN - I currently pay for Proton, and we use it on the FireTV, the TV app sucks cause it doesn't have killswitch (PC and mobile have Killswitch). I have several devices and profiles that I use, so I was thinking maybe just an overall VPN might be nice
Seeding - I think it would be nice to give back to the community, since I torrent every now and then.
OS Plan:
I plan to use Proxmox as I have a little bit of experience using it, and others seem to like it a lot for managing multiple software.I know I don't need to go full power mode rn, so I wanna stick with something low end that I could maybe upgrade in the future. Should I just buy a used laptop/PC, or get like an Optiplex or ThinkServer? I don't wanna rack up my parent's electric bill. I already got some hard drives a year ago, so but is using an external drive bad?
I know to use the Ethernet ports so my signal isn't shit, but I gotta work out the best spot I can put my server. I do know an okay amount of networking knowledge, and I'm a cyber student anyway so this is like a fun yet educational personal project for me.
When it comes to external access and security of these services, should I stick with Tailscale? Some people have concerns over the proprietary bits and are using headscale instead I guess.
Any guidance is much appreciated!
Here's what I did:
I bought a $50 Dell Optiplex desktop with a 4th generation Intel CPU on ebay. I stuffed in 3 HDDs from ServerPartDeals and a boot SSD I had laying around. This machine draws 50 to 60 watts continuously.I got caddies for the HDDs from my local used computer parts store. I got 5.25 in to 3.5 in adapters from Amazon.
I added a 10 gig SFP+ card (which isn't fully utilized since my network is mostly 2.5 Gig). Realistically, the onboard gigabit port is adequate.
I got a SATA PCIe card so I can add a 4th drive if needed.
I also bought a Nvidia Quadro P400 graphics card (similar to a GTX 1050, but half the price) for $30 on eBay for Jellyfin transcoding. I couldn't get the onboard Intel GPU to play nice with Jellyfin.
Excluding the cost of the drives, this setup cost me about $130.
Tailscale works pretty well, but I usually use Wireguard to connect to my router remotely. I've had issues getting Tailscale to work well with my reverse proxy, but I suspect that's a me problem rather than a Tailscale problem. I have OPNsense and Adguard running on an ancient Mac Mini that serves as my router. (If you follow this route, make sure you get a Thunderbolt Ethernet adapter, not a USB one.)
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Hello, I've been saying it to myself for a year now, but I'm on summer break rn and I really need to do something with my life. Here's some of the software I plan to host. Goal is to not spend more than $150-200, I do have some gift cards though.
Absolutely Will Run:
Nextcloud & Immich - I want to replace Google and OneDrive
Might do in the near future:
Jellyfin - my mom and I usually just bootleg by using Kodi on our FireTV, so not a major need rn, but might be nice for future purposes.
piHole - better overall ad blocking, so I don't have to use nextDNS on all my devices, and maybe help my mom out.
VPN - I currently pay for Proton, and we use it on the FireTV, the TV app sucks cause it doesn't have killswitch (PC and mobile have Killswitch). I have several devices and profiles that I use, so I was thinking maybe just an overall VPN might be nice
Seeding - I think it would be nice to give back to the community, since I torrent every now and then.
OS Plan:
I plan to use Proxmox as I have a little bit of experience using it, and others seem to like it a lot for managing multiple software.I know I don't need to go full power mode rn, so I wanna stick with something low end that I could maybe upgrade in the future. Should I just buy a used laptop/PC, or get like an Optiplex or ThinkServer? I don't wanna rack up my parent's electric bill. I already got some hard drives a year ago, so but is using an external drive bad?
I know to use the Ethernet ports so my signal isn't shit, but I gotta work out the best spot I can put my server. I do know an okay amount of networking knowledge, and I'm a cyber student anyway so this is like a fun yet educational personal project for me.
When it comes to external access and security of these services, should I stick with Tailscale? Some people have concerns over the proprietary bits and are using headscale instead I guess.
Any guidance is much appreciated!
I'm still a beginner myself, but from my experience I'd say skip Nextcloud at least to start with. I found even the AIO version confusing to set up. Hell, I still do. I have the NextcloudPi image running on a Pi4 but am actively looking for a replacement because it runs like crap on that hardware and I don't need all of the features it offers/tries to cram into one service.
I'm leaning towards FileRun. Yeah, you have to pay for it once. But so far it seems to be the best alternative that doesn't try to do too much. And yes, I tried Owncloud Infinite Scale, before everyone jumps on me
