How/what to start self-hosting? (lemmy.world)

submitted 3 months ago by TotallyWorthLife@lemmy.world to c/selfhosted@lemmy.world

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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...)

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[-] n8vos@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago

Most of my hardware I picked up at the local school board surplus. Also don't ever throw anything out. Old desktops or laptops, you can put Linux on anything. Eventually I bought a 2 bay NAS on sale. Started with surplus server spinning rust drives, then upgraded to shuckable WD drives on a Black Friday. It takes a while but eventually your network becomes a server farm. Patience is the best way to build it. Other resources are office surplus on eBay too. Have fun, try different distros. Check out different flavors of Ubuntu, Mint, Debian and even Nix. everything you do is building your skills. Do you know a neighbor getting rid of an old Mac? Try it all out!

this post was submitted on 14 May 2026

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