I have a Pixel 8… a PC with Linux Mint. How do I learn to “self host”. Mainly for photo storage backup. Where do I start? I know nothing, absolutely nothing
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Documentation, take notes on what you setup, ports opened, accounts created. This will be very valuable when you envitally get services setup and forget about them.
Documentation, take notes on what you setup, ports opened, accounts created. This will be very valuable when you envitally get services setup and forget about them.
@Toasted_Breakfast@lemmy.today OP this is advice you can take and apply throughout your selfhosting journey. This advice is worth it’s weight in gold right here. I lean heavily on my notes and they are prolific. My memory is shit for a lot of reasons including medical, and my notes have saved my ass many times.
Awesome advice!
Judging from your comments, you seem to be lacking some basic knowledge and skills to get started.
None of the comments here are useful without getting those up to speed.
You definitely might want to start of looking into networking: how do computers connect to each other and the internet.
Since you’re using Linux Mint, I do assume you have some basic knowledge of using the terminal and basic commands.
Next you might want to learn Docker, which is useful when learning self-hosting, as most solutions will have an option to use that.
@Hawk @Toasted_Breakfast I get where the thought is coming from - Playing around with a cheap #OpenWRT router can be a way of getting an idea of routing and networking. - They have a gui and config files you can edit directly. You can figure out things like a #firewall #portforwarding - That kind of thing.
Do you have any favorite starting points for Docker? I’m still learning myself.
Edit: Looks like Docker’s website has some pretty easy-to-follow tutorials.
@Toasted_Breakfast How aboit starting with something like #yunohost
+1 for Yunohost. Easy to deploy, and their app catalog is substantial.
Another +1 for YUNOhost. I went from zero experience self-hosting to having my own email, fediverse instance, file server and several websites on a VPS. I would never have had the patience to figure this out without it.
So, for all you ^5’ing Yunohost, I have a question that’s bothered me for years. Like I said, their app catalog beats anything else in it’s category, but they also list apps that don’t work…separately of course and labeled as such. I’ve always wondered why. Is it in hopes that someone will fix them? …or what?
This is kind of an info dump and I havent fully gone through to verify everything but this is a guide from a trusted ytber explaining step by step how he setup and managed his self hosting environment.
For a more bite sized entry into self hosting just join the community (like you are now) and learn about the different services people are hosting and when one sounds good then look into how to set it up and ask questions along the way.
@Fizz @Toasted_Breakfast I had a look at a few guides. They all come with a few assumptions and get into details but I was thinking that any guide needs to cover:
options:
Infrastructure - e.g. VPS/bare metal at home ,
Applications - nextcloud, media server, home automation etc.
Middleware - identity/authentication/ reverse proxy, backup, email, Patching/updates , xdav and other support tools for mobile,
Networking - home network, subnets, vpn/tailscale, firewall, port forwarding, static ips., ipv6
Buy used enterprise hardware for cheap, install Unraid, dip your toes in… Then if you enjoy tinkering, evolve from there.
Unraid does everything I want so I’ve kinda plateaued for the moment.
One option you could explore since you didn’t list any other equipment, is a cheap VPS. You can pick one up at LowEndBox for cheap. I have a couple VPS test servers that run about $25 a year. That would help you get your feet wet a bit. You could learn how to deploy Linux server along with the standard defense systems in place like Fail2Ban, UFW, etc.
Or even a small NUC or RPi.
Agreed. For actual backup, I’d put it in the cloud.
Really, I’d run immich locally, and then back that up to the cloud, but that depends on how valuable the data really is to you.
Really, I’d run immich locally,
There ya go. Encrypted of course. That way OP can still learn to stand up a proper server and defenses before it almost instantaneously attracts the attention of literally any or all of the 1.5 billion known, active, automated bot accounts at this moment +/- show up at your port 22 doorstep and helping themselves to your resources.
The very first linux server I stood up on a vps, was taken over quite quickly. So, that spurred me on to read tutorials, scour chans and forums, just looking for guidance and knowledge. Now, I understand a lot more that I did way back when so it’s gotten easier. Not that I house a vast trove of wisdom or knowledge…pffffttt…that does not exist. I learn something new all the time. That’s one of the aspects I really love about self hosting.
Of course. Personally I wouldn’t expose anything to the Internet but a VPN service.
for “photo storage backup”, you can simply use syncthing.
unless you want to really learn to “self host”
apart from syncthing not being a backup solution, the question revolves around seldhosting im general, not purely on photo backup.
apart from syncthing not being a backup solution, the question revolves around seldhosting im general, not purely on photo backup.
☞ “Mainly for photo storage backup.”
also, this is from syncthing-fork tips
you pointing out “mainly” just shifts his question to the next time he decides to host a service, which is what i meant to point out.
they might state that, but upstream syncthing says that the feature is intentionally hidden in the advanced settings and they plan to deprecate it.
☞ “unless you want to really learn to “self host”.”
Well for starters if you want something more out-of-the box, just buy a NAS. But what woult be better is to buy a Raspberry Pi 5 and add a micro sd with good amount of storage or maybe some additional external storage and install CasaOS(this is basically a easy UI that allows you to self-host mostly without commands) and install Immich within its App Store, and link it up with your phone(on the Immich app).(If you need any more help DM)
@SharkStudios @Toasted_Breakfast If you are going RaspberryPI - Isn’t an SSD a better starting point for storage? - But the best is to work with what you have - the PC
CasaOS
I tried CasaOS. Pretty slick piece of software.
Immich is a fantastic photo backup service that is a replacement for Google Photos both in form and function.
There’s a demo at demo.immich.app to see what it looks like and what you can do with it. As far as self hosting stuff goes it’s relatively easy to setup. Work through the setup guide and see if you can understand that to get it running.
What it will do is make it available on any devices on your local (WiFi or wired) network. You will need to open a port on the Linux box’s firewall, but that step is easy and I can show you how to do that on Mint. Then you’ll be able to connect to it from your phone or any other devices (or right from a browser right on the server).
If you have any questions feel free to ask. I have a few things running on a Mint server I have.
Going by your comments, I think you need to know a few basics before you get into people’s suggestions for actual services. Start with this: more or less, “the cloud” is just someone else’s computer. It’s bigger, the connection is faster, etc., but the services you use most likely run on a Linux computer much like the one you already have.
For experimenting with the topic, it would be good to have another computer that you can mess around with and not worry about having a usable machine. If you can cobble together a desktop from old parts it will be enough to start the learning process.
Buy a PC, install debian, install tailscale, install immich. Done.
If you are interested in the photo storage then start… With the storage.
So pick up a nas or something similar, pay a bit more for the super intuitive fancy gui product and the start from there.
Learn what is nas and how to connect to a pc Thne learn how to do the same with your smartphone Then learn a bit about networking Then… Continuous for the hardest itch and try to Scratch it
And if you need support, come back here, check videos and web pages or even chatgpt, for the basic stuff is quite acceptable
i started in january of this year because i upgraded my wife’s computer. that gave me an old computer to tinker with.
i recommend getting an old computer, installing an OS (look up thinks like truenas, proxmox, unraid… there are more and they are different; try them all out if you want to see what you like)
then go onto youtube and search for things like “<OS> beginner” and you will get a bunch of tips/tricks/tutorials/etc. for starting out with your favorite.
I would buy a Nas with raid and keep a copy both on your PC and on the NAS
Take this anyway you want but one good thing about ai is they’ve hoovered up all the guides, instruction manuals, and troubleshooting forums. They can give you advice, help you install, and troubleshoot when it breaks.
@Toasted_Breakfast @Faltsm Garbage in . Garbage out. If the content is focused in applications AI will just relfect that. Its not a thinking function.
And even if its only trained with the best content you still need to know the questions to ask.
