From 620462f24faf54c18a50f1ae0aea835e717e1fe2 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Tyler Perkins Date: Mon, 26 Dec 2022 18:48:32 -0500 Subject: [PATCH] Add self hosting --- Self hosting.html | 114 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 114 insertions(+) create mode 100644 Self hosting.html diff --git a/Self hosting.html b/Self hosting.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b290a16 --- /dev/null +++ b/Self hosting.html @@ -0,0 +1,114 @@ +
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It is honestly insane the age we live in. I grew up with this stuff, but +looking at history we are in a sci-fi era. Instanteaous, light speed +communication as a price the modern consumer can afford, tiny network endpoints +to all of human knoweldge in our pockets at a very affordable price, with more +computing power than what was available for 99% of human history, autonomous +programs that can do everything from monitor crops and oil rigs, all the way to + +autonomous ship ports moving millions of dollars of goods. We are in the +future, and we just take it for granted.

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With that said, alot of services and goods that used to be physical are now +completely online. Very few people own paper maps, own CD's of their music, buy +copies of their movies, or keep physical filing cabinets of documents. Now +everything is streamed or cloud hosted. And this is wonderful for convience +sake. Now your tiny computer in your pocket that was once only your +communication machine is now your communication, entertainment, business, +and navigation.

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Now centeralization isn't always a bad thing. A centeralized point of +control for a small group is good, it allows ease of communication and +orgainization, by having only one point to go through. That strength is also +centeralization's weakness, it has one point of failure. If google maps goes +down for a week starting tommorow, alot of people, escpecailly the younger +ones, would probably be unable, or at least not very confident, in their +ability to navigate. Now of course people would be able to navigate still, and +plenty of people 25 and younger will be able to figure out how to get around, +be it google map alternatives, paper maps, dedicated gps, or map quest. +However, think how much easier it would be if even the few of us that are +technically inclined, hosted our own maps. You could update the maps when you +wanted to. You could download only sections of maps that you would use. You +could modify and update the maps as you see fit. They could be as accurate or +inaccurate as you wish, depending on the area they are for. The freedoms +afforded to the user is endless.

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I can see some would say "Well maps stay pretty consistent, why would I need +my own? I just need to get from point A to point B, why would I care? And I can +agree, hosting your own maps is quite a niche thing to do, possibly only for +the ultra paranoid (not as paranoid as +seting up your own NTP server :)). +Therefore, I would like to offer up a more relatable +alternative. Hosting media such as movies, TV shows, Music, and even home +photos and and videos. Take something like plex, its easy to setup on spare +hardware, supported on just about every platform you can dream of, easy to +scale with new drives, supports about every OS and file format available, and +easy to manage users. If you host your own movies (that you legally or not so +legally obtain), you never have to worry about netfilx removing your favorite +series, or the general whims of huge corporations and their disputes. Same goes +for music, music can be removed from tidal or spotify at a moments notice, due +to the relationships of large record label companies and spotify.

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Well, if we can afford ourselves more freedom and control over our own +content, what else can be self hosted? +Alot! +Thats kinda the point of this site! I self host my own git server, so that +github (and microsoft) can't remove my work if they feel like it, so that I can +host my own code. I host my own matrix server, so that my own communications +aren't at the whims of discord. Self hosting is so rewarding and freeing, if +you're the technical one of your friends or family, you may as well.

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The flashy $80 piece of hardware running most of my self + hosted services
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How to get started

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Getting hardware
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This is kindof optional, depending on what you plan on hosting. I recomend +getting a cheap used machine off of ebay. You can find some cheap 19" server +machines on there, however I went with a simple tower that would be easy to +throw in my room. The big advantage of a large machine is the ability to use +lots of full size 3.5" hard drives. I recomend this for those wanting to host +media.

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For those wanting to host smaller things, such as git servers, matrix, or +smart home tools, a raspberry pi with a 64 or 128 Gb SD card is usually more +than enough to get everything you need done.

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For those that need something more reliable then residential internet to +host their services, renting a VPS is also an option, however you give up alot +of flexibility when you are not using your own physical hardware, such as +encryption. This option, however, will be generally cheaper for those not +needing huge amounts of disk space.

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Getting an OS
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For those using a raspberry pi, you're best off using raspian. For those on +their own hardware/VPS hardware, Ubuntu Server is a pretty good option. Its +very stable and comes with repositiories for all of the most common software +you'll use. For those who are willing to put in more work, a gentoo server can +be very stable and offer performance boosts to those on limited hardware.

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Getting services
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Start installing services you may need! Be sure to be familiar with the +terminal/SSH, and run the server headless. You may need to port forward for +certain services, however be sure to keep that to a minimum. Your best bet is +that anything that doesn't need to be accessable by the entire world, put +behind your firewall and setup a VPN into your home network. This will make it +so you only have to expose one port, and assures that youre only exposing the +hardened services of OpenVPN and other such pieces of software.

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Thats about all have to say on it! I hope you enojyed and I've convinced you +to start self hosting for you and your family!

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