Best way to host Docker apps with a Mini PC on a local network? reddit / selfhosted ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Wiorekogorek997 · 2023-10-02 10:15 Hello, I am a beginner programmer who creates basic Java/Spring web applications. I want to host and test those apps on a local network on a different machine from the one I code on. I have a spare Mini PC hanging around with a Celeron J1900 processor and 4GB of RAM. I would like to use it as a hosting device for MySQL database instances and Docker apps. I'm a beginner when it comes to Docker as well, today I began to learn how to use it. It seems fairly easy to use on a Windows localhost machine. However, I would like to access the instances of databases and apps from my whole local network. What OS should I consider (preferably Linux)? Please also give me tips on where and how I should begin and what roadmap of learning I should take. Thank you! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Svelte_User · 2023-10-02 10:21 try to use known / stable ones Ubuntu , fedora/alma/rocky linux zre good or for minimalism , you can use alpine but if you want a UI it will be a little bit hard ---------------------------------------------------------------------- stupv · 2023-10-02 10:34 Ubuntu-server or Debian, you probably want the most stable foundation with updated repos ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thekrautboy · 2023-10-02 10:54 Debian Bookworm or Ubuntu LTS, follow the Docker docs to install it from the Docker repo, done. /r/Docker also exists. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- zyberwoof · 2023-10-02 12:06 There are lots of Debian and Ubuntu server (LTS) fans here. I think both are solid choices. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- lesigh · 2023-10-02 13:11 Step 1. Install Ubuntu Linux server Step 2. Lookup guide "install docker on Ubuntu Linux" Step 3. Lookup guide "docker compose file x service" Step 4. Run command to start service "docker-compose up" Profit ---------------------------------------------------------------------- BCIT_Richard · 2023-10-02 15:04 latest Debian or Ubuntu Server install with Docker and Portainer(web ui for docker) should suit you well. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mono_void · 2023-10-02 16:40 Personally I would go with Ubuntu because most of the guides and YouTube video tutorials use that, and my dumbass needs all the help it can get. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sottey · 2023-10-02 19:12 I have used Linux in the past, the long ago Slackware past, and just bought a Beelink SER5. ​ So I was right where you are a month ago. I would highly recommend Ubuntu-server. Download the iso, burn it to a thumb drive using balenaEtcher, connect a keyboard to the minipc, plug in the thumb drive, start it and hit whatever the boot menu key is (F7 on my Beelink). Once the install is done, you will be able to SSH from another machine using the ip address and the user creds you set up when installing Ubuntu. After that, no need to directly access the machine, just use SSH and, optionally, NoMachine or VNC for the Ubuntu desktop. Docker tutorials are all over the place. Basically, all you need to know is: - sudo docker ps (show all the docker containers running) - sudo docker stop \[container id\] (stop a running instance) - sudo docker run (to start a container. Generally, it will download the container and start up. Lots of good examples out there) Hope that helps! sottey ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Wiorekogorek997 · 2023-10-02 19:48 I think I will be fine with terminal access, although u/BCIT_Richard mentioned Portainer, I took a look at this tool and it looks pretty neat. Currently giving Ubuntu Server a try! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Wiorekogorek997 · 2023-10-02 19:53 Thank you very much sottey for your comprehensive reply! My current path will be as below: \- Install Ubuntu server \- Get familiar with SSH and CLI \- Expose the machine to the local network \- Install Docker \- Install Portainer ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sottey · 2023-10-02 22:00 Once comfortable, here are some installs I found helpful: - Portainer ( Docker watcher) - Dashy (Home dashboard for homelabs) - Webmin (System web admin. not docker, sudo apt) - Uptime Kuma (Uptime Monitor with email notifications on down services) - Duplicati (Automated backups... like Time Machine) - Stringer (RSS Feed reader) Enjoy! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Wiorekogorek997 · 2023-10-02 23:42 I just finished setting things up. The OS installation was fairly easy. SSH was working out of the box, so I was able to configure everything from my main desktop right after the start. Docker and network installation made no problems. Using Ubuntu Server with SSH is so much faster and more effective compared to the desktop version which was kinda laggy on this small Celeron machine. My MySQL instance is already up and running. Getting images from hub and making simple configs to the containers with Portainer seems easy, although I will try to use CLI a bit more for educational purposes. Thanks a ton for your advice! Time to deploy my first Spring apps ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Familiar-Newspaper23 · 2023-10-03 00:41 was about to just post the same - portainer is pretty nice to have...i still will use command line to setup a container but then will use portainer for checking on things, restarting or killing containers, etc. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Familiar-Newspaper23 · 2023-10-03 00:42 agreed and i would definitely recommend using Cockpit with it and use 45-Drives cockpit-navigator plugin.....with those two things even someone who is new wil be OK without a GUI on an actual desktop which really frees up some cycles and memory....but in short yea ubuntu server just works well imo ---------------------------------------------------------------------- BCIT_Richard · 2023-10-03 13:43 Yeah, once you add a custom app registry, it almost feels like Unraid in it's simplicity, while being free. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- smbell · 2023-10-03 21:12 One thing I don't see mentioned. You should configure your mini pc to have a static IP. Otherwise it will be constant pain to connect to it as you'll randomly have to reset all you connections to use a new IP as your router assigns it. This is usually very easy to do and should be something in your routers configuration.