How low maintenance can a small home setup be? reddit / selfhosted ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CantaloupeForty · 2023-10-18 00:28 I have my own home-server and it's not really a problem maintaining it as I've been through a steep learning curve. Now I have a friend who has an ancient Synology and it is always causing terrible problems for him. If I were to set up a little server for him with docker services running things like immich and syncthing etc, would this be set and forget enough to not cause problems for him? Ideally he wants his own cloud so relatives can store and share files, photos, and possibly movies too. He isn't the most tech savvy, but he knows his way around Windows and PC's generally. He doesn't live that close so I can't be at his if anything went a little pear-shaped. I could however ssh into it at least. Is this feasible or practicable? Or would he have to learn Linux and Docker et al.? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thekrautboy · 2023-10-18 00:48 > would this be set and forget enough to not cause problems for him? Let me check my crystal ball... hmm yes, maybe. Maybe you should consider putting a simple to use "OS" like /r/CosmosServer or CasaOS on that little server, so even he could do basic things with it like update a container. But also make sure you have a reliable remote option over SSH for example. Nothing is 100% foolproof. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CantaloupeForty · 2023-10-18 00:54 Yes, I have no doubt it could be tricky, maybe not even possible at all. However it could maybe be doable with the correct setup. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thekrautboy · 2023-10-18 00:58 Yes, as i just recommended. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CantaloupeForty · 2023-10-18 01:23 They both look like excellent options, thank you. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Foreman_ · 2023-10-18 04:39 I used to solely rely on a 4gb rpi4, running dietpi (debian-based) and several docker services. This was back in the good old days when they were actually available and correctly priced. Once I figured everything out it was very easy to set and forget, with the occasional update here and there and very few breakages (because there's very few things to break). I would do a couple minutes of maintenance 2-3x a month, usually consisting of running dietpi OS updates, updating docker images, and occasionally rebooting the server. With unattended-upgrades and solid security setup prior to bringing stuff live, it was fairly hands off. The fact is there is no such thing as a TRUE set and forget server, as in "Well, I've set up your server, I'll check in with you in a year or two." Usually there's something that needs to be touched on a regular basis, but if you set it up well enough the hands-on time should be minimal. Maybe if he trusts you enough to set everything up he can give you remote access via VPN and SSH so you can do a bit of support here and there. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- brando56894 · 2023-10-18 05:31 I've been doing this for so long on my own that I always forget that all these awesome things exist. Thanks. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Vurmmyr · 2023-10-18 07:38 What kind of problems is the Synology creating? Just curious because those are supposed to be pretty friendly ---------------------------------------------------------------------- j0hnp0s · 2023-10-18 10:30 >If I were to set up a little server for him with docker services running things like immich and syncthing etc, would this be set and forget enough to not cause problems for him? Ideally he wants his own cloud so relatives can store and share files, photos, and possibly movies too. He isn't the most tech savvy, but he knows his way around Windows and PC's generally Maintain his own cloud without effort or knowledge? And provide it as a service to his relatives? Over the Internet I suppose? That sounds like a recipe for disaster. In so many levels... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- KyroPaul · 2023-10-18 10:48 Yup not going to end well. Best case you'll learn in a year that it broke after a couple months. Almost better to charge them for some of your internet and host yourself. My current ISP modem has 2 eth lines with independent IP something like that would allow you to have a completely segregated network with different external IP. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- bufandatl · 2023-10-18 11:16 Magic 8 ball said „ask again later“ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- chin_waghing · 2023-10-18 15:29 My view is skewed as I run k8's at work, but I have a single node k3s cluster and have all my things on there, and honestly I forgot about it until now ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CantaloupeForty · 2023-10-18 15:56 That's an idea, I could perhaps host it myself, I do have a good ISP package. I'm unsure if he'd want to be dependant on my hosting though, worth exploring, thanks. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CantaloupeForty · 2023-10-18 15:58 In combination with the afore-mentioned casaos this might work. Thank you. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CantaloupeForty · 2023-10-18 16:00 He set it up ages ago then left it before going back to it. By that time he'd forgotten the configuration and setup details. Plus the software doesn't want to co-operate. I think it needs an OS reinstall, but frankly he's pretty fed up of it already. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CantaloupeForty · 2023-10-18 16:03 Is that because of the quality of the setup or you have a bad memory? /jk Good to know setups can be hands-off to a degree. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- tamdelay · 2023-10-18 16:23 The general is the dumber it is the less likely it is to break. Keep it simple and just what he needs and it could be fine for very long stretches of time. Synology is nice but because it’s all managed for you and non-standard (I know it’s Linux but it’s all their own packages usually) if it breaks there isn’t much you can always do. I’ve had trouble with their file syncing apps before and your just stuck. So it could be simpler to do some very simple basic docker packages. Simplest thing he could run is a SFTP server and just have everyone upload with CyberDuck/FileZilla and use Infuse etc to play media. That could run for years and years without needing much maintaining at all if setup right. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Royal_Olive9948 · 2023-10-18 16:45 I was going to ask the same thing. I have had a Synology NAS running for the last 9 years without a hitch. Their apps are decent and DSM is solid. I was going to suggest a new synology for someone with less experience and less desire to tinker. Gets OP off of potential constant tech support. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- jared252016 · 2023-10-18 16:46 I would do the ethical thing and explain the privacy implications of you hosting it but him hosting it too. Honestly I'd turn on end to end encryption. You having their data and him having his family's data is a big responsibility. You need adequate security both online and physically. There's also the fact that he has access to it if he's an admin. Not everyone can handle that responsibility. As to your original question, Nextcloud breaks often, relative to how often the server will have problems. You'd def need SSH access. It would probably be better for you to get an ASUSTOR NAS in terms of hardware. It Supports apps and Nextcloud is one of them. It also has support other than you, which depending on a few factors (magic 8 ball), might be more time consuming than you'd think. They may not want to deal with hardware either if something did occur. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Threezeley · 2023-10-18 18:07 He should get a new Synology imo ---------------------------------------------------------------------- noxiouskarn · 2023-10-18 18:32 This I'm literally running a single hard drive of just servable data like movies and game saves pictures music nothing mission critical and it was super easy to set up on a SBC. That said setting up raid or using superior hardware should not be an issue I highly recommend op get a Zima blade with NAS kit. Best option out there. Or the new Zima cube ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TheCaptain53 · 2023-10-18 19:17 I guess part of it depends on how you're trying to maintain it. My setup is a but fiddly because I'm running SnapRAID and MergerFS. If ZFS expansion was in the main codebase, I would move to that in a heartbeat. But until then, this will do. But for me, the main things I'm maintaining are the updates for the OS (Ubuntu 22.04) and the various Docker containers. OS is as easy as apt update and apt upgrade, containers is even easier, I run a single command of docker compose pull && docker compose up -d && docker image prune -f. Occasional restart is required after a kernel update, but the containers come straight back up. If I really wanted to, I could automate the above with some cron jobs, I just haven't gotten around to doing it yet. The next part is how the storage is managed and applications are used. My setup is pretty seamless most of the time, but sometimes I'll pull a dodgy file that needs deleting (e.g. foreign video with no subs). How maintenance free the system is will ultimately depend on what your friend is using it for. If it's just for storage, then in theory, it's as easy as adding storage, running a cloud software like NextCloud (preferably in Docker), with the occasional cron job to update the system, containers, and give it a reboot once a week or fortnight. The more systems, the more likely something is to go wrong, hence requiring manual intervention. As for remote access, do yourself a favour and install Tailscale. I've used it a fair bit and it is so easy. It's free for less than 100 devices, so very accessible. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- chin_waghing · 2023-10-19 12:11 Am I allowed to answer both? A simple docker-compose stack would probably do everything you need ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CantaloupeForty · 2023-10-19 16:25 Cron jobs is an excellent idea, that would help. I've not used Tailscale before as I've not needed it, but I'm researching it at the moment. It looks like a nice tool. Thanks.