a beginner in search of help reddit / selfhosted ---------------------------------------------------------------------- stevierv1 · 2023-12-04 22:44 Hey guys, just fell into the rabbit hole of selfhosting/homelab. I’m really interested but there is a lot of information available which can be very confusing for a beginner. I know what i want, but i don’t know what os/service would get me there. I got myself a cheap optiplex 5050 micro and i have 2 external drive that i would start with. i’m looking for something like this: -allows me to learn a bit more about linux -something that i could access remotely and that would be secure to do so -semi beginner friendly -allows me for to use app like audiobookshelf, nextcloud, vaultwarden, wireguard, transmission, etc -web ui i played with linux in the past and it was really fun, i just don’t know where to start. I looked at yunohost, sounds interesting but i don’t really get the linux part. I then found Casaos which would be great because it’s a frontend running on ubuntu. But after some reading it seems it’s quite limited and some people raised safety concerns about this software. The last thing would be proxmox, but it looks very intimidating, and i don’t know much about it and if it fits my needs? i don’t know if you have any suggestions that i didn’t think of? Also for a beginner, where would you start learning on the subject? Any wiki, site or youtube channel to recommend? I want learn but i really don’t know where to start. thanks guys! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thekrautboy · 2023-12-04 22:51 /r/CosmosServer ---------------------------------------------------------------------- binaryhellstorm · 2023-12-04 23:09 UNRAID as the OS, install your apps as Docker containers, set up some Linux VMs. Use the VMs to learn Linux and if you outgrow them then you can look into something like ESXI as your next hypervisor. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Jonteponte71 · 2023-12-04 23:29 Agree with this. Use a VM somewhere to play with Linux. In virtualbox for example. And then run your actual services on cosmosserver. When you know more, you can start running the same services in docker under Linux directly. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Jonteponte71 · 2023-12-04 23:32 In the future , you might be able to run Proxmox on the micro and use that as a platform for everything else. This is the stage I am at currently. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- No_Bee_7194 · 2023-12-05 03:22 My suggestion is Ubuntu. You may have heard about Unraid and PVE, but you might not need a RAID. Also, Ubuntu is free and stable, with a beautiful desktop. If you want to try Docker and virtualize, just follow these steps: `yum install -y cockpit cockpit-storaged cockpit-docker cockpit- machines` Then check https://yourIP:9090, and you're all set. The awesone-selfhost would be a treasure hub to explore.😉 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- stevierv1 · 2023-12-05 03:39 thx for the info i’ll look into that! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- stevierv1 · 2023-12-05 03:41 might be a dumb question but, can cosmos run vm? I don’t think so right? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- stevierv1 · 2023-12-05 03:42 thanks i’ll take a look! I’ve seen him here and there but haven’t really looked into it. How beginner friendly is it compared to other options? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- x10000tacosx · 2023-12-05 05:43 Personally I have an old laptop that I installed Ubuntu server on and installed Kasm. Networkchuck has a really good video on how to install and use Kasm. It's super beginner friendly since you can run Kali linux, and Ubuntu VMs super easy. The only downside is once you close the instance it is deleted. Meaning next time you open Kali vm it will be completely stock again. That's good if you accidentally screw something up but if you needed a break from a project and wanted to pick it back up a more traditional VM would be a better option. Also CasaOS is pretty slick but it's really only limited by their "store" you can add on a docker manager and install any docker and access it from Casa super quickly. I'm currently using casa and by no means an expert on self hosting but I am very pleased with it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Jonteponte71 · 2023-12-05 11:51 I don’t think so, but you can easily run that in virtualbox for example. If you just want to play around and learn. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- hiddengiggles · 2023-12-05 16:12 All good comments. I'd suggest starting with Ubuntu. I'd do ubuntu server personally. It'll force you to learn the command line interface which is what people really mean when they say "learn linux" to beginners. Ubuntu is a stable os and has a lot of tutorials online. It's also free so you can nuke your system and restart without worrying about cost while you're learning. Secure access is really done with applications you run, not your OS. To get started I'd suggest easy-wg it's a wireguard version you can install with docker. Makes the wireguard setup super simple and then you can have a secure VPN into wherever your server is. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- stevierv1 · 2023-12-05 17:21 hey thanks a lot that’s super usefull! You know any guide that you would recommend? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- geroulas · 2023-12-05 19:16 I just started this journey as well.. and I had some experience with linux. I would suggest going with Proxmox as OS (its free) and run linux VMs. You could test anything wihtout having to worry about redoing all setup again etc... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- stevierv1 · 2023-12-05 22:03 i thought about that proxmox -> ubuntu server -> cosmos. The thing is, the pc i got only has 8gb of ram and i won’t be able to upgrade until early next year. Do you think that would be enough? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- geroulas · 2023-12-05 23:40 i was running 3 Debian VMs + 1 Home Assistant OS VM on 8GB RAM You will be just fine. Worst thing that could happen is one of your VMs will shutdown if resources are low.. Go for it.. You cant imagine how many times I create a VM just to see if someting is working and then delete this VM and move what I learned to my "main" VMs.. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- hiddengiggles · 2023-12-06 00:30 Not any specifically. These two are what I used when I first started, but I think they are a little like drinking from a fire hose. \- [https://www.smarthomebeginner.com/home- server/](https://www.smarthomebeginner.com/home-server/) \- [https://www.smarthomebeginner.com/docker-media- server-2022/](https://www.smarthomebeginner.com/docker-media- server-2022/) ​ My best recommendation when getting into selfhosting (which I think those guides do poorly) is to try and take it one step at a time. You said you were interested in hosting audiobookshelf so look up a tutorial on how to get audiobookshelf running. You don't need a full infrastructure of VPNs and reverse proxies and SSL when you are first learning how to get an application running in docker or trying to figure out docker compose. Just take it one step at a time. If your question was more about ubuntu I don't have a tutorial I have followed, but the official instructions I have found to be very good. I also tried to find some decent youtube tutorial real quick. \- Ubuntu desktop (similar to windows): [https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/install-ubuntu- desktop#1-overview](https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/install-ubuntu- desktop#1-overview), [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W- RFY4LQ6oE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-RFY4LQ6oE) \- Ubuntu Server (No GUI): [https://ubuntu.com/server/docs/installatio n](https://ubuntu.com/server/docs/installation), [https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=zs2zdVPwZ7E](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs2zdVPwZ7E) ​ I suggested Ubuntu server since you said you have dabbled in Linux a little prior so I assume you know what a command line is and basic navigation commands (cd, ls, cp, etc). If you don't Ubuntu Desktop might be better so it is a little bit of an easier transition. In any case I recommend trying to use the command line as much as possible to learn it well. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- stevierv1 · 2023-12-06 00:38 thanks a lot for the info! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- stevierv1 · 2023-12-06 00:39 a massive thanks for all the info! One last thing, would you recommend to install ubuntu in a proxmox vm or just go straight with ubuntu? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- hiddengiggles · 2023-12-06 12:10 Proxmox is probably a great way to go. It actually makes installing Ubuntu easier especially if you want to create multiple VMs or nuke everything and restart. It's a solid path. If it feels too intimidating go with ubuntu without proxmox. Hypervisor for most things selfhosted when you're first starting is a little overkill. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- stevierv1 · 2023-12-06 14:57 good to know, thanks again! :)