Docker or proxmox reddit / selfhosted ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mjrival · 2023-12-10 20:32 Hello, I have been using home assistant, nginx proxy manager, adguard, vaultwarden, zigbee2mqtt, mosquito for some time, all of them on a machine that I do not know the motherboard or the processor, since it does not have a brand xD, it has 4gb of RAM and an SSD , it has been working great for me until now, since some device I have connected that home assistant has crashed. Now I have gotten a 10-year-old i5 and 16GB of RAM, I have a couple of used 1TB drives, and 2 240GB SSDs. I want to use this computer as a server, but I don't know whether to opt for proxmox and make separate mvs or continue using docker, I also want to set up a NAS, basically to stop paying Google but have my home photos and videos safe. Can someone help me? advise? Thank you ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thekrautboy · 2023-12-10 20:39 Why would you run seperate VMs for these services? You could run Proxmox and for example a single big VM with Docker inside and plenty of small services. Then add some lightweight LXCs next to it for things you cant or dont want to run with Docker. And you can run a LXC with filesharing too. No need for a NAS and with 16GB of RAM its would be very tight to also run TrueNAS etc in a VM. If you are certain that all you want to run is Docker containers then sure, just run plain Debian or Ubuntu and install Docker, done. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- davidnburgess34 · 2023-12-10 20:41 This is basically what I do. VMs for things that require more processing power. LXCs for services that don't require much. And I use Docker on all of them. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- nik_h_75 · 2023-12-10 20:52 You don't need proxmox (maybe shouldn't with 16 GB ram). You can get a rock solid system going with Linux + NAS + docker. Personally I ran Debian+OMV+docker on a 2013 macbook pro (16gb ram + 512gb ssd + external USB drives) for years. This allowed me full NAS functionality via OMV and 25+ services via docker. The only time (bursts) this setup was stressed was indexing images (photoprism/immich). I have moved/upgraded to proxmox lately - but mostly because I got a new setup with 6 core/12 thread and 64gb ram - and wanted to learn something new. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thekrautboy · 2023-12-10 20:57 > proxmox (maybe shouldn't with 16 GB ram). Proxmox works fine with that amount. It doesnt add a lot of overhead compared to just Debian. The overhead is caused mostly by running multiple VMs. Thats the limiting factor then. If OP only runs one or two plus some LXCs that can work perfectly well. I am currently running one node with Proxmox and just 8GB of RAM. It just depends what you actually run on it, Proxmox itself doesnt make much difference. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Impressive-Cap1140 · 2023-12-10 21:16 How is Debian on the old Mac? I have a 2017 MBP laying around but only has 8gb of ram. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FunctionTypical9452 · 2023-12-10 22:10 You should use VMs and Docker in Proxmox where they make sense. You can run related Docker services in a single LXC. That is what I do. I run Home Assistant in a VM using the image that HA provides and passthrough the USB for my Zigbee dongle. It works great. I highly recommend this over using Docker for Home Assistant specifically (and anything that requires passing through physical resources). > since some device I have connected that home assistant has crashed Backing up Home Assistant using Proxmox is seamless. I don't trust their backup system and my install has broken several times (even yesterday, from HA v12 release) and when it does I just go to Proxmox and click restore backup and it's back online. > I also want to set up as NAS NAS stuff is a little more tricky in Proxmox. There is enough written about it on this sub for you to search through. Personally, I use Filerun (v7.4, the free version) in Docker because Owncloud and Nextcloud are genuinely, seriously, unusable due to their stability in my experience. YMMV. I don't use TrueNAS or anything because I want Proxmox to have direct access to everything. > I also want to set up as NAS, basically to stop paying Google but have my home photos and videos safe I doubt you will save money hosting your own files in most cases. If that is your goal, stop now. You still need to pay for offsite backups. They can be cheap, but it is a lot of time and effort to set them up (but fun!). If you do use Proxmox, setup Proxmox Backup Server on another device (preferably offsite, maybe in the cloud) and backup your VMs/LXC with that. It uses incremental backups and is seamless. If you go down this route and need help, send me a message. I have a very similar stack to what you are describing. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Xenkath · 2023-12-10 22:28 Where LXCs really shine is sharing a single GPU. It takes some manual configuration but works like a charm after that. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mshorey81 · 2023-12-10 23:35 Yes. Lol. I run Proxmox for various VMs and CTs but I have one beefy VM that acts as my docker host. For things I want to keep isolated completely to itself without a bunch of extra configuration, I make a VM or CT. Otherwise I spin up a container on my docker host VM. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- AdmiralPoopyDiaper · 2023-12-11 04:46 [Some modest fraction of] 16GB RAM for a couple TB of disk without dedupe? 100% viable. This “you need insane amounts of RAM for ZFS” and the accompanying “it has to be ecc” misunderstanding can’t die fast enough. Agree with the rest of your comment though - upvoted. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- nik_h_75 · 2023-12-11 10:48 Really good. Debian 11 (and 12) run fine on 2gb ram - leaving a lot for docker containers. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ithakaa · 2023-12-11 12:08 Proxmax and LXC's ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mjrival · 2023-12-15 07:37 You convinced me, I was reluctant to use Hassos, I don't know why, I liked to have things more under control but, this is wonderful. now I have a VM with hassos and another with docker. Thank you all so much for your answers