Software recommendations for my first home media server: reddit / selfhosted ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thatguy1429 · 2023-12-26 16:30 I have some old PC parts (i7, 32GB ram, 400w PSU) that I'm going to turn into my first ever home media server. Here's my plan...let me know if I'm missing anything: - **OS - Ubuntu Server** - Wanted to run a lightweight OS that I could SSH into. - **Network drives - [Samba](https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/install-and- configure-samba#1-overview)** - Was planning on mounting the drives as network drives on my local network so I could add files from my Windows machine file explorer if needed. - **Docker - [Dockge](https://github.com/louislam/dockge)** - clean GUI to manage all my containers - **Server Dashboard - [Homarr](https://github.com/ajnart/homarr)** - was also considering casaOS but I think I prefer the flexibility of homarr - **Media Server - [Jellyfin](https://github.com/jellyfin/jellyfin)** - I like that it's FOSS - **Jellyfin audio iOS client - [Finamp](https://github.com/jmshrv/finamp)** - **Jellyfin audio Windows client - [Feishin](https://github.com/jeffvli/feishin)** - **Jellyfin video iOS client - [Jellyfin Mobile iOS](https://github.com/jellyfin/jellyfin-expo)** - **Jellyfin video Windows client - [Jellyfin Media Player](https://github.com/jellyfin/jellyfin-media-player)** - **VPN - [Tailscale](https://github.com/tailscale/tailscale)** - This is what I'm the most torn on. I want to be able to stream media on the road. I also want to provide friends/family with credentials so they could easily access media on the server. I wanted to go the VPN route because I didn't want to expose the server publicly. I want a VPN that is easy setup, free, good performance and secure. I was also considering [wg-easy](https://github.com/wg-easy/wg-easy) as a self hosted option but I think this requires you to open a port on your router right? Or I'd have to host the container in the cloud on a VPS which I don't really want to pay the monthly server cost for - **VPN for downloading torrents on server - NordVPN** - I wanted to be on a VPN to be secure for downloading torrents so figured Nord would be good, any other suggestions? - **Arr stack for torrents** - prowlarr, sonarr, radarr, lidarr, and qBittorrent - **Route arr through VPN - [Gluetun](https://github.com/qdm12/gluetun)** - Was going to run this container with Nord credentials and then route all of the torrent traffic through it. Anything I missed? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- art_of_snark · 2023-12-26 16:46 You seem to be missing disks. What kind of transcoding capabilities does the GPU have? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- EndlessHiway · 2023-12-26 16:49 Porn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Agile_Ad_2073 · 2023-12-26 17:07 check Perfectmediaserver ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thatguy1429 · 2023-12-26 17:10 thanks for the rec I'll check it out ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thatguy1429 · 2023-12-26 17:11 I have an old 980TI but wasn't sure if I was going to need it with the i7 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CactusBoyScout · 2023-12-26 17:12 Why dockge over Portainer? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- tsapi · 2023-12-26 17:15 1. I d prefer wireguard. It's the golden standard for linux servers - simply state of the art. Modern,lightweight, actively developed and monitored. The setup isn't that difficult - but I don't know if you can do the "I also want to provide friends/family with credentials so they could easily access media on the server" part with wireguard. Exposing a port towards internet for wireguard is not a problem really - you can use a "custom" high port and you are absolutely safe. But you'll have to setup something like dynamic dns, if you don't have a static ip. 2. I used to have nordvpn, but I wasn't really happy with it. Since approx a year I have PIA VPN (private internet access). I am happy with it. Solid performance. I can manually (command line) configure wireguard interfaces for the vpn and it also offers the feature to open ports in the vpn interface (for better throughput in torrenting). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Square_Lawfulness_33 · 2023-12-26 17:17 Samba as a container is a lot easier to configure. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- fredflintstone88 · 2023-12-26 17:31 [audiobookshelf](https://www.audiobookshelf.org/) if you are a fan of audiobooks. It is awesome! In addition to audiobooks, I have been recently using it for podcasts and ebooks as well, and pretty happy so far ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Square_Lawfulness_33 · 2023-12-26 17:35 Homarr and homepage are two great dashboards ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Asbadeesh · 2023-12-26 17:43 Pretty much any intel CPU newer than 6th or 7th gen i think will almost be better than a GPU. Quicksync is just that good and doesn't use as much power as a dedicated GPU would. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mrpink57 · 2023-12-26 17:43 As a former ubuntu server user, I suggest just going with vanilla stable debian, ubuntu on install even their server version implies on its own versus debian is going to be all vanilla and ubuntu has always tried to lean me to snaps instead of deb packages. Feel free to disregard my advice, but once I moved to debian my server has run even smoother. As for yoru VPN question, I'll say I use both tailscale and vanilla wireguard. I use tailscale on devices, it is a lot easier to get through business firewalls with the service, and on point to point devices like a travel router I use wireguard. Also you can look at using headscale which is all local for tailscale, I use it with authentik for sso. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Asbadeesh · 2023-12-26 17:44 Worth taking a look at unraid. Might not be your cup of tea but i enjoy it very much. Other than that looks a lot like my setup, though i run Plex as the client apps just run better in my experince. (Heard good about jelyfin tough) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- EndlessHiway · 2023-12-26 17:46 Disregarded your advice based on the bullshit you are spreading. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- KrazyKirby99999 · 2023-12-26 18:02 Use ProtonVPN instead of NordVPN ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sn4201 · 2023-12-26 18:21 I had issues with Gluetun and Nordvpn with my \*arr docker stack when I set it up many months ago. I ended up using a plain wireguard docker container as a wireguard client for Nordvpn instead. The only issue with this is that Nordvpn doesn't allow you to download wireguard configuration files because they'd prefer you use their client software, but I put together a [workaround guide](https://github.com/sn4201/nordvpn-wg) that allows you to get wireguard client details and not have to use their client software. There are a lot of steps but its not too difficult overall. Also includes docker-compose examples and how to connect/route other containers through the wireguard container. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ejz9 · 2023-12-26 18:22 What’s your reasoning? I think either or is great, but I think Nord gets a bad rap even though they are No Logs. I have gigabit speeds and it works just fine. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- KrazyKirby99999 · 2023-12-26 18:40 ProtonVPN is better privacywise https://www.privacyguides.org/en/vpn/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- symphonyalpha · 2023-12-26 18:44 Might want to check if nordvpn supports port forwarding as its pretty important when it comes to torrenting ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dairalir · 2023-12-26 18:46 Excuse my ignorance: if you’re running Ubuntu server (no GUI) and setting up docker containers etc in the command line, why would you want/need anything like Dockge (or Portainer for that matter) when you’re already learning the CLI and using SSH? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- atredd · 2023-12-26 18:47 Sounds good. But I would use pure wireguard instead of tailsscale. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thatguy1429 · 2023-12-26 18:47 Simpler and lighter weight. This video https://youtu.be/E805XcbTzgY?si=y5WY7c6sKtTBk7zV pretty much inspired me to use it, I liked the small things it does well like showing the logs while it’s running etc I’ve also worked with docker a decent a amount and am comfortable working with docker directly via the terminal so I debated not even using either of these ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thatguy1429 · 2023-12-26 18:48 Oh nice didn’t even know that existed I’ll check it out thanks!!! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ejz9 · 2023-12-26 18:52 Again no offense but the only thing that I see putting them in a more positive response on privacy guides objective take it’s them taking cash or anonymous forms of payment. Nord isn’t mentioned and probably understandably because of what’s stated about them being for SEO on a previous website but beyond that theirs little mention of why. I wouldn’t claim myself as a Nord fanboy either, I may switch to Proton when my plan is up. But Nord gives a compelling deal when it’s $80-90 for 2 years. Same as using Proton for mail would be nice but theirs only so much you can do (at least in my opinion). I will recognize though that Nord has had data breaches in the past too. Also yes proton is in Switzerland so they do follow those data protection, and privacy laws. A specific mention of those I feel would be more of a compelling drive than they are just better. Again I’m not saying Nord is better than Proton. But not necessarily vice versa when comparing the use of the service. Plus it’s a VPN so no total anonymity. (Not that you were guaranteeing that either) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Square_Lawfulness_33 · 2023-12-26 18:53 [https://github.com/crazy-max/docker-samba](https://github.com/crazy- max/docker-samba) or [https://github.com/dperson/samba](https://github.com/dperson/samba) . They both do the same thing but take different approaches to the config. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thatguy1429 · 2023-12-26 18:55 Nice yeah I’m not a big fan of audio books but was going to delve into ebooks later on ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thatguy1429 · 2023-12-26 18:56 Nice I’ll give this a look I appreciate it! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thatguy1429 · 2023-12-26 18:58 Yes I’m such a nerd I’m excited to get my homarr dashboard looking all clean ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Square_Lawfulness_33 · 2023-12-26 19:01 I use them both and have a link to each other in both. Homarr looks cleaner but homepage has more integrations. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thatguy1429 · 2023-12-26 19:02 Yeah fair point I’m a developer for my day job so I’m fairly comfortable in Linux terminal, ssh, and using docker. So technically I wouldn’t need a GUI at all but I just wanted one for convenience and I went with dockge because it was lighter weight that portainer ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ejz9 · 2023-12-26 19:13 A compelling point I’m not sure about is Proton VPN has a free tier. I dont know if Gluetun can use this and if it’s good enough that you don’t have to pay cause then it’s an EZ winner for price and privacy. I found this page straight from proton a little more informative: https://protonvpn.com/features/no-logs-policy#:~:text=Proton%20VPN%20d oes%20not%20keep,%2C%20session%20lengths%2C%20or%20location. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Fine_Neighborhood_51 · 2023-12-26 19:16 I’m running wireguard on opnsense in a VM on proxmox, and I just tested it across the country from my server this weekend. With the VPN on, there’s little to no degradation of internet speed/ video quality on both wifi and cell data. With quick sync set up on the host i had no issues streaming a 4K movie on my phone. Home network is 100Mbps up and down ---------------------------------------------------------------------- KrazyKirby99999 · 2023-12-26 19:17 NordVPN is better than nothing, and pricing is a compelling reason. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thatguy1429 · 2023-12-26 19:23 Never used Debian, always have used Ubuntu but I’ll check it out ---------------------------------------------------------------------- kearkan · 2023-12-26 19:32 I was very stupid and didn't turn on quick sync on my j4125 until the other day. The difference it makes is huge, before I could do a single 4k stream but it would make everything a bit weird. Now I can comfortably do at least 3 on my dinky little baby CPU. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dairalir · 2023-12-26 19:48 Fair, also a dev, I just use Dozzle and Guacamole when needed. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Tam3ru · 2023-12-26 20:48 For connecting outside to the server check out cloudflare tunnel. It's best for http though, samba/ssh require some additional config. But if you only need http access from the outside it's a safe bet. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Haliphone · 2023-12-26 21:08 I've been using gluetun and nordvpn on my arr stack fine. Used the openvpn setup and it's been fine ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dnt_pnc · 2023-12-26 21:42 Check yams or yet another media server. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ErraticLitmus · 2023-12-26 22:00 Calibre and calibre-web work well together ---------------------------------------------------------------------- bazpaul · 2023-12-26 22:02 Doing the lords work there buddy. Great job ---------------------------------------------------------------------- bazpaul · 2023-12-26 22:03 Plot twist; it doesn’t ---------------------------------------------------------------------- pcgamez · 2023-12-26 22:30 mullvad++ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- BelugaBilliam · 2023-12-26 22:44 Nord has been proven to be logging data. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- BelugaBilliam · 2023-12-26 22:46 Ubuntu is based on Debian, so you'll likely notice no difference or small ones at worst. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- tonyp7 · 2023-12-26 23:14 I regret Ubuntu. Ubuntu 22 is a mess. apt installing snap package is a mistake. The mix between snap and apt is infuriating. I thanks Ubuntu for making Linux more accessible but next time I reinstall it’ll be Debian. Consider it if you still have time. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ronnoceel · 2023-12-26 23:34 ProtonVPN has no logs and does port forwarding. Nord does not support port forwarding. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ronnoceel · 2023-12-26 23:37 Check out the YAMS project for a really simple starting guide to setting up the arr stack with Jellyfin. yams.media ---------------------------------------------------------------------- viktae · 2023-12-26 23:39 Oh, didn't know dockge was a thing. I installed portainer when I started to learn docker, but never used it because I found it too overkill for my usage. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ejz9 · 2023-12-26 23:48 Source? Also you positive that wasn’t just user data? Open to this as that’s obviously not good. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ejz9 · 2023-12-26 23:49 Yes, this is an excellent point. If you don’t mind explaining though what advantage does port forwarding provide? Especially if using torrenting software? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rocketsx12 · 2023-12-26 23:53 Can vouch for crazymax samba ---------------------------------------------------------------------- viktae · 2023-12-26 23:56 I think you have everything figured out! I'm not using a VPN, since I want to give access to my Jellyfin server to friends & family, but contrary to you I don't open my SSH port. Only thing I would recommend: using Infuse instead of Jellyfin's official app. Infuse is fucking awesome, I pay \~10€/year, it plays everything you throw at it. The app is supporting Plex, Emby and Jellyfin and will improve their support [pretty soon](https://community.firecore.com/t/new-direct-mode-for-emby- jellyfin-and-plex/42922/353). I'm also using it with my Apple TV, everything is running smooth af ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ronnoceel · 2023-12-26 23:59 It lets you Connect to more peers for faster downloading and seeding. There are other improvements too. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thatguy1429 · 2023-12-27 00:33 yeah someone else mentioned debian as well, going to check it out ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thatguy1429 · 2023-12-27 00:35 Definitely going to check this out, I was wondering if something like this existed ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sdR-h0m13 · 2023-12-27 00:37 Samba is useful to browse the drives for media, but not for copying. What I mean by that is it's not reliable. It is subject for errors. I used it with Kodi on my Firestick to watch my movies/series for example but I don't use it to copy files. If it's a Linux server that you have, and SSH is configured, there's a side-protocol that is called SFTP. You can use WinSCP on Windows or any SFTP client on other OS to browse, copy, rename, delete files on your server. Files copied by SFTP are errors free. Much faster and reliable than Samba (smb protocol). But since I installed Jellyfin, I rarely use Samba. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sdR-h0m13 · 2023-12-27 00:39 This is my story too, since I installed Debian for my server, everything is stable and reliable. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- pbarone · 2023-12-27 01:01 Not a fan of the iOS jellyfin app. Take a look at Infuse ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sn4201 · 2023-12-27 01:09 Yeah I prefer the speed and reliability of wireguard, so I switched over to this method and no issues since ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Mutiu2 · 2023-12-27 02:48 LMS/Logitech Media Server https://forums.slimdevices.com/forum/user-forums/logitech-media-server ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ForeverWinter · 2023-12-27 03:04 One thing to consider would be to install Proxmox (VM hypervisor) on the bare metal and then put everything you described in a VM. Even if all you want is a media server today, there's a good chance you'll be curious about trying else in the future. If you have Proxmox it makes it trivial to set up a new VM whenever you need it. (makes it so much easier to experiment as well) There's a whole world of possibilities with it but don't get distracted with it now. Just install it and make a VM with everything you described. But at least then you've got it for futureproofing. (Especially with the hardware you've got - it's capable of doing a lot more than just being a media server) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thatguy1429 · 2023-12-27 03:19 I’ll definitely take a look ---------------------------------------------------------------------- charlesp_l · 2023-12-27 03:27 You *need* port forwarding in order to seed, AFAIK. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- charlesp_l · 2023-12-27 03:34 My comment : go one step at the time. I really like that you’ve all laid out your plan and it will be an asset for you later down the road, but you’ll get roadblocks and will need to troubleshoot stuff. And, also, it’s important to have a life Away From The Keyboard. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thatguy1429 · 2023-12-27 04:37 Yeah probably going proton route as others mentioned above ---------------------------------------------------------------------- tooomuchfuss · 2023-12-27 06:32 If it’s audio you are after, I suggest piCorePlayer - works as LMS server and LMS, Airplay client and more. Really solid ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Perpetual_Nuisance · 2023-12-27 07:23 I'd really consider usenet; safer and faster than torrents. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sinofool · 2023-12-27 10:59 Try Swiftfin too. Free native iOS jellyfin client, much better than the web version. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sinofool · 2023-12-27 11:03 Try Jellyseerr, next level of wife approval than Sonarr and radarr. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sinofool · 2023-12-27 11:07 +1 this. Usenet is much much faster. Especially OP using NordVPN. Without port forwarding torrents are limited. Some private tracker not even work. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sinofool · 2023-12-27 11:10 Missing One of these: https://trash-guides.info/Guide-Sync/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Firm-Customer6564 · 2023-12-27 11:54 If you are concerned about Privacy go with mullvard. Unmatched for simplicity, privacy and pricing/performance. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Transcend005 · 2023-12-27 12:17 >Gluetun Every vpn seller collect logs, they have to do it. Every vpn seller has the final number of their servers and IP\`s, so provider can exactly say which vpn do You use. After that it is about how much they want to get You) btw there was article about proton gave France data about french guys, who did something. And than was explanations like [sorry but it is not our fault](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiL2AjOtjZI) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- markfrancisonly · 2023-12-27 13:19 Thanks for the tube link. I thought it was just me having a bad time I’m turning off portainer today and good riddance, the stacks function is proprietary and nonfunctional. Portainer’s log auto scroll couldn’t be worse, dashboards show nothing of value, no alerts as far as I know, and not to mention I never got over the dev team forcing complex passwords upon everyone which, even partially rolled back, has cost me a hundred sign-ons. Now that I have nothing good to say about portainer and my 1yr free business license is expiring, I simply can’t imagine why a business would actually use that tool - RIP ---------------------------------------------------------------------- drillepind42 · 2023-12-27 13:44 I had a server crash (unreleted to OS, which was ubuntu), and went with debian after that since I started from scratch anyway. Really like it, and can only recommend. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Mean_Lawyer7088 · 2023-12-27 14:02 Hey, what do you want to use this Mediaserver for? Generally, I think the days of using NAS for personal data storage are behind us. I use Kodi + RD Scrapers. Streaming, in my opinion, is the far superior way. The only advantage I see is if you have a really bad connection or live in a rural area that experiences power outages. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- KrazyKirby99999 · 2023-12-27 15:23 Proton's jurisdiction does not require keeping logs. France did force Proton to provide info, but the only info available was the recovery email voluntarily provided by the user for Protonmail. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Transcend005 · 2023-12-27 15:47 The only info is quite enough ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Perpetual_Nuisance · 2023-12-27 15:57 And safer, if you encrypt your connection, which most providers at least allow, some even force. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- AnderssonPeter · 2023-12-27 17:57 I would replace homarr with gethomepage, and use a reverse proxy, personally I use traefik ---------------------------------------------------------------------- EndlessHiway · 2023-12-27 19:58 What in the world are you talking about? You don't have to use snaps if you don't want to do so. People just making shit up on this sub, its pathetic. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- WhisperBorderCollie · 2023-12-27 22:52 Pretty sure mullvad is zero logs, their servers are ram based with no disks. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- zyberwoof · 2023-12-28 01:51 Quick suggestion: Throw Proxmox on the bare metal. And then follow your plan by using one or more VMs running Ubuntu, Debian, or something else. This makes it trivial to do basic but super helpful tasks like backup, snapshot, rollback, and more. You can easily run multiple VMs concurrently if it makes sense. And normally if there is an issue, the hypervisor (Proxmox) isn't what locks up. It is the system you run all of your services on. Thus, if an Ubuntu VM locks up, you can still access the main hypervisor (Proxmox) and do things like reboot or rollback. Also, if you have your main Ubuntu or Debian systems running as VMs, it is trivial to migrate them to another Proxmox system in the future. No need to figure out how you set everything up. Just migrate the whole VM. Even the IP address will stay the same. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- OccasionallyImmortal · 2023-12-28 02:59 Somehow this is still the best option for playing local media to various music players. It also handles streaming services and internet radio stations. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- OccasionallyImmortal · 2023-12-28 03:01 Jellyseer is so good that it's all I use to add new media. It's also 10x faster than radarr and sonaar for just determining if the requested media is already in your library. Radarr and sonarr will bring up movie that's in your library, but won't flag it as such for about 60 seconds. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- jourdan442 · 2023-12-28 06:20 I migrated Plex and Home Assistant OS from a Synology to a dedicated box (the Syno CPU couldn't keep up). Proxmox definitely had a learning curve but I've got it mostly set up now and it's been rock solid. Plex in an LXC and HAOS in a VM. Definitely happy I went this route, and my Plex users didn't even notice the changeover. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- fredflintstone88 · 2023-12-28 14:00 I actually have calibre and calibre-web both working. I like them. But, most of the functionality I use is now available in Audiobookshelf (sending to device, automatic matching, etc.). Plus, Audiobookshelf dev is actively working on iOS app which is great. I plan to continue monitoring progress and will have both calibre-web and audiobookshelf running for a while before deciding to jump the ship completely. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Mutiu2 · 2023-12-28 15:46 Also best option if you want to do really sophisticated and detailed metatagging. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ErraticLitmus · 2023-12-28 23:03 Good to know, I'll definitely check it out ---------------------------------------------------------------------- whattteva · 2023-12-29 15:54 I wouldn't trust anything free if you actually value privacy. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- whattteva · 2023-12-29 15:56 Same here. I'm not fanboy for Nord, but they do give a very compelling deal. I've used it for 2 years and never had any issues. That being said, I will probably switch to Proton or some other service when my subscription is up. Primary reason being is that Nord does not support port forwarding which is a major deal breaker for seeding torrents.