Beginner - I need some advices and perhaps directions
reddit / selfhosted

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aloneng · 2023-12-28 20:44

Hi,

I’m Alon , A Full Stack Developer, I have some experience with Docker,
Vagrant ,Nginx , and Some Linux Distros.

I need some help  - I’m not sure how to approach everything, in some
topics I lack knowledge and experience, and some I’m not sure how to
make it work together,  so I need you to direct/roadmap me for the
best approach for my use case with your better experience and
knowledge.

I'm planning to use my old pc as a server.

Specs:

· I7 7700K

· 32GB RAM

· GTX 1070TI

· 2\*16tb HC550 (SATA)

· 1tb 980 pro (m.2) as caching drive

​

I’m planning to use ESXI as the main/top one for the next services:

· Gitlab

· Docker/ Kubernetes Cluster

· TrueNas/FreeNas– for the NAS

· Ubuntu VM’s (Nginx , etc…)

· Windows VM’s

· Plex (not sure)

It will look something like that:

https://preview.redd.it/p2it27rlj39c1.png?width=940&format=png&auto=we
bp&s=c969a22e344314abb19a63a437f95c06485b5954

Since I’m not sure if I have enough RAM / my CPU will survive it 😉,
the main thing that i want to run is the NAS (rest are less important)

​

I got several questions:

1. Hypervisor – Which one should I use? ESXI or Proxmox or Something
else?
2. Is the way I included in the picture is the best way? Would you do
something different ?
3. Raid – i'm planning to use raid1 (so both of the drives will have
the same data), and in the future when I’l add more drives to convert
to other raid, should I buy a raid controller (I’m not sure if my
motherboard can support raids on its own – gigabyte z270hd3 and if its
relevant at all for my case) or I can use software raid in my case?
Will the transfer in the future to other raid will be easy?
4. NAS – what is the best option for me? TrueNas or FreeNas or
something else?
5. What is the best way to approach the security of the whole network
and the server itself? (Firewall- pfsense?, Logging, Monitoring,
etc…).
6. In the future, I will want to use a VPN to access the NAS files
from outside the network, what is the best recommendation? Wireguard
or TailScale?

Some key notes:

1. The NAS part will serve mainly to store pictures (several tb’s ),
but some other files as well.
2. I’m Interested in Raid 1 since currently I got 2 drives and the
pictures are important – so drive loss will not cause data loss (most
of the pictures will be stored as well on google cloud). With future
expansions I will still want to only lose 1 drive at a time.
3. I got a spare ER-X (if it gives you an idea for any use idea).

​

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dazchad · 2023-12-29 01:35

The system should be enough for your needs. I'd put the NAS into a VM
using your favorite hypervisor. I don't have experience setting up a
NAS in this manner, but I'm sure you can find something online.

Your main problem might be transcoding for Plex. If you plan on doing
transcoding, check how to use your GPU for that using the hypervisor
of choice. 7th gen intel isn't that great for modern 4k HEVC 10bit
content.

Other than that, there are plenty of resources on this sub about what
you asked. My strongest advice is to start simple and go from there.
Install a baremetal OS, install some of the apps you want, play
around, and then when you feel confident, start adding the moving
parts (hypervisor, NAS, RAID etc). Always backup your stuff and test
that it restores.

Have fun!

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ivansalloum · 2023-12-29 19:45

This is a [comprehensive Linux security
guide](https://ivansalloum.com/comprehensive-linux-server-hardening-
guide/) that is worth reading.