Use docker compose . Like "everyone" uses it. If the service doesn't have a compose file, request it, or write it yourself as son as you are knowledgable enough.

Use podman as soon as people and services switch to it (you'll know when the latest tutorials talk about podman instead of docker).

Use ngingx proxy manager or another easy to use reverse proxy.

Don't think it's production ready after it was working 2 days. It may be, but it's unlikely you have enough knowledge how to fix things.

Automatic updates.

Don't install crap on the system.

Start with hardware you have already, its high likely overkill anyway. If you have CPU that supports quicksync (intel 7th gen or newer iirc) you could remove GPU to reduce power consumption. QuickSync will make streaming easy.

Raspberry pi cant transcode so its not best for media server, but it can direct play so that might not be an issue at all. I upgraded from rpi to desktop PC because I had issues with power on rpi USB ports for storage. Its also impossible to upgrade RAM on rpi. Good thing about rpi is super low power consuption, but some small factor PCs can drain ~10W. My PC was at 22W with 3 SSD. You can get power meter like Shelly plug S to see power consuption yourself.

Any OS (I use debian) of your choice + docker and docker-compose. Then install portainer and manage all services from there.

• For pictures try Immich, its amazing.
• For cloud storage Nextcloud
• For media streaming consider Jellyfin (much better than Plex IMO)
• Check wiki.servarr.com if you are downloading content with torrents or usenet. It can automate everything and provide awesome UI for users. Next level torrenting
• If you have only 1-2 users consider Wireguard or tailscale to connect when not at home.

I was going this route and Im super happy with everything

Whatever you do:

• keep notes
• consider the 1st build "wrong"
• "destroy" it (before it's the only place your data is stored in)
• build it again

That means you'll really understand it and how to maintain it.

And others have said: 3-2-1 backups

Don't use Raspberry pi.

• It is overpriced and slow.
• SD Card write speeds are low
• you will need external storage
• Arm architecture, so some programs might not work
• power issues
• slow USB

A cheap old laptop will work a lot better.

• it might not have AC wake up (if power goes out, you will need to manually turn it on)
• it might have always on cooler
• it supports SATA SSD without adapter

I think Raspberry pi is only good if you need gpio, otherwise save money and use an old laptop.

Old think pads can be had for dirt cheap on eBay, you've essentially got a little server you can hide anywhere, you don't have the keep the lid open (disable sleep on lid close, you can hide it wherever you want now) , ANDmost importantly it has it's own little integrated UPS :)

Any cheap PC is going to be way better than raspberry Pi.

Also, may I suggest you to checkout Immich? I am in love with the project and have been using it as Google photos replacement.

Welcome to selfhosting!

The Raspberry Pi can work if you don't need a lot of space or high performance. You will need an external drive or two for it. The power consumption will be very low too.

You can use an old PC if you need more drives. Just don't use an old gaming PC since the power consumption will be rather high.

Always remember: RAID is not a backup.

Having only one backup and the server dying means you now have no backup, therefore the 3-2-1 scheme for backups is worth looking into.

For a privacy friendly OS, surprised nobody has mentioned Freedombox

It's designed explicitly for your use case, along with an easy path to other self hosted services. When you're ready for more than it offers through the web interface, it's a full Debian install under the hood - so you can install whatever you need to. Privacy friendly and super stable, with smooth upgrades to new releases and security updates for old versions several years after the new one is available.

As far as hardware, your old computer is probably more powerful than a Pi and can support more drives, but the Pi will be more power efficient. As others have mentioned, if you care about your data long term then backups are a must, so a separate NAS or a Pi with a large drive for backup storage is a good idea as well, whatever OS you choose.

If you want something that works without you fretting with the base system too much, and gives you a decent GUI to handle the base: Proxmox. Run VMs, run containers on said VMs, and experiment as much as you would like.

I will personally not be doing this (I plan to run Alpine as my base instead of Debian, even though I hold the latter in very high regard), automate provisioning with Ansible, and exclusively use Podman instead of Docker. I'm willing to go through the pains of not using Docker directly, but at least I'm not learning how to run everything on k8s (which is not a bad idea at all, but for most homelabs without HA, it's overkill).

Learn networking, learn container orchestration, learn GNU/Linux (or in my case, non-GNU/Linux - yes you plebs, musl is good) security, auth basics, UNIX permissions, general automation, and give yourself time.

Also, do not become the family system-admin without having a fair bit of experience doing this already. You don't want the homelab becoming a job, which means getting to fix it at your own schedule, not when Jellyfin is broken and Wifey is bearing down on you because you cancelled Netflix in favour of your Linux ISO-powered library.

Personally I prefer older PCs in standard formfactors. I avoid HP, Dell, Lenovo pre-builts because they use proprietary power supplies and motherboards, making them difficult to upgrade. Laptops aren't really upgradable, they don't have enough SATA ports, and USB isn't reliable enough for storage. Raspberry Pies, while power efficient, are too underpowered. Old server hardware is also an option, but they are generally too noisy.

Micro PC, install Linux. External nas. Or mini-pc with builtin nas.

Nextcloud is a good platform for hosting self cloud stuff. You might want a fixed ip, or other method to route if wanting to use out of home.

Go for a used small form factor PC. They usually have a decent amount of house power and can house many drives

For a small pocket and low power consumption but incredible performance I would recommend the Odroid M1. Add a cheap nvme drive for the os (I prefer debian) and a 2,5" hdd. On top of debian you can install OMV for a webui based linux home server control. DietPi is nice for beginners too. And like other ppl already said, you can use docker/podman for running your software.

Oh and don't forget the 3-2-1 backup rule. 3 Backups, 2 different media types (ssd, hdd, usb stick, cloud, ...) and 1 offsite backup (cloud or hdd at your friend's house).

A cheap used PC with a Ryzen 9 or something? Ez to maintain, very power efficient, especially when idling (compared to servers, not Pi), and you get to choose the important bits (like what new enterprise level disk you gonna buy, etc) as its easier to upgrade.

And you get a lot faster CPU than duo Xenon builds in the same price range (used ofc). What you don't get is ECC & more RAM lanes.

Also much easier to make it inaudible (or like 18~19dB?) compared to servers.

I do use a Pi-based Proxmox Backup server.

I personally think a NAS would probably be the easiest option and on top of that they are optimized for low electricity consumption, which a PC, especially when it's older is not. It makes a huge difference because it's running 24/7 for 356 days a year.

I used a PC once and didn't realize that it took always about 300 W so at the end of the year surprisingly the electricity bill was much higher than normally.

Those are my old PC specs:

GPU: GeForce GT 240 DDR3 1GB CPU: unknown Motherboard: Lenovo is6xm PSU: Dell L240AS-00 240W RAM: 2x 2GB Storage: 1TB HDD and 128GB SSD

I want to build a low power consumption yet power enough server to run any apps, etc. What upgrades would be the best for my use case?

Do backups. Don’t forget to test if recovery works as expected.

Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:

[Thread #338 for this sub, first seen 7th Dec 2023, 21:35] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]

Since you're new, I'd recommend just using the old PC to start and get comfortable. Once you're sure you want to invest some money, you can either build it buy yourself something more energy efficient if you're super concerned about that.

As for the best OS, just any server OS will do. I run Rocky Linux which is a RHEL derivative, but you can also try TrueNas or anything else you want. Even Windows Server would work if you wanted to go that path.

There are many paths you can take, and which you go down depends heavily on personal preference and the desired use of your system.

Yunohost is beginner friendly

https://yunohost.org/

Try the pi for tinkering since it will be cheaper. If you end seeing issues with performance for the usage you need you could start looking up used laptops or optiplexes.

I had some used componentes lying around so I frankesteined a server with used parts after buying some disks

Lots of relevant comments in this post https://aussie.zone/post/4286731