The original post: /r/homelab by /u/non53r10us on 2024-05-05 08:37:25.

First of all: I’m sorry that my english sucks a lot. Second: I know that this will be a wall of text, so respect to anybody who does the effort to just read this at all.

A few days ago i decided to turn my old PC into a homeserver.

The hardware is the follow: i5 4670 16 GB RAM 250GB SSD OR 500GB HDD 1x 1GBit Ethernet.(can’t add another networkcard to get more ports)

I got a fritzbox as router, from there goes a LAN cable to a tplink Router that i use as a switch for my and my wife’s PC. On this switch I want to plugin my server too. TV and other stuff is connected to the fritzbox via wlan.

The project is something to study but i want a real benefit out of it. Like i said at the title, im a totaly beginner with linux/server.

The only thing i want is: i want a share a folder where i can place some files to get easier access to it from my PCs, phone, TV. So nothing like a backup or something else. The second point is to realize a LAN Cache so my wife and me doesn’t need to download our games/updates twice with our slow internet.

The server will be just local.

So the questions:

  1. OS - what “os” should I use?

Unraid looks like the go to, but I can’t effort the money for the license, so I guess unraid is out of the race.

So there would be proxmox… don’t find a real usage for me, since I want to get my “shit” all to the host instead on a VM (thats the strength of proxmox right?).

So i got the feeling that a clean Debian OS with something like casaos, yunohost, cockpit would fit the most? I got the feeling that this would be hated from the most “servernerds” but since im a real beginner this would make anything much easier for me,mostly that I just a GUI.

CasaOS looks like the best out of it, since to share a folder or hard drive is just 1 click and its done. LAN Cache will be installed with a docker container(at this point I’m doesn’t even sure that I understand that what’s a docker is… Its like a preconfigurated install file,like I install a program on windows/android?!)

Or something like to use cockpit and something like portainer to manage the docker stuff?

1.1) so if I just use something like CasaOS I won’t get any disadvantage and can do the same like I would just have a clean debianos?

2)GUI I know if I go the Debian way I have to install it without GUI…but what are the real benefits of it? I guess I save some performance, but its that a real big deal?

  1. LANCache / DNS

My intention is the following: I want the server sitting there power off and just want to turn it on when I need to share a few files or for Lancache,like: the first time at the day I start the server while I start our PCs so 1 person will start the game to see if theres an update…if yes the person will don’t he update via lancache while the second one can install the update after that from the cached files. If theres no update,the server will be shut down by myself.

So LANCache need to set as the DNS Server. On my windows pcs I can select a default DNS IP and with that a alternative DNS IP. So at this point I need to set LANCache as default DNS and my Fritzbox as alternative? So if the server is power on, the PCs will use it as DNS and if the server is shut down,they would use the Ffritzbox as DNS right?

  1. Power consuming.

I know that my system will be much power hungry compared to maybe a Raspberry. But that’s the hardware I got at this moment and I won’t/can’t effort the money just for an experiment. Maybe later,when I understand more. So that’s one of the reasons I want the server powered off and just turn it on if I really got need on it.

Is there any option to reduce the power consuming? I guess I can’t underclock the CPU since its not a Intel K model.

4.1) Wake up on LAN

So in this scenario the server will be on standby and just starts if the network try to access the server!? I need to activate this option at the bios, I know…but do I need to set up something on Debian itself for that?

  1. Storage: So I got a 250GB ssd in the server, I know the benefits about an ssd vs a HDD in my PC. But how big are the benefits on an server with just a 1 Gbit lan? If we just talk about,that the server needs 1 minute more to boot up,its something I could life with it. Also if a file share would need 7 minutes instead of 5 minutes.

I can’t plugin both drives,since the server just got 1 single sata connection…maybe I could buy in the future a sata to USB converter and plug in the HDD as external USB drive later. Or much longer in the future upgrade it to a bigger ssd…but this while take a while cuz no money to play with xD

So should I use the ssd or the HDD in my case?

  1. Remote Do I need to setup ssh if something like CasaOS already got a terminal?

Thanks for your attention and help too.

Edit: Added point 6