What's On My Home Server? Storage, OS, Media, Provisioning, Automation

Wolfgang's Channel2 minutes read

The video discusses the delay in creating server software due to a move to a new apartment, resulting in an echo, emphasizing self-sufficiency and control over smart home devices, with plans for further expansion and future smart home setup using Ubuntu Server 20.04 and various self-hosted services. Various services, including Nextcloud, Jellyfin, Bitwarden, UniFi controller, and Docker containers, are utilized for file sharing, media, password management, WiFi management, and web applications, with security measures like closing unnecessary ports, using a reverse proxy, implementing single sign-on, and utilizing Cloudflare proxying and dynamic DNS services for privacy and security.

Insights

  • The server homepage, Homer, created by Bastien Wirtz, features a Nord theme CSS and hosts various services like Jellyfin, Deluge, Radarr, Sonarr, and OpenBooks, emphasizing self-sufficiency and control over smart home devices.
  • Infrastructure as Code is implemented using Ansible for efficient server configuration management, with detailed steps provided for setting up users, essential roles, APT mirrors, Docker, and more, ensuring a secure and automated setup process for the home server.

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Recent questions

  • What services are run on the home server?

    The home server runs various services including Jellyfin for media, Deluge for downloading content, Radarr for movies, Sonarr for TV shows, OpenBooks for books, Nextcloud for file sharing and synchronization, PhotoPrism for image gallery, Bitwarden for password management, UniFi controller for WiFi management, Jackett for torrent tracking, PiKVM for remote access, PiHole for VPN and DNS resolution, Phoscon-GW for Zigbee devices, and Home Assistant for smart home control.

  • What security measures are recommended for the server?

    To enhance security, it is recommended to close unnecessary ports, use a reverse proxy like SWAG, implement single sign-on with Authelia, utilize Cloudflare proxying for privacy and security, and employ dynamic DNS services like DuckDNS. Additionally, adopting an Infrastructure as Code philosophy using Ansible for managing server configurations efficiently can further enhance security measures.

  • What storage setup is used for the server?

    The server utilizes XFS-formatted hard drives combined using MergerFS, with a 1TB NVME cache for storage. SnapRAID is used for redundancy, storing parity data on an extra 6TB drive. Docker containers are employed for web applications, simplifying setup and backup processes for efficient storage management.

  • What operating system is chosen for the server?

    Ubuntu Server 20.04 is the selected operating system for the server due to its compatibility with cloud-init. A barebones Linux distro is preferred over NAS-centric OS for flexibility in customization and compatibility with various applications and services running on the server.

  • How is the server set up and managed efficiently?

    The server setup and management are efficiently handled through an Ansible playbook, which automates the process of creating users, updating packages, mounting drives, installing necessary software, restoring data for Docker containers, and hardening SSH access. This approach streamlines the server setup process, ensuring consistency and security in managing the server infrastructure.

Related videos

Summary

00:00

"Home Server Setup for Smart Home"

  • The video discusses the delay in creating a server software video due to a move to a new apartment, resulting in echo in the video.
  • The homepage of the server is called Homer, created by Bastien Wirtz, with a Nord theme CSS available for replication.
  • Services running on the home server include Jellyfin for media, Deluge for downloading content, Radarr for movies, Sonarr for TV shows, and OpenBooks for books.
  • Nextcloud is used for file sharing, calendar, and contact synchronization, supporting two-factor authentication.
  • PhotoPrism serves as a gallery for pictures, offering AI features for image recognition.
  • Bitwarden, hosted as Vaultwarden, is used as a password manager with free two-factor authentication features.
  • UniFi controller manages WiFi, Jackett acts as a torrent tracker indexer, and PiKVM provides remote access to the server.
  • PiHole runs on a separate Raspberry Pi for VPN access and local DNS resolution.
  • Home automation includes Phoscon-GW for Zigbee devices and Home Assistant for smart home control.
  • The focus is on self-sufficiency and control over smart home devices, with plans for further expansion and a future video on smart home setup.

11:46

Automated Home Server Setup with Ubuntu Server

  • The speaker discusses setting up a home server automatically, with some manual intervention.
  • They recommend checking the Awesome-Selfhosted Github for a list of self-hostable services.
  • Ubuntu Server 20.04 is the chosen OS due to its compatibility with cloud-init.
  • A barebones Linux distro is preferred over NAS-centric OS for flexibility.
  • Storage involves XFS-formatted hard drives combined using MergerFS, with a 1TB NVME cache.
  • SnapRAID is used for redundancy, storing parity data on an extra 6TB drive.
  • Docker containers are utilized for web applications, simplifying setup and backup.
  • Security measures include closing unnecessary ports, using a reverse proxy like SWAG, and implementing single sign-on with Authelia.
  • Cloudflare proxying is recommended for privacy and security, along with dynamic DNS services like DuckDNS.
  • Infrastructure as Code philosophy is adopted using Ansible for managing server configurations efficiently.

22:28

"Automated Server Setup with Ansible Playbook"

  • The text provides a link to a Github repository with an Ansible playbook for setting up a server, including changing the SSH port to 69 to avoid attacks and connecting to the server with default Raspberry Pi credentials.
  • It details the process of setting up users, running essential roles for system setup, APT mirrors, updating the system, installing necessary packages, and configuring Docker, MSMTP, Samba, and NTP.
  • The text explains the steps for erasing and provisioning a boot drive from scratch using Ansible, including uploading the Ubuntu Server ISO to PiKVM, modifying the ISO for unattended installation, and rebooting the machine to install Ubuntu automatically.
  • Lastly, it mentions running an Ansible playbook to set up the server from scratch, creating users, updating packages, mounting drives, installing necessary software, restoring data for Docker containers, and hardening SSH access.
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