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I need help setting up a selfhosted server to run unattended for years
congchuabuoito
Member
Hey everyone, I'm leaving my home country and will not be back in 6 foreseeable years, and I need to set up a home server before I go.
I want to use it as a VPN and personal storage. It will be sitting in my bedroom. No remote hands, just my mom who will check the room now and then for pests or any damage after typhoons. Sadly, I can’t afford colocation, and I don’t have anyone I trust enough to look after it for me.
I have 2 Intel Optane running RAID 1 for OS, and multiple large HDDs for storage, but I honestly don't mind if those fail, the usability of the VPN is the only critical requirement. I don't have an IPMI card right now, but I'm willing to buy one if need be.
My room isn't fully sealed, so dust could be an issue. We've got surge protection in place. The computer will run a lightweight Debian setup with just the essentials like Docker and monitoring tools to minimize risks. I’m not running anything too heavy on it. Would it be a good idea to set up a spare SBC as a backup? It’ll just have WireGuard running. Anything else to consider?
I'm desperate for advice on the best setup and configuration. Any advice would be a lifesaver. Thanks so much in advance!
Comments
If you super duper need high uptime, get a spare SBC as a backup VPN tunnel, and maybe something like https://tinypilotkvm.com/ for the server itself. That way if you have an issue, you still have a VPN you can connect to and troubleshoot from.
What happens for hardware failure?
If I were you, I would setup redundant all SSD zero passively cooled servers (atleast 2 running on failover mode). Moreover attach a PiKVM (not tiny-pilot) to each of the servers over hdmi and usb.
You can also buy the tinykvm from aliexpress like china sites.
Example of something that I know can run for 11 years without service (not exact one)
The one I have is a fanless J1900 with 4GB RAM and SSD that has been running since 2014... Not fast but reliable and get's the job done... Too bad it's due for recycle soon since I need a faster processor on this...
I believe you will find this really useful in your situation: https://github.com/ENGINYRING/Linux-Auto-Update-Script
Thanks for the input! I hadn’t considered passive cooling since I wanted to reuse my existing setup, but now it’s hard to overlook.
I’ve been considering PiKVM and TinyPilot for my Pi 3B+. Any recommendations or advice on which one to go with?
Thank you. This is helpful.
I've been following TinyPilot since 2020 and I am still using PiKVM. TinyPilot used PiKVM's source and built on it. But their implementation left me wanting more. So I am still using PiKVM. One thing of note, you need to upgrade to a PiZero2 or Pi 4 to unlock all the features.
At my home, I am still using a Pi 4 as my dedicated PiKVM device. I used to use a Pi Zero 2w before since my Pi 4 was doing something else. Both works fine with PiKVM.
It is not possible to have no power outage within 6 years in home. Scheduled maintenance, line cuts, bad weather etc. If that can be managed by your mom - you are setup.
Buy cheapest intel platinum cpu server. Pair it with ecc ram and buy 4 drives: 2 in action and to for spare.
Teach your mom how to turn on server and how to restart it in case kvm will go down.
Get cheap managed server or vds.
What are the prices for electricity in your country?
How much storage do you need?
Sorry for getting fixated on the VPN. I didn’t word it well, and I think it led to some confusion.
I mean, owning disks is a nice bonus since it helps me save on storage servers. If a physical disk fails, there’s not much I can do about it, and I’ve come to terms with it. I will use this as a NAS and VPN to bypass geo blocking. I'm okay with HDDs being irrecoverable but I want the VPN to work. I'm not aiming for 100% uptime, but I do want my VPN to be back up as soon as outages are over. I know there are hardware and software limitations that could take my server down, so I'm just trying my best to prevent those from happening.
I’m not renting a server because I want to make use of what I already have, and this way I can cut down on costs and have residential IP, which is necessary for some services I use and for watching content only available in my country. Electricity isn’t exactly cheap, but I handle my household expenses just fine, and it's still less than $20/month for a dedicated server. As for our 1 Gbps fiber, it’ll mostly be used for scrolling TikTok and watching Facebook AI videos when I'm not around.
It's just a personal hobby server for me and only me, so if it goes down, no worries. My motherboard automatically powers up just fine once the power's back. We don't have many power or fiber outages, but if one drags on longer than usual, this server is the last thing I’d be worried about.
A home server can still go offline even when I’m around. It’s no different from any other home server, except I won’t be there to fix it if something goes wrong. Actually, this old desktop’s been up and running for 3 years now. I’ve opened it 2 times to clean the dust and repaste. It’s been handling more than just a few Docker containers and VPN. I’m just looking for ways to keep it running as long as possible. If it ever stops booting, I’ll just have my mom unplug it.
Get server grade parts. That’s it.
Why not buy a Kimsufi server, which you can get for less than $18 per month, and move your data there? Sometimes you can get one for $11 with a 6TB HDD. Better wait for the coming Black Friday—I'm sure you'll get it then. Or you can buy it now for $18 or $20. This way, you can be sure it will work 24/7, and if the hardware fails, OVH will replace it. It's better than self-hosting
You can just get router with hdd support. I have atm BerylAX and its rock solid for year.. idk if he will go for another 5, i hope so.
https://www.gl-inet.com/products/
You can host a Tailscale exit node on someone's phone (not recommended, also not an option for iOS devices), though it’s better to run on a regular computer with a graphical desktop. Tailscale isn't the best for privacy but it's the most stable and hassle-free. Most modern laptops and desktop mainboards have auto power on after power loss too.
In case things go south or she switches devices, setting up is simple and you can walk your mother through it via a video call or a quick Teamviewer session.
Feels like another North Korean work scam.
Came here for your username 🤣 Good luck to whatever journey u go ahead man!
For OP, If you want an unattended server, an IPMI device is essential. JetKVM is a good option for a whitebox PC.
But keep in mind the internet. If a tech comes out and replaces equipment, or your ISP goes CGNAT overnight. My dad replaced his cable modem and my MikroTik router at his place went behind double NAT. I had to run a IPsec tunnel back to my home.
A better option for OP would be a storage VPS like this: https://www.fourplex.net/storage-vps-plans/
Using Debian or FreeBSD, Nextcloud should be able to work for a single user.
Appreciate the advice! I’m not planning on getting a dedicated server, but if the price is cheap on BF, I might rethink it.
Thanks a lot! I just found out my router has this VPN feature, set it up, and it's working great! It supports HDDs and has automatic firmware updates enabled.
Haha this is genius.
Thanks man!
Getting NATTed wasn't something I expected, but thanks for the heads up! I’ll keep it in mind.
I don't need a storage server. I have disks and want to make use of the server. A dedicated computer for just a VPN seems wasteful. If I don't use the drives, they'll just collect dust. I have other servers for important data, this one’s just for redundancy. It’s not essential.
I remember back in the day I used to host one of my first (small) blogs on my TP-Link router hacked to run some linux distro that allowed me to install a package manager on it.
Hehe... those times when you had no chatgpt to ask when you frustrated like hell over the last step you needed to make this work. LOL.
But, to be on topic, it actually ran unattended (as I forgot about it) for years, until I found it dead with trails of black smoke on it.
i am/was in similar bucket
im using a rpi 4
here are some tricks, my mom aint very tech savvy so they should help you
for me it worked fine for 3 years, the only issue i had was well, usb to sata failed (mum had to replace) and now the router is dying (outside of my control)
worst case you gotta buy hardware wherever you are, set it up and send it home
had to do that for expansion
Me too
) but based on your username, i assume that you came from Vietnam, and here is my tips that I learned from putting the server at my bedroom in the hometown and head to the city for work.
1 (very important). Ensure the electricity safety
2. Ask the network provider to directly open the NAT port (I assume you may go with FPT, Viettel, VNPT). And you will have a direct connection to the VPN. And also, you can write a script to update the dynamic IP to cloudflare (or you can use built-in DDNS on the router) and point all the services to that domain via CNAME.
3. Setup static IP of your Server with proper port forwarding, set auto turn on after power loss (and get an UPS) and also, buy a small Raspberry Pi to run Wake on Lan, this will save you some day.
4. If you want to invest on long term, buy new drive. You can use old Motherboard, CPU, RAM but always use new drive and new UPS.
Maybe it's different for others, but my new UPS batteries for an APC Smart-UPS last about 1.5 years. When they go bad, the UPS keeps beeping. If away long-term, it might be better to go without a UPS and just wait for the power to come back on.
Im doing it with a mini box on FPT 1G line, only concern was electricity but i have plan to power it with 2 solar panels.
Great points I hadn't thought of! Appreciate it!
Yeah, I’m not using a UPS and more concerned about leaving that running unattended than the server itself. Power cuts don’t bother me as long as it boots back up when power’s back. The battery doesn’t last years anyway.
Thank you!
You can have a remote start via PCI (you can buy prebuilt on Shopee), or you can DIY with an ESP32 with Internet, and a relay with small coding to act like a remote internet button
If you want passive, the Noctua NH-P1 is a great CPU cooler.
Install Tailscale on one or two devices. I picked up a couple of hackable Telstra routers on Facebook Marketplace for about $20 each that are quite competent Tailscale devices. Perfect if you're penny-pinching on electricity because the router will always be on anyway.
If the VPN is the most important part, simply ensuring you have at least 2 devices running Tailscale might be the best option. A router + an old laptop or small mini PC both running Tailscale would do the job. Rather than spending $hundreds-thousands on fancy KVM setups and putting all your eggs in one basket, spend that money on a high capacity SSD or storage VPS.
You said it's not really unattended. Just ask your mom to press the on switch.