Self-hosting: Difference between revisions

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Software-wise, depending on requirements and the level of technical expertise, one might opt for a generic server OS such as [https://www.debian.org/ Debian] or [https://ubuntu.com/server Ubuntu Server] for a more do-it-yourself experience, or an OS purpose-built for self-hosting such as [https://yunohost.org/ YunoHost] which guides its users through some of the complexities of the process.

=== Network-attached storage (NAS) ===

Companies such as [[Synology]], [[QNap|QNAP]], [[UGreen|UGREEN]] and others offer commercial hardware products called NAS (Network Attached Storage) that expose disks to a network for shared access to files on them<ref>{{Cite web |last=Susnjara |first=Stephanie |last2=Smalley |first2=Ian |title=What is network attached storage (NAS)? |url=https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/network-attached-storage |url-status=live |access-date=2025-11-22 |website=IBM |series=Think}}</ref> in form of a "network drive", "file share" or "shared folder". As an additional function, many such devices can also run server software, and may even offer user-friendly graphical interfaces for this out-of-the-box.

Such devices are typically optimized for file management, and applications using the files stored by a NAS are expected to run on ''other'' devices on the same network (e. g. a PC running heavy video editing software utilizing video files stored on a NAS). As such, NAS devices, especially budget ones, often do not have much capacity for server applications. For a small number of users, however, as is common in self-hosting, they can be sufficient.

A consumer NAS is typically more expensive than self-built solutions or second hand server-grade hardware, but due to better power management, the higher costs can be worth it in regions with high electricity prices.

===Server hosting provider===

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Control over not just the ''service'' but also the ''platform'' it runs on (the computer) provides the user with significantly more control over data that it processes compared to just using a service hosted by another party.

===Specialized hardware===

===Specialized server hardware===

An expensive high-end option that most closely resembles professional setups, with all the perks and downsides of professional setups: professional server hardware is designed to be more reliable and easily serviceable, but also can be very noisy, which may not matter much inside a proper server room or a data center, but for an apartment might be completely unacceptable.

These are commonly set up for services with high hardware requirements or maintained as a hobby by those who'd like to practice business-grade system administration at home. For the vast majority of services this is unnecessary and is sometimes mocked as such<ref>{{Cite web |title=You are all a bunch of sick freaks : selfhosted |url=http://old.reddit.com/r/selfhosted/comments/1igr2l7/you_are_all_a_bunch_of_sick_freaks/ |archive-url=https://selfh.st/sick-freaks/ |archive-date=2025-02-03 |website=Reddit}}</ref>.

Companies such as [[Synology]], [[QNap]], [[UGreen]] and others also offer commercial hardware products called NAS-Servers (Network Attached Storage). Such products are intended for home users and small businesses. These products aim to make it easy for people to set up and run their own home servers using an easy to use graphical management interface.

A consumer NAS is typically more expensive than self-built solutions or second hand server-grade hardware, but due to better power management, the higher costs can be worth it in regions with high electricity prices.

==Self-hosted applications relevant to consumer rights==

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Because it provides an unofficial self-hosted interface to and between "connected" products of many brands, it prominently announces anti-consumer actions by supported brands aimed at reducing or disabling that capability, bringing them to attention. Some vendors reconsider their plans afterwards, providing alternative solutions or entirely cancelling their plans for such changes, which Home Assistant reflects in their announcement posts as well.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-12-17 |title=Logitech Harmony removes local API |url=https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2018/12/17/logitech-harmony-removes-local-api/ |access-date= |website=Home Assistant}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-11-23 |title=TP-Link offers way to add local API back |url=https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2020/11/23/tplink-local-access/ |website=Home Assistant}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-13 |title=Removal of Mazda Connected Services integration |url=https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2023/10/13/removal-of-mazda-connected-services-integration/ |access-date= |website=Home Assistant}}</ref>

=== Other useful tools ===

===Other useful tools===

* [https://nextcloud.com/ NextCloud]: Similar to commercial offerings such as Apple iCloud or Google Drive. Allows syncing files, contacts and calendars, collaborative document editing, internal chat and much more.

*[https://nextcloud.com/ NextCloud]: Similar to commercial offerings such as Apple iCloud or Google Drive. Allows syncing files, contacts and calendars, collaborative document editing, internal chat and much more.

* [https://www.truenas.com/ TrueNAS], [https://www.openmediavault.org/ OpenMediaVault]: Stores files on a server computer and makes them available to multiple devices

*[https://www.truenas.com/ TrueNAS], [https://www.openmediavault.org/ OpenMediaVault]: Stores files on a server computer and makes them available to multiple devices

* [https://casaos.io/ CasaOS], [https://umbrel.com/umbrelos Umbrel], [https://yunohost.org/ YunoHost]: Systems that aim to make it easy for non-technical users to run their own home server and install services on it using a familiar app store paradigm

*[https://casaos.io/ CasaOS], [https://umbrel.com/umbrelos Umbrel], [https://yunohost.org/ YunoHost]: Systems that aim to make it easy for non-technical users to run their own home server and install services on it using a familiar app store paradigm

* [https://www.proxmox.com/ Proxmox]: Allows advanced users to host multiple services isolated from each other on one server computer

*[https://www.proxmox.com/ Proxmox]: Allows advanced users to host multiple services isolated from each other on one server computer

* [https://jitsi.org/jitsi-meet/ Jitsi Meet], [https://bigbluebutton.org/ BigBlueButton]: Video conferencing without relying on third party servers

*[https://jitsi.org/jitsi-meet/ Jitsi Meet], [https://bigbluebutton.org/ BigBlueButton]: Video conferencing without relying on third party servers

* [https://pi-hole.net/ PiHole], [https://adguard.com/en/adguard-home/overview.html AdGuard Home]: Ad blocking for devices on the network level

*[https://pi-hole.net/ PiHole], [https://adguard.com/en/adguard-home/overview.html AdGuard Home]: Ad blocking for devices on the network level

==Further reading==

@@ Line 39: / Line 39: @@
 Software-wise, depending on requirements and the level of technical expertise, one might opt for a generic server OS such as [https://www.debian.org/ Debian] or [https://ubuntu.com/server Ubuntu Server] for a more do-it-yourself experience, or an OS purpose-built for self-hosting such as [https://yunohost.org/ YunoHost] which guides its users through some of the complexities of the process.
+=== Network-attached storage (NAS) ===
+Companies such as [[Synology]], [[QNap|QNAP]], [[UGreen|UGREEN]] and others offer commercial hardware products called NAS (Network Attached Storage) that expose disks to a network for shared access to files on them<ref>{{Cite web |last=Susnjara |first=Stephanie |last2=Smalley |first2=Ian |title=What is network attached storage (NAS)? |url=https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/network-attached-storage |url-status=live |access-date=2025-11-22 |website=IBM |series=Think}}</ref> in form of a "network drive", "file share" or "shared folder". As an additional function, many such devices can also run server software, and may even offer user-friendly graphical interfaces for this out-of-the-box.
+Such devices are typically optimized for file management, and applications using the files stored by a NAS are expected to run on ''other'' devices on the same network (e. g. a PC running heavy video editing software utilizing video files stored on a NAS). As such, NAS devices, especially budget ones, often do not have much capacity for server applications. For a small number of users, however, as is common in self-hosting, they can be sufficient.
+A consumer NAS is typically more expensive than self-built solutions or second hand server-grade hardware, but due to better power management, the higher costs can be worth it in regions with high electricity prices.
 ===Server hosting provider===
@@ Line 45: / Line 52: @@
 Control over not just the ''service'' but also the ''platform'' it runs on (the computer) provides the user with significantly more control over data that it processes compared to just using a service hosted by another party.
-===Specialized hardware===
+===Specialized server hardware===
 An expensive high-end option that most closely resembles professional setups, with all the perks and downsides of professional setups: professional server hardware is designed to be more reliable and easily serviceable, but also can be very noisy, which may not matter much inside a proper server room or a data center, but for an apartment might be completely unacceptable.
 These are commonly set up for services with high hardware requirements or maintained as a hobby by those who'd like to practice business-grade system administration at home. For the vast majority of services this is unnecessary and is sometimes mocked as such<ref>{{Cite web |title=You are all a bunch of sick freaks : selfhosted |url=http://old.reddit.com/r/selfhosted/comments/1igr2l7/you_are_all_a_bunch_of_sick_freaks/ |archive-url=https://selfh.st/sick-freaks/ |archive-date=2025-02-03 |website=Reddit}}</ref>.
-Companies such as [[Synology]], [[QNap]], [[UGreen]] and others also offer commercial hardware products called NAS-Servers (Network Attached Storage). Such products are intended for home users and small businesses. These products aim to make it easy for people to set up and run their own home servers using an easy to use graphical management interface.
-A consumer NAS is typically more expensive than self-built solutions or second hand server-grade hardware, but due to better power management, the higher costs can be worth it in regions with high electricity prices.
 ==Self-hosted applications relevant to consumer rights==
@@ Line 62: / Line 65: @@
 Because it provides an unofficial self-hosted interface to and between "connected" products of many brands, it prominently announces anti-consumer actions by supported brands aimed at reducing or disabling that capability, bringing them to attention. Some vendors reconsider their plans afterwards, providing alternative solutions or entirely cancelling their plans for such changes, which Home Assistant reflects in their announcement posts as well.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-12-17 |title=Logitech Harmony removes local API |url=https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2018/12/17/logitech-harmony-removes-local-api/ |access-date= |website=Home Assistant}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-11-23 |title=TP-Link offers way to add local API back |url=https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2020/11/23/tplink-local-access/ |website=Home Assistant}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-13 |title=Removal of Mazda Connected Services integration |url=https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2023/10/13/removal-of-mazda-connected-services-integration/ |access-date= |website=Home Assistant}}</ref>
-=== Other useful tools ===
+===Other useful tools===
-* [https://nextcloud.com/ NextCloud]: Similar to commercial offerings such as Apple iCloud or Google Drive. Allows syncing files, contacts and calendars, collaborative document editing, internal chat and much more.
+*[https://nextcloud.com/ NextCloud]: Similar to commercial offerings such as Apple iCloud or Google Drive. Allows syncing files, contacts and calendars, collaborative document editing, internal chat and much more.
-* [https://www.truenas.com/ TrueNAS], [https://www.openmediavault.org/ OpenMediaVault]: Stores files on a server computer and makes them available to multiple devices
+*[https://www.truenas.com/ TrueNAS], [https://www.openmediavault.org/ OpenMediaVault]: Stores files on a server computer and makes them available to multiple devices
-* [https://casaos.io/ CasaOS], [https://umbrel.com/umbrelos Umbrel], [https://yunohost.org/ YunoHost]: Systems that aim to make it easy for non-technical users to run their own home server and install services on it using a familiar app store paradigm
+*[https://casaos.io/ CasaOS], [https://umbrel.com/umbrelos Umbrel], [https://yunohost.org/ YunoHost]: Systems that aim to make it easy for non-technical users to run their own home server and install services on it using a familiar app store paradigm
-* [https://www.proxmox.com/ Proxmox]: Allows advanced users to host multiple services isolated from each other on one server computer
+*[https://www.proxmox.com/ Proxmox]: Allows advanced users to host multiple services isolated from each other on one server computer
-* [https://jitsi.org/jitsi-meet/ Jitsi Meet], [https://bigbluebutton.org/ BigBlueButton]: Video conferencing without relying on third party servers
+*[https://jitsi.org/jitsi-meet/ Jitsi Meet], [https://bigbluebutton.org/ BigBlueButton]: Video conferencing without relying on third party servers
-* [https://pi-hole.net/ PiHole], [https://adguard.com/en/adguard-home/overview.html AdGuard Home]: Ad blocking for devices on the network level
+*[https://pi-hole.net/ PiHole], [https://adguard.com/en/adguard-home/overview.html AdGuard Home]: Ad blocking for devices on the network level
 ==Further reading==