this post was submitted on 12 Feb 2025
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It's not hard and there's plenty of people, like myself, that are willing to help you. Let's work together.
I'm interested in this a bit. I worry about setting up some sort of server that is going to be facing the Internet though. Is there a good guide or starting place for something like this? If I just want an easy or approachable solution with some limitations as a trade off for easy and safe setup? I feel like I've heard of Plex servers before, but no clue if that's the best way to go or not. Where would one start to learn more?
Are you just looking to share files or swap to Linux? If it's just Linux you can dip your toes in the water first: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install
That method does not get you a GUI though. You will be using the terminal. I recommend pairing it with MobaXTerm, an enhanced terminal, as Moba presents the file system in a windows like way. It's great for learning and you don't have to have the paid version, though it is a perpetual license.
I'd always recommend Ubuntu for beginners. It's not necessary the easiest, but it's pretty simple and where you'd struggle prepares you well for other Linux Distributions, or distros. It often comes with a windows like GUI.
There's also an option to "Try Ubuntu" by running it off a USB. It won't persist, or remember anything, between reboots, but that can be an advantage. I personally carry a drive with my own Live USB on my keychain.
When you're ready you can try setting up Dual Boot, where you choose to enter Windows or Linux on startup or jump in all the way.
You can run Linux off an old laptop, a raspberry/orange/banana pi or build something dedicated. I'm happy to help with any of them.
Oh no need to sell me on Linux, I'm a fan of Linux Mint and Ubuntu, but my current laptop is an Apple M2 Pro, so if I can keep using that as my daily driver, I think I will. I'm most interested in more of a file sharing server type of service perhaps. Some way I could decouple from Google Drive for file storage is probably a good entry spot I'd think. I have an Ubuntu laptop with a dead battery I've not turned on in years I could repurpose as a server I'd think. It started it's life as an MSI "gaming" Windows laptop, so it should have enough horsepower to be a file server if I knew what software to use and how to safely configure it and what software to use on my other devices to safely access it.
Have you tried just using a fileshare if it's just your other devices? You can VPN into a cheap Edge Router Lite and be able to access it remotely. I think you'll need a Dynamic DNS subscription for most residential locations. Your ISP may let you set a static one. May.
You'd need to secure the VPN, but it is a pretty solid setup. You can even get the Edge Router to act as a firewall or split up the network so you can only VPN into a specific segment of your network. It sounds complicated, but it's not too bad. A whole lot of I can guide you through it if that's what you want.
Tailscale may be easier from a setup perspective. I've never done a deep dive into the company and I'm more of a "do it myself" kinda guy, but I did like it when I tried it out for a while. It was definitely easy and effective. There's also HeadScale and NetMaker, but I don't have personal experience I can speak from on either. I wouldn't mind learning if you want to try it.
Tailscale does sound pretty cool, and could be an option. It sounds super easy to setup which I like. I have Comcast as my service provider, so I'd have to see what they offer DNS and Static IP addresses.
I have not looked at what all my fileshare options are but doing a bit of digging it sounds like maybe I should look at Samba and see if that would work. They don't mention mobile device support, but it is free open source software, which I love. I wonder if having a Samba service just for local network file sharing is a security issue. I would assume it is not, but I could be wrong. I'm willing to bet I'd need to be cautious with the configuration of Samba.
It may not be "hard", yet it's just not practically possible for most people.
It is practically possible. You just have to put in a small amount of effort. Anyone saying it's too hard has given up without trying.
I work in IT. Trust me, it's well beyond a lot of people.
I'm a software engineer and I had to quit self-hosting due to simply not having the time nor the ability to research and keep up with security, products that were going away, new ones, etc. I have a job, run a farm, and do housework and other work. It's just not in the cards for me.
I work in tech and I promise it's not. I worked my way through support and engineering and then did development. I promise people aren't as bad at tech as they appear to you. The only thing stopping people is laziness.
It's not "too hard", it just completely unreasonable to expect people in general to self host as a way to "fight against tech billionaires".
I can assure you that most people would find the amount of effort required to learn, implement, and maintain self hosted services to be unpractical.
It's not impractical. It requires effort and Americans are too busy watching Netflix and spanking the monkey to do much of anything.