Hello, I’ve been saying it to myself for a year now, but I’m on summer break rn and I really need to do something with my life. Here’s some of the software I plan to host. Goal is to not spend more than $150-200, I do have some gift cards though.

Absolutely Will Run:

Nextcloud & Immich - I want to replace Google and OneDrive

Might do in the near future:

Jellyfin - my mom and I usually just bootleg by using Kodi on our FireTV, so not a major need rn, but might be nice for future purposes.

piHole - better overall ad blocking, so I don’t have to use nextDNS on all my devices, and maybe help my mom out.

VPN - I currently pay for Proton, and we use it on the FireTV, but it sucks cause it doesn’t have killswitch. I have several devices and profiles that I use, so I was thinking maybe just an overall VPN might be nice

Seeding - I think it would be nice to give back to the community, since I torrent every now and then.

OS Plan: I plan to use Proxmox as I have a little bit of experience using it, and others seem to like it a lot for managing multiple software.

I know I don’t need to go full power mode rn, so I wanna stick with something low end that I could maybe upgrade in the future. Should I just buy a used laptop/PC, or get like an Optiplex or ThinkServer? I don’t wanna rack up my parent’s electric bill. I already got some hard drives a year ago, so but is using an external drive bad?

I know to use the Ethernet ports so my signal isn’t shit, but I gotta work out the best spot I can put my server. I do know an okay amount of networking knowledge, and I’m a cyber student anyway so this is like a fun yet educational personal project for me.

When it comes to external access and security of these services, should I stick with Tailscale? Some people have concerns over the proprietary bits and are using headscale instead I guess.

Any guidance is much appreciated!

  • nelson@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    15 hours ago

    Protonvpn has a Killswitch: https://protonvpn.com/support/what-is-kill-switch

    A kill switch is available to all Proton VPN users on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and iPadOS. Newer versions of Android now have built-in kill switch feature, as explained below.

    Please note that our regular kill switch feature can’t protect you if you intentionally disconnect from a VPN server. However, the feature does protect you while switching servers with Proton VPN.

    Our Windows and Linux apps now also feature an Advanced kill switch. In addition to protecting you from accidental VPN disconnections, this prevents you from accidentally using the internet without the VPN turned on, and it will persist when you shut down and restart your device. You will not be able to connect to the internet if you manually disconnect the VPN without also disabling Advanced kill switch.

    or are you in a different scenario where that doesn’t work?

    I’ve configured my router to set up a VPN connection to proton ( wireguard config ). I then decide which devices gonout without vpn and which with VPN. ( Default being with VPN ). If the wireguard tunnel happens to go down, the devices can’t surf the web.

    • Novaling@lemmy.zipOPEnglish
      1·
      15 hours ago

      Specifically talking about the FireTV, 99% sure the app doesn’t have a Killswitch, I’ve checked. I use it all the time on PC and Mobile though :)

      Setting up the VPN on the router sounds great, but can home routers (I have Cox) flash VPN software on them (thought they couldn’t)? Also is it MAC or IP filtering (would I have to set a device to static IP) for deciding which devices use the VPN tunnel? How good is it about switching servers (like if a server I’m connected to is on maintenance or is overloaded)? Not too worried about the web issues, can always hop back on the regular Wi-Fi and use the app.

      • nelson@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        8 hours ago

        I think it’s MAC based, but I’m not sure

        Specifically talking about the FireTV, 99% sure the app doesn’t have a Killswitch, I’ve checked. I use it all the time on PC and Mobile though :)

        Ah! I can’t get a fire stick here so no experience with that.

        Setting up the VPN on the router sounds great, but can home routers (I have Cox) flash VPN software on them (thought they couldn’t)?

        The asus router I have has a feature called VPN fusion. I specifically bought a set of routers for my home that are in front of my ISP router because I wanted a single SSID and wanted to set my own DNS servers without having to specify them per device . They (ISP) keep restricting features on their router ( can barely do anything on them nowadays ). Also switching ISPs became easier as any config is done in my devices rather than theirs.

        Also is it MAC or IP filtering (would I have to set a device to static IP) for deciding which devices use the VPN tunnel? How good is it about switching servers (like if a server I’m connected to is on maintenance or is overloaded)? Not too worried about the web issues, can always hop back on the regular Wi-Fi and use the app.

        I THINK it’s Mac based, but I really can’t say. I named the devices on my router and they keep reconnecting as the same device. Either that or it uses some combination of info from the device to identify it.

        E.g.: my work MacBook should switch MAC addresses every time it connects to a WiFi, but it’s consistently identified by my router.

        Additionally, they have some routers that are supported by custom firmware ( asuswrt-merlin ). Mine don’t support it unfortunately. https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/