My Tech Stories
The Benefits of Having a Home Server
And Why UNRAID is a Great Tool for Me
A “Bit” of Why
The idea of owning a home server has been in my mind for many years, but the lack of money to invest in this “hobby” or other more pressing issues took the forefront.
In the end, I had to do it as my tech-oriented brain couldn’t say no any longer. I first got a NAS (Network-attached storage), it was somewhat cheaper and I said I would only really use it to keep backups.
It was adequate, but after a few months, I realized I was asking too much out of it. I wanted to do so much more. The tiny NAS was just not able to deliver that level of performance.
I had to go full custom.
I quickly sold the NAS and bought some new computer parts that I was missing and built it right away. I now had another modern and powerful PC.
It wasn’t yet a proper server, because it was not yet running dedicated server software. After weeks of testing various server solutions (Proxmox, Ubuntu Server, OMV, Unraid, Amahi, and a few others) I made a choice.
I chose UNRAID.
Two years later and it’s still great. For me, it ticks all the boxes. It has all the tools I need to maximize the potential of my hardware. It can be a NAS, an app server, or a VM host, pick one or choose all if you have sufficient resources.
Here are some of the reasons I wanted a home server and what I discovered along the way.
Backup Your Data
The main reason I wanted a home server was to backup my data, my photos and videos, and my projects. I tried external disks in the past and also tried cloud solutions. With external disks, it is all very manual and becomes quite disorganized at some point. The cloud is great but can become quite expensive.
Having a storage device allows you to quickly backup important data, access it, and even automate the process with apps such as Rsync, Duplicati, Syncthing, or Nextcloud.
Having backups is crucial if you care about your data. Having it saved on a machine that you have control of and can manage it however you want can be very valuable.
Access From Anywhere, Share Everything or Nothing
Your data, your choice. You can choose to share it with family or friends or encrypt it and keep it to yourself.
You can share through FTP, SMB shares, or even set up a “cloud”-like storage using Nextcloud.
Docker is Awesome
A big part of Unraid is the ability to use Docker containers. The Docker platform allows you to run applications in their isolated containers. It’s like having a mini VM for each of your apps.
Yes, you can have docker pretty much on any platform, but the way it’s integrated and running on Unraid is just seamless. Once you have it working, execute a search for the docker app you need and run it.
Docker transforms your limited file transfer and backup server into a do-whatever-you-want-with-it server.
Monitor And Automate Your Home
When you live in a house, you might get the idea to mount some surveillance cameras to monitor your home, surroundings, and maybe your cat. That’s great, let’s do that!
When you have a server, you don’t have to worry about large DVR sets. You also don’t need to worry about expensive paid subscription services used to store your recorded videos.
You can do it yourself. Get the CCTV cameras you want, maybe a separate HDD for storing recordings, and connect it to one of the many software available such as Shinobi, MotionEye, or Xeoma.
For those who want to go further, Unraid, through either VMs or Docker containers, allows you to automate your home. You can set up the environment and tools you need to transform your regular house into a smart home.
It takes a bit to configure, but once you do, it’s going to be smooth. If you’re into that, a powerful tool for home automation is Home Assistant.
Virtualize, Virtualize, Virtualize
Virtual machines are great instruments for experimentation. Either you want to test out a different OS and learn its quirks or have apps that only run on specific OS versions or flavors.
Maybe you are a gamer and want a dedicated environment for that. If your server has the resources for running VMs, it’s never been easier.
Just get the ISO you need, configure the environment resource allocation, and set it up as usual. You can play around and try everything you can think. If you break it, the restore or reinstall process is easy to do. It is a great way to learn.
Play With Your Media
You probably have thousands of videos you recorded, even more photos, and possibly an extensive movie or music collection. They are all stored in “bits” and pieces just collecting virtual dust.
The ability to use your server with tools like Plex, Kodi, or Emby allows you to give new life to the media files you own.
Sure, you might want a subscription to Netflix or Spotify to get the newest stuff, and that’s great. However, having a private device filled with entertainment is one of the best motives to build a server.
Amazing Community
One of the reasons I liked UNRAID as a product is its community. You can find great ideas and tips on how you can set up your product and get the most out of it.
It is admirable to see people that take their knowledge and use their own time to improve a product from pure desire.
Nice!
The community provides lots of insights and guides to get you started. Once you start working on your server and it will become addictive. There are many new things to learn and the information you find will provide a great starting place.
This Seems Complicated
Yes, it can be, especially if you are not into IT or a bit tech-savvy. I mean, even I, with more than 15 years of background in IT have had unfortunate events…like having 4 new HDDs killed/die while building my server. That turned out to be a hardware issue on the PSU.
Things like this can happen all the time as things break. If you are unsure about your technical knowledge but still want to do it, you can always ask a more tech-inclined friend to help. You can create a fun project out of it.
If you want to learn how to build computers and learn about new technologies and software, this can be great. Remember, Google and YouTube are your allies.
Is It Worth It?
That is up to you and your needs. It is not necessarily cheap as it can be quite an investment if you go the high-performance route. You need to do the research and decide what is going to be the server’s role.
Not all the parts have to be new. You can use second-hand or refurbished ones. If you need to grow, you can expand or upgrade with ease.
For me, it was worth it, and it’s been great. I would do it a few more times just for fun, but that’s because I am a bit of a nerd.
Have Fun!
Are you in the process of building a home server? What are your thoughts and ideas on it?
