My overly unnecessary home networking configuration and self-hosted services(yet)
It all began when I got my hands on my first internet connection with a static public IP. Initially, I was just playing around with basic HTTP service and port forwarding. But being able to access stuff outside my local network was a game-changer. Plus, my hosting provider getting hacked every other week was a real nudge for me to take control and self-host everything.
Raspberry Pi Wonders
So, I redirected my blog, tawabalamkhan.com, to my new IP and started hosting it from home on a borrowed Raspberry Pi 3. At first, I was unsure about the Pi’s capabilities, but it completely blew my mind! That little device ran my website flawlessly for over a year, and it hardly used any power.
Transition to an Old Laptop
After a year on the Pi, I decided to revamp my old HP ProBook 4540s laptop (it was about a decade old) and turned it into a web server. That’s when I bid farewell to the Pi and shifted everything to the laptop.
Full-Fledged Desktop Server
Recently, I retired the laptop and transformed my last desktop into a full-fledged server making the whole thing significantly more powerful.
Self-Hosted Services
Besides hosting my own website I’m self hosting a few other services as well
- NGINX: Manages static files and acts as a proxy for other services.
- Jellyfin: Functions as my personal Netflix and Spotify, housing my video and music collections.
- BIND: Utilized for DNS caching.
- PostgreSQL: Supports various services.
- Docker: Experimenting with different containers for diverse purposes.
A Dynamic Journey
So, my journey from Raspberry Pi to laptop to a full-on desktop server has been quite the adventure!