Apologies in advance for the long post.

I’ve been following the self hosting community for a while, just never got around to setting up my own services until now. I have been doing some research so far to get my bearings but seems like I am mixing up two things ie homelab and self hosting (I was actually going to post to r/homelab for help then I went through their rules and saw would be better to ask here)

Here’s what I have gathered so far: OS: Ubuntu / linux mint OpenMediaVault Proxmox (with OS containerised) TrueNAS ZimaOS/CasaOS/Umbrel/Cosmos and many more similar ones

Container managers (docker) Portrainer Grafana Cockpit Dockge

I am familiar with linux, as in I can find my way around as I have been messing with Ubuntu and Linux Mint for a while now on and off, but I am no expert. There are too many OS options just to start with and I don’t really have any pointers in which direction to go.

I have previously managed to get docker running on an old laptop of mine (Linux Mint), first for a rustdesk server, which was then forgotten about, and recently for immich, which I actually got running successfully and synced with my phone as I wanted to see if it would be a viable option for me. After that I started working on sourcing a desktop pc AKA “server”

My server specs as follows: i3 - 10100 8GB DDR4 512GB SSD - boot drive (Linux Mint currently) 500GB HDD - ? 1TB HDD - server data? The server is just a dell vostro 3888 desktop, I live in a 3rd world country so we play with what we can get (still cost me about 250$, but believe me it was a steal for that price) so it will get some TLC as I start self hosting.

My intended use case:

Photo server / backup set with immich, and have access to the library outside my home network. 1.

Documents server - paperless ngx / nextcloud / owncloud (need some advice) 1.

Media server - just got a Debrid account which I am currently using for streaming, although there are many TV shows and movies that I keep around on an external SSD, so I might look into plex or something similar for that later. 1.

Anything else I can think of, I’m just getting started. 1.

I also have a VFD display (256x48) controlled via an arduino uno R4, I plan to use it as a “dashboard” of sorts showing CPU, RAM, Temperature and network usage or something similar maybe regarding the docker containers.

Planned upgrades:

Already changed the thermal paste, although I doubt it will see any significant heat generation for immich right? 1.

RAM will be upgraded, I forget what speeds it is but will either get another matching 8GB or just 16GB pair, just not right now. 1.

The SSD and HDDs are all “used”, yes yes I know I will lose my data and all, but I just wanted to get a system up and running before I start investing in parts. 1.

I also have a gaming laptop that I plan to use for immich remote machine learning (dell g15 i7 11800h rtx3060), so I will setup docker on there and mess around with the remote processing. 1.

The “old” laptop I tested immich on previously is a 4th gen i7 with gtx820m or something, If that could also be useful somehow its just sitting at home currently. I don’t know if / what I can use that hardware for, as well as another mini PC that I have with similar specs (either 4th or 6th gen i5, igpu). I think this is where I got confused as you can use multiple PCs with proxmox clusters and so I started doing research on that, but seems like proxmox might me a bit much to just start with right? 1.

I have mikrotik HAP AC Lite, if I need something for proper networking?, my current network is handled by Huawei B315s - 4G router. For now I plan to access my home network via nordvpn Meshnet (already used it previously for other stuff) but I am also looking at tailscale and wireguard, advice is welcome here too. 1.

I have also messed around with DDNS (duckdns to be specific) but am very wary of opening ports and such, so might do that or get a custom domain in the future, might just stick with meshnet/tailscale etc.

Due to power stability / fluctuation issues I had to setup my UPS first (APC SMT750i modified with 200AH LiFePO4 battery, 5.1kWh ) and that happened today, hence I am now looking at the steps forward.

I have also setup the dell to power on after AC power loss although with the UPS it shouldn’t happen, as well as ignore the keyboard not present error. If there are any other settings to check in the UEFI/BIOS let me know.