My Self-Hosting Journey

I began my self-hosting journey in 2021 with the goal of hosting a game server for friends so they would not need to pay for external hosting. Through onsite IT work, I acquired several 6th and 8th generation i7 systems from companies that were downsizing or upgrading. After adding inexpensive NVMe storage and APC battery backups, the environment grew quickly.

What started as a single server eventually expanded to three dedicated game servers running 27/4, supporting up to 270 concurrent players at peak. These servers have been up for almost 4 years now.

Internet Connection

• ISP: Optimum Fiber (1 Gbps / 1 Gbps symmetrical) – $65/month
• ISP router configured in bridge mode if I return it they take away a discount.

Network Infrastructure

• Router: UDM Pro
• Switch: USW 16-Port PoE
• Access Point: AC Pro

Infrastructure Services

DNS Server

• Raspberry Pi 4 (4 GB RAM)
• DietPi OS
• Running Pi-hole for DNS filtering

Game Server Infrastructure

All game servers are connected to APC battery backups and maintain approximately 99% uptime, with downtime only occurring during scheduled maintenance. A custom watchdog script automatically restarts servers if a crash occurs.

• Game Server 1

  • i7 6th Gen
  • 24 GB RAM
  • 500 GB NVMe storage
  • Windows Server 2019

• Game Server 2

  • i7 8th Gen
  • 32 GB RAM
  • 500 GB NVMe storage
  • Windows Server 2019

• Game Server 3

  • i7 8th Gen
  • 28 GB RAM
  • 500 GB NVMe storage
  • Windows Server 2019

Virtualization / Homelab

Proxmox Server

• i7 12th Gen
• 40 GB RAM
• 1 TB NVMe storage
• External USB Media Drive – 22 TB (with backup)

Current Services

• Jellyfin – Replacing all commercial streaming services (currently LAN only, working on secure remote access)

Planned Additions

• NGINX – Reverse proxy for secure external access
• Apache Guacamole – Replace RemotePC for remote access
• Tailscale – Replace Surfshark for private networking
• Vaultwarden – Replace RoboForm for password management

If you think there are better options please let me know so I can do my research!

I can open the required port without issue. However, I would like to further educate myself on reverse proxy configurations, as I believe this would be the most secure and appropriate approach. Thank you!

Tailscale actually has good documentation on this Funnel and I read the same. Thank you!

anywhere from the internet.

This is great thank you for this since the next step on my journey is the ARR stack!

How much data? If its not too much just get 2 drives one for working on it and the other for back up and save hundreds.

Imagine becoming upset over simple questions and resorting to reporting them. It’s similar to the current job market positions advertised as entry-level but requiring a minimum of five years of experience.

Im using it locally with no subscription or any payment and it works fine. I stream to other smart tvs on the house not my phone though. If its connected to the local lan you shouldn’t have this issue.

Do not open those ports hosting is way to cheap now to take that risk!

Cloudflare dns changes are lightning fast compared to network solutions.

The big issue with this is opening those ports to the internet. Hosting is so cheap now its not worth the risk in my opinion.

Its tough cause we want to help people in need but also dont want to be scammed. Theres gotta be a better way to do this!

Use skykick its like 12 bucks per mailbox. They have live support so they will even help you setup the migration.

You can always do a clean install from a USB and create 2 new registries and it will bypass the hardware check. I have installed windows 11 on various 6th gen machines and they run great.