Hey, folks I’m moving my main PC to linux soon, and for that I have settled on Mint. However, I also plan to build a homelab pc for the first time to selfhost some services, mainly Jellyfinn, some game servers, and possibly next cloud, but I’m unsure which distro to go with for that.

I have some experience running debian headless (on an orange pi) and I can use ssh and the cli just fine, however, I also want the server pc to (maybe) serve as a moonlight client in my living room, so I was leaning towards something that is not headless, and I am unsure if I should also go with Mint for that or if something else might be more suitable.

  • neclimdul@lemmy.world
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    2 hours ago

    Sounds like Debian is probably your goto based on experience you stated. KISS to start.

    My advice is choose something as stable as your requirements allow. Debian, Ubuntu LTS, etc. It can be fun to try new things but generally your homelab stuff you just want to work and spending a ton of time fixing broken updates isn’t the fun part.

    Similar to above, isolate and guard your data from your OS and programs. It lets you be flexible to trying some new things if you want. But if things go bad, reinstalling a different OS is easy. remount your JBOD or NAS or what ever and you’re back rolling. Backing up and transferring tons of files sucks and recovering them is worse.

    Declarative infrastructure can be your friend. Ansible, docker compose, etc. Again, when things go bad, getting things back up is that much quicker and you can keep doing the fun stuff not spend your weekend finding that old blog post, figuring out that weird ai promp, what ever .

  • DonutsRMeh@lemmy.world
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    16 hours ago

    My server has been running Debian for over a year now with zero issues. Here is a list of the things I run:

    1. Invidious.
    2. Audiobookshelf.
    3. Navidrome.
    4. Pihole with unbound.
    5. Searx.
    6. Cloudflare

    Hope this helps.

  • doodoo_wizard@lemmy.ml
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    21 hours ago

    Eventually proxmox will be the right choice for you. Right now it’s not because you’re not skilled or knowledgeable enough to be able to navigate it.

    That is not a dig or a slight, it’s a very powerful and complex package built on top of an already powerful and complex package.

    Just do containerless normal person Debian then when everything’s running how you’d like and you’re ready you can migrate to proxmox.

    The big benefit of doing that instead of jumping into proxmox with both feet immediately is that you’ll be learning more and be able to solve your own problems as you get to the point of using proxmox.

    • alphabethunter@lemmy.worldOP
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      19 hours ago

      What are the downsides of not using proxmox right now? Most people on this thread are recommending it, so even if it’s a little difficult now, but more capable in the long run, I’m up for the challenge.

      • doodoo_wizard@lemmy.ml
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        18 hours ago

        The downsides of not going straight to proxmox are all pretty much permutations of missing out on features or having to deal with a migration later on down the line when you do switch to it.

        Those features are almost universally stuff you might decide to not use or to use in a particular way, so it’s easy to say “pump your brakes and get your feet underneath yourself first” before handing you a tool that can be configured (with the help of Reddit, stackexchange and llms) in infinite wrong ways.

        Kind of like suggesting someone learn how to make a simple miter joint before handing them the universally loved and used cordless oscillating multi tool. The tool is really powerful, but the skills and foresight doing even just one miter joint will give you let you make better choices about how to use the oscillating multitool when you have it.

        Migration from bare metal to literally anything else is incredibly well documented and not a big deal.

        Often times for some of the stuff you said you’d be running there are guides for migrating that particular package from metal to containers, vms, or to proxmox itself.

        I want to make it clear that everything you learn from bare metal Debian would transfer over and compliment learning skills directly with the proxmox package because proxmox runs on top of Debian and Debian would likely be the os your vms or containers are made from.

        You don’t need to throw yourself in the deep end to learn how to swim.

        E: there is the extremely rare possibility that you will have some crash or security problem due to lack of containers/vms. I say extremely rare and I mean extremely rare. My personal server which was bare metal for twenty years just recently had its first one and it was actually related to a problem with containerization as opposed to lack of it. Your mileage may vary but for home users who don’t have public IPs and services getting pounded on 24/7 it wasn’t even something I thought about.

  • monkeyman512@lemmy.world
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    20 hours ago

    I agree with having the server run Proxmox like others have said. Check out these YouTube channels for helpful information/guides:

    LearnLinuxTV

    LawrenceSystems

    CraftComputing

    • alphabethunter@lemmy.worldOP
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      19 hours ago

      Thanks! I’ll chech these out. I’m planning to start moving things over this weekend, so I’ll take the couple of days till then to learn as much as possible.

  • spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works
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    18 hours ago

    Running Mint for apps like Jellyfin and Icecast that aren’t critical, and Debian for apps like Frigate that are. Mint is easier to manage and more convenient, but Debian is amazingly reliable. Docker is used for everything.

    Consider adding Wireguard or similar for anywhere access. I have Tasker automatically connect whenever I’m not on home wifi so everything is always available without having detectable open router ports.

  • HuntressHimbo@lemmy.zip
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    21 hours ago

    If you want to get real fancy with it you could do something like Nix, but honestly I would recommend Debian first almost every time

  • just_another_person@lemmy.world
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    22 hours ago

    Separate the use-case here:

    1. For your desktop, whatever works. There is no one distro that gives you some leg-up on performance or anything else. You can install the same software on all, and the kernel is largely the same.

    2. Just get or build a NAS for hosting media. A Synology or Qnap has a bit of added cost, but the maintenance overhead is reduced by a LOT versus running TrueNAS, OMV, or similar. That being said, choose the right tool for the job, and don’t just run Debian for this purpose because it just adding admin overhead you don’t need. This probably has been solved from your specific angle. What you want is simplicity in maintenance. Being able to hotswap and repair a failed drive means a huge win.

    • sakuraba@lemmy.ml
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      20 hours ago

      a NAS in this economy? (kinda joking but damn everything is so expensive right now I would advise anyone to just use whatever they can find even if it means adding admin overhead)

      • alphabethunter@lemmy.worldOP
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        19 hours ago

        Yeah, there’s no way I can build another machine in this economy haha Especially because I’m in SA, and here hardware costs 2x-4x

          • sakuraba@lemmy.ml
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            15 hours ago

            They could be building with components leftover from other builds, not entirely buying them.

            I get it, I live in Latin America so I doubt they will find any NAS affordable (edit i assumed SA was south africa lol, and it’s brazil so yeah everything there will be WAY MORE EXPENSIVE)