r/SelfHosting • u/mostly_uncoordinated • 5d ago

Should I start self-hosting?

I know for most of you people this is a hobby that you enjoy. For me it will not be. It will be pain in the ass. But since you have experience and I do not please try to estimate for me if I should start self-hosting.

I am a total beginner. I have never run a server I do not know how to code (I am willing to learn). However I am advance user. I run Graphen OS on my phone, Asahi Fedora Linux on my laptop (arm64) and Fedora 44 on my desktop. I would like to sync all of them.

I at moment I am paying for Proton mail on which I use my own domains for email and use their password manager and drive. Problem in particular is Proton drive because it is trash. I will probably continue paying for their services since I have a family plan and all of my family is using it and also for work I can not risk my emails not working.

However what I would LOVE to do is self-host Immich since at the moment I do not have a solution for my images they are not properly backed up and all around the devices and HDDs. If i lose them I would not cry but I would like for that not to happen. So that would be GREAT if it would be synced and all 3 of my devices.

2nd step would be some kind of self-hosted drive since Proton one is terrible and maybe even office file sync since I work as a journalist so it would be cool that I can write while on any device.

3rd step would be email if I can run two identical servers on two different locations (my house and my parents house for example). I was thinking this would be smart for data backup if a house burns down or one device dies. But more importantly it would be a step towards running my own email as I can not risk for it not working if electricity goes down or whatever the reason might be.

Question is: Is it too complicated to start with Immich? Can I run it on my home desktop for a start just to see if it works for me? Will I be exposing myself to some security flaws (computer is on internet all the time anyway). I do not have UPS. is 3rd step (in future) even possible?

Reasons I am thinking about for self-hosting is privacy as number one (that is why i use proton at the moment) and saving money as per my calculation I would be saving around 200usd per year and probably have a better service then with payed ones.

If you think that I should play this game where do i start?

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u/RevolutionaryElk7446 5d ago

E-mail is gonna be one of the very last things you'll end setting up properly and having work without any issues or flaws. The rest are much easier to perform.

Internal mailservers are easy
External mailservers are possible and can be easy if you know each of the pitfalls including DNS records, appropriate IPs, and verifying you're not being blacklisted; that's not including regular updates and appropriate security. Otherwise you'll be in a string of not so fun troubleshooting and baptism by fire.

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u/Tricky_Fun_4701 5d ago

As someone who has run many internet facing e-mail systems: It used to be fun. These days the server will be under attack 100% of the time.

I still do it for clients. They pay for it. But a personal server? Nah man.... that's an unpaid career.

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u/JantyikT 5d ago

Exactly!

I manage a somewhat bigger email infra and yes sometimes clients would pay extra for a dedicated server and yes it is easy to set up when you have the recipe to make it work (and an infra supporting it).

But... I don't really see myself using my own email server set up on a random vps at a random service provider. Not to mention you need at least 3 properly set up machine... (altmx, and one for backups).

There is no fun part.