My Home server setup [Part 1]: why??

Having a server in the cloud can have a lot of use cases. So why not have one in your home?

For those who want to get into cloud computing/DevOps, it can be pretty pricey to own a capable VM from a leading cloud provider (e.g.: GCP, AWS, Azure & my personal favorite Linode). They do offer free tiers but I, personally, stop myself from using them in fears that I might try things out and then forget to actually cancel my subscription and might end up with a big credit card bill in the end. (Don't be like me 🫥)

So I tried searching for alternatives and realized that they're actually offering me VMs (virtual machines) in the cloud and I have an old laptop lying around which can also run VMs, so is there a way I can become my own cloud provider?? (Spoiler alert: turns out, I can 😉)

So why did I even self-host? Well, mostly because of monetary reasons and latency.

Advantages:

1. I can have a capable & powerful machine serving me instead of having a weak VM in the cloud. (Powerful VMs are really expensive)
2. Privacy: My data belongs to me. I don't have to trust anyone else with my data.
3. Latency: Because it resides within my home network itself, It'll be incredibly fast when serving devices in my home network.
4. Data consumption: I won't be consuming internet data when serving devices in my home itself. So I don't have to worry about a daily data cap if I have a cheap internet plan.
5. It can run on any hardware you have. e.g: an old unused laptop, a dedicated server rig or even on something as small as a Raspberry Pi.

Disadvantages:

1. Electricity charge: I'll have to keep that device turned on. (Won't be much of an issue, if you're using an old laptop or a Raspberry Pi, because they consume less power)
2. Should have a good internet plan to serve you content when you're on-the-go.

So, in this series, I'll show you my setup. Stay tuned for part 2!!