I want to make a server for hosting media through Jellyfin, and maybe some Nextcloud functionality. I prefer to use containers, but something like TrueNAS’ extensions/plugins sound good as well. This is my first server, so I don’t know what to choose. My possible options are:
Debian
Ubuntu
Fedora
TrueNAS Scale
Which one should I choose? I am fine with using either Docker or Podman. (Edit: The server will be running on an old laptop with a single drive slot.)
TrueNAS did make it easy for me to manage my home lab, but I’m more of a software engineer than a devops. Debian if you’re comfortable with managing that.
I use RHEL/Rocky 8 for all my home server stuff mostly because i like my home server stuff boring and stable.
Since you were considering TrueNAS, maybe consider something like Debian/Ubuntu + CasaOS. That will give you a good base and webui to work with.
It’s not going to be a lean as it could be but it should give you enough guard rails and hand holding to get you started. Then you can figure out the rest of your needs from there. If you don’t like it you can always wipe it and try again with something else.
I’d stay away from the TrueNAS, Unraid, Proxmox, etc. mostly due to your hardware and that it’s your first home server.
They’re not bad at all, but a lot of the stuff is abstracted from you and since you’re more than likely going to want to tinker with it having a standardized base install with a distro that has a lot of documentation is going to be very helpful.
Debian if you want something easy and stable,
Fedora if you want latest updates and are comfortable with occasional SELinux settings,
TrueNAS if you don’t want to spend any time at all setting up disks
Ubuntu if you want infinite dependency hell and 5 minute boot times
Proxmox. I’ve been using it and deployed jellyfin in a container, they have a bunch of one-click deployments and it’s great. Or you can just use a VM to group Docker containers together. Having a beautiful web interface is huge, Plus being able to access that interface from anywhere via WireGuard/Tailscale is great.
If you do choose to go down this route, there is a “no-nag proxmox” script somewhere, and it will disable some warnings and give you deeper customization options. Well worth a look!
I’ve never used Proxmox, but have a Docker setup on Ubuntu Server with Jellyfin, Nextcloud, Immich, and a bunch of other smaller things. I still don’t understand why use Proxmox over Docker. What does it give you that Docker doesn’t?
Based on that generic request, you’re just going to get everyone’s personal favourite server OS here. You’ll need to give more details to get something tailored to your needs.
I’m running Fedora Server + Cosmos Cloud. Freaking awesome. Fedora Server comes bundled with Cockpit, which makes admin work much easier, and Cosmos Cloud makes Docker very easy, and automates your security.
Everybody is so quick to suggest Debian (and it’s a fine choice), but Alpine is great for such things, as well. It’s blazing fast, frequently updated, has most packages you could ever want in a server environment (not that it matters if you’re planning on using containers). I’ve been using Alpine for years as my docker host, and not once have I thought “man, I wish it was debian instead”.
I’ve been using Debian as my main server OS for a long time, but yeah I’ve started using Alpine for lightweight hosts for a single app/docker lately. Especially on proxmox with the pve-helper-scripts you can spin up an Alpine container or VM with Docker in a few seconds.
Not something I’d want on my server :) Partly joking, their lifecycle makes sense if you stay on the major.minor release. Though I find 2 years security support is a bit short - Debian LTS is usually around 5 years, not an excuse to wait for the last moment to upgrade but I find it more comfortable than just 2 years.
One thing to watch for is that alpine uses musl as it libc, and many programs expect glibc so you might run into obscure bugs. I find it good as base image for OCI images (again there are edge cases), but wouldn’t use it for a general purpose server.
I upgrade as soon as new versions come out, I like living on the edge :) if something goes wrong, there are backups.
As for musl, I haven’t mentioned it since OP wants to run containers - and in that case, musl doesn’t matter. And for running programs natively, many are available as packages (with any musl incompatibilities already resolved). But yeah, if you venture outside these limits, you can definitely run into issues with musl.
I would like to recommend an Ubuntu Server LTS which is almost as solid as Debian in my opinion but with many useful features like nonfree drivers accessible right away and newer packages.
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TrueNAS did make it easy for me to manage my home lab, but I’m more of a software engineer than a devops. Debian if you’re comfortable with managing that.
I use RHEL/Rocky 8 for all my home server stuff mostly because i like my home server stuff boring and stable.
Since you were considering TrueNAS, maybe consider something like Debian/Ubuntu + CasaOS. That will give you a good base and webui to work with.
It’s not going to be a lean as it could be but it should give you enough guard rails and hand holding to get you started. Then you can figure out the rest of your needs from there. If you don’t like it you can always wipe it and try again with something else.
I’d stay away from the TrueNAS, Unraid, Proxmox, etc. mostly due to your hardware and that it’s your first home server.
They’re not bad at all, but a lot of the stuff is abstracted from you and since you’re more than likely going to want to tinker with it having a standardized base install with a distro that has a lot of documentation is going to be very helpful.
For anyone considering CasaOS, I suggest you check out Cosmos Cloud. More or less the same thing but with turnkey automated security and VPN.
That’s really neat! Thanks!!
It doesn’t matter what your host os is, if you’re using docker. Choose whichever one you like more
Debian
deleted by creator
Debian or Fedora
Debian if you want something easy and stable, Fedora if you want latest updates and are comfortable with occasional SELinux settings, TrueNAS if you don’t want to spend any time at all setting up disks
Ubuntu if you want infinite dependency hell and 5 minute boot times
Proxmox. I’ve been using it and deployed jellyfin in a container, they have a bunch of one-click deployments and it’s great. Or you can just use a VM to group Docker containers together. Having a beautiful web interface is huge, Plus being able to access that interface from anywhere via WireGuard/Tailscale is great.
If you do choose to go down this route, there is a “no-nag proxmox” script somewhere, and it will disable some warnings and give you deeper customization options. Well worth a look!
I’ve never used Proxmox, but have a Docker setup on Ubuntu Server with Jellyfin, Nextcloud, Immich, and a bunch of other smaller things. I still don’t understand why use Proxmox over Docker. What does it give you that Docker doesn’t?
Based on that generic request, you’re just going to get everyone’s personal favourite server OS here. You’ll need to give more details to get something tailored to your needs.
True, but everyone’s favorite so far is debian
There’s a jellyfin docker container. Get that going and then the underlying OS becomes important
I’m running Fedora Server + Cosmos Cloud. Freaking awesome. Fedora Server comes bundled with Cockpit, which makes admin work much easier, and Cosmos Cloud makes Docker very easy, and automates your security.
I’m using Debian, with Docker and running Jellyfin, Nextcloud, Navidrome and Wireguard on Containers on my old laptop. So that would be my suggestion.
You could install CasaOS and/or Portainer, on top of Debian if you want an easier way to manage your server and containers.
Everybody is so quick to suggest Debian (and it’s a fine choice), but Alpine is great for such things, as well. It’s blazing fast, frequently updated, has most packages you could ever want in a server environment (not that it matters if you’re planning on using containers). I’ve been using Alpine for years as my docker host, and not once have I thought “man, I wish it was debian instead”.
I’ve been using Debian as my main server OS for a long time, but yeah I’ve started using Alpine for lightweight hosts for a single app/docker lately. Especially on proxmox with the pve-helper-scripts you can spin up an Alpine container or VM with Docker in a few seconds.
Not something I’d want on my server :) Partly joking, their lifecycle makes sense if you stay on the major.minor release. Though I find 2 years security support is a bit short - Debian LTS is usually around 5 years, not an excuse to wait for the last moment to upgrade but I find it more comfortable than just 2 years.
One thing to watch for is that alpine uses
muslas it libc, and many programs expect glibc so you might run into obscure bugs. I find it good as base image for OCI images (again there are edge cases), but wouldn’t use it for a general purpose server.I upgrade as soon as new versions come out, I like living on the edge :) if something goes wrong, there are backups.
As for musl, I haven’t mentioned it since OP wants to run containers - and in that case, musl doesn’t matter. And for running programs natively, many are available as packages (with any musl incompatibilities already resolved). But yeah, if you venture outside these limits, you can definitely run into issues with musl.
I would like to recommend an Ubuntu Server LTS which is almost as solid as Debian in my opinion but with many useful features like nonfree drivers accessible right away and newer packages.
Been running the docker on unraid for years in a HP slimline. Rock solid.