Cheap storage that I can use both locally and as a private cloud. Very convenient for piracy storing all my legally obtained files.
Network wide adblocking. Massive for mobile games/apps.
Pivate VPN. Really useful for using public networks and bypassing network restrictions.
Gives me an excuse to buy really cool, old server and networking hardware.
As for things I wish I knew… Don’t use windows for servers. Just don’t.
SMB sucks, try NFS.
Use docker, managing 5 or 10 different apps without containers is a nightmare.
Bold of you to assume I’m a computer scientist or engineer or that I have a degree lmao. I just hate ads, subscriptions and network restrictions, so I learned how to avoid those things. As for resources to get started… Look up TrueNAS scale. It basically does all of the work for you.