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Would you buy "self-hosted in a box" hardware?

I’m considering a business plan for people getting in to self-hosting. Essentially I sell you a Mikrotik router and a refurbished tiny x86 server. The idea is that the router plugs in to your home internet and the server into the router. Between the two they get the server able to handle incoming requests so that you can host services on the box and address them from the broader Internet.

The hypothesis is that $150 of equipment to avoid dozens of hours of software configuration is a worthwhile trade for some customers. I realize some people want to learn particular technologies and this is a bad fit for them. I think there are people out there that want the benefit of self-hosting, and may find it worth it to buy “self-hosting in a box”.

What do you think? Would this be a useful product for some people?

ChillPill ,
@ChillPill@lemmy.world avatar

I admire the thought of lowering the barrier to entry to start self-hosting for “normies”. Not sure where you are located, but where I am, this price point is not realistic even for used equipment, not including RAM or storage. I’m not really sure what value add you are bringing to the table that one wouldn’t get from just buying used hardware from an office surplus and if one is very inexperienced in self-hostong, looking into something like LTT is partnered with like Hexos.

Kolanaki ,
@Kolanaki@yiffit.net avatar

A small home media server running off a raspberry pi could be that cheap.

EliRibble OP ,

this price point is not realistic even for used equipment, not including RAM or storage

I’m doing experiments currently on a refurbished Intel i5-6500 with 8Gb DDR4 and a 0.5Tb SSD. It’s tiny, quiet (~45 decibels) and so far runs ~8 watts idle, 25 watts normal usage. I haven’t stress-tested the power draw. The router I’m testing with is a Mikrotik hEX lite 5. That’s around ~$150, though clearly if you are accustomed to more “rack-mount” style homelab these will seem very modest.

What I’m testing for now is getting representative loads on the devices to see how they perform.

I’m not really sure what value add you are bringing to the table that one wouldn’t get from just buying used hardware from an office surplus and if one is very inexperienced in self-hostong, looking into something like LTT is partnered with like Hexos.

Oh, I totally agree, my value add just isn’t there if you are experienced at hosting. The value add is to help people get started, and to keep them running at a modest level. Not everyone wants to experiment with Kubernetes at home or train LLMs. Some folks just want a password manager, a shared calendar, something to organize their tax documents, a pihole, and a Minecraft server for their kids.

I don’t follow LTT, I was under the impression it was more hardware reviews for the experienced than tutorials to help people get started.

I’ve read a bit about Hexos, I’m thinking of some similar things, and it would make sense to work with them. I’m excited for their coming beta.

atzanteol ,

Which problem(s) are you trying to solve? The networking issue of firewalls and port forwarding? The admin tasks of installing and configuring applications? The task nobody does of maintaining software and keeping it up-to-date?

EliRibble OP ,

Which problem(s) are you trying to solve? The networking issue of firewalls and port forwarding?

Within the scope of this question, yes. Also properly configuring IPv6, though that’s just to achieve the same things that port forwarding enables.

The admin tasks of installing and configuring applications?

That’s also on my list, but I was trying to keep the question focused. Do you think the answer makes a difference? In other words, if it was just networking would it be not worth it, but networking and application management would make it worth it?

atzanteol ,

I don’t think the networking part is part that needs solving. Modern AP/routers are pretty easy to configure and setup securely. Dunno - I’m definitely not in the target audience for what you’re doing though.

Kolanaki ,
@Kolanaki@yiffit.net avatar

Only if it didn’t have an insane markup for being pre-built.

Decronym Bot , (edited )

Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I’ve seen in this thread:

Fewer Letters More Letters
AP WiFi Access Point
ESXi VMWare virtual machine hypervisor
HTTP Hypertext Transfer Protocol, the Web
HTTPS HTTP over SSL
LTT Linus Tech Tips YouTube channel
NAS Network-Attached Storage
SSD Solid State Drive mass storage
SSH Secure Shell for remote terminal access
SSL Secure Sockets Layer, for transparent encryption
VPS Virtual Private Server (opposed to shared hosting)

[Thread for this sub, first seen 9th Sep 2024, 20:55] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]

acockworkorange ,

I’d buy your services to configure my TrueNAS server right now.

possiblylinux127 ,

It would make more sense to sell a management service

helenslunch ,
@helenslunch@feddit.nl avatar

If I wanted that I would just buy Synology/QNAP/Zima, etc.

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