Hi, I’m looking for some recommendations, mostly looking for pointers of where to go and look at/research stuff as I have no idea what is good and what is just well advertised.

Intro: I have finally entered the world of (almost) Gigabit internet, which is opening up options with what I can host.

I currently have:

  • Pi hole on an actual RP (will probably remain there because its easy)
  • Inbound Wireguard VPN on my old router (will stop working when my old ISP stops service) EDIT: my new ISB gave me a router, but it doesn’t have VPN functionality
  • Foundry VTT that I run up on my gaming machine when needed

I will probably also be upgrading my gaming PC in the next few months, so my current rig will probably be put behind the TV to use as a server and for couch gaming.

Info/recommendations I would like:

  • VPN software (I want to VPN INTO my network) My goto would be wireguard, is that still a good option? (I assume I just port forward the VPN ports to the server?)
  • Private cloud/File server: I both want to be able to occasionally (but permamently) host files publicly, but still have the main store be available on the local network only. Is that going to be two pieces of software, or just one?
  • Is a local video streaming app actually useful for a rare watcher of movies etc, or can they be streamed directly from the file server? its something that I see a lot of people talk about, but don’t really understand why…
  • Is Docker the way to go for everything? or just install on the machine directly?
  • Piracy VM - Enabling the virtualisation stuff for Docker mostly breaks virtualbox (at least on windows) any recommendations for how to nicely run a VM alongside docker (if that’s the recommendation)?
  • Should/Could I be hosting anything else? Foundry will probably be on there. I don’t feel like I have a use for smart home stuff, so home assistant wouldn’t be much use etc.
  • dan@upvote.auEnglish
    7·
    3 days ago

    Should/Could I be hosting anything else?

    If you deal with a lot of paperwork, paperless-ngx and paperless-ai are very good for managing it. I bought a good scanner (edit: it’s a ScanSnap iX1600) and have been digitizing a bunch of paperwork. I feel like a proper adult now lol

    Maybe something for recipe management - Mealie or Tandoor?

    Audiobookshelf for audiobooks and podcasts.

    Healthchecks and Uptime Kuma for monitoring and alerting when things go down.

    • lucid@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      2·
      3 days ago

      What scanner do you have? My biggest hurdle in making real use of paperless revolves around the annoyance of using a flatbed that’s not within arms each of my desk lol

      • dan@upvote.auEnglish
        4·
        3 days ago

        ScanSnap iX1600. I bought mine from B&H: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1615326-REG/fujitsu_pa03770_b635_scansnap_ix1600_document_scanner.html. There’s two scanners that usually get recommended for paperless: this one, and a cheaper (but not as nice) Brother one.

        It’s a really compact unit - smaller than I thought it’d be! You can put up to 50 sheets in the feeder and it scans them all, on both sides (no need to manually flip the pages). Can scan 40 pages per minute.

        I’ve combined it with ASN (archive serial number) QR code stickers for documents that I need to keep a physical copy of. I’m using Avery 5267 stickers + Avery’s online designer site to design and print them. If I need to keep a physical copy of the document, I stick a sticker on the document, scan it, and Paperless automatically detects the QR code and sets the ASN. Then I keep all the physical copies in a binder, ordered by ASN. If I need to locate a physical document, I find it in Paperless, check the ASN, then go to the right document in the binder (easy to find the right place since they’re all in order).

        There’s just a few minor issues with the scanner, but otherwise it’s perfect:

        • It was a bit expensive, at $400 in the USA.
        • You need a Windows or MacOS system to do the initial setup. Setting it up is done through a desktop app rather than through the touchscreen on the device.
        • Some of the options need a computer connected to the scanner via USB, or signing up to their cloud service. However, it does support scanning to a SMB share without a computer connected, which is all I needed. I have my paperless-ngx “consume” directory shared via Samba. You just need to delete the default scanning profiles and add a network scan (SMB) one.