For the past two years, I have been self-hosting most of my personal projects and daily tools on a small but powerful ThinkCentre M710 Tiny. Here’s my two-year feedback.

Why Did I Start Self-Hosting?

I could spend hours justifying my decision by arguing that we rely too much on big corporations that take our data for free. But, simply put, I wanted more control over my digital life, the ability to run only the services I truly need, and to avoid spending my entire budget on server costs.

Self-hosting is also a great way to gain hands-on experience. Working with any Linux-based system, deploying and managing services, monitoring, and maintaining them is incredibly valuable. Not only does it help with personal projects, but it’s also a great skill to have overall.

The Hardware Setup

I could have bought a Raspberry Pi and called it a day. While I owned one before and appreciated it for what it is, it simply isn’t suitable for self-hosting due to its hardware limitations.

During my research, I repeatedly came across a specific type of PC—tiny/mini PCs. These machines are widely used in businesses due to their longevity, low power consumption, and compact size. One key requirement for this type of computer is the ability to run 24/7, as they often handle critical business operations such as invoicing and order management.

The most recommended option, and the one I chose, was the Lenovo ThinkCentre M710 Tiny.

Cost Breakdown

Here’s what I purchased for my home server setup:

  • Second-hand Lenovo ThinkCentre M710 Tiny (Intel i5-7400T, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) – 155€
  • Seagate 4TB HDD – 104€
  • UGreen 3.5’’ Enclosure for HDD – 34€
  • Extra 8GB RAM (repurposed from an old PC) – 0€

Price wasn’t the ultimate deciding factor, but running a server with multiple services can quickly become expensive. However, for less than 300€, I now have a server with 4TB+ of storage, 16GB of RAM, and an Intel Quad-Core i5.

Power Consumption

The server averages 7 watts, so even at peak usage (10W), it costs around 19€ per year in electricity here in France—not bad at all!

Comparing with a VPS

Let’s compare this with the cost of a similar setup using a popular VPS provider like DigitalOcean.

The closest VPS to my configuration would cost $1152 per year (not even including storage…). In comparison, my M710 Tiny costs a one-time 300€ plus 20€ per year, with only occasional HDD replacements. The cost savings are significant.

The Software Setup

What Can You Do with a Home Server?

Absolutely anything—and more! Since I now have a dedicated and powerful machine, my first step was to install CasaOS, an open-source personal cloud system built around the Docker ecosystem.

CasaOS

CasaOS serves as your personal cloud OS, handling most of the tedious self-hosting tasks for you. It helps manage storage, install ready-to-use apps, browse and share files across your network—all while remaining lightweight and unobtrusive.

CasaOS is built around Docker, meaning every app you install is essentially a Docker container with preconfigured settings. I use it extensively. Let’s take a look.

Apps I Use and Why

  • PostgreSQL – Used for my Docker applications and testing projects. It’s great to have a database server ready to spin up a DB in seconds.
  • Plex – My personal Netflix. I host all my (very legal) shows and movies and share them with friends and family.
  • Joplin – A note-taking app I use on my phone and computer. More of a thought dump than an organized system, but it works.
  • Vaultwarden – A self-hosted password manager, serving as a backup for my most important passwords.
  • Nginx Proxy Manager – A UI tool built around Nginx that simplifies working with a reverse proxy.
  • Calibre – My personal library of DRM-free eBooks, ensuring I always have access to my books if Amazon ever goes rogue.
  • Syncthing – A powerful file synchronization tool I use to sync my desktop with my server.
  • Portainer – A Docker management UI for when I want more control than CasaOS offers.
  • Ghost – The very blog you’re reading right now. Simple and fast enough for my needs.
  • Nextcloud – A free Dropbox alternative. Not the fastest, but I use it daily, and it has a mobile app.
  • Umami – A self-hosted analytics platform for personal and professional projects.
  • Grafana – A monitoring and visualization tool to track my databases, servers, etc.

These are just a few of the apps I use. Having my own server means I can easily spin up containers, experiment with new ideas, and launch small projects at little to no cost.

Lessons Learned & Future Plans

Lessons Learned

After two years of self-hosting, here are some key takeaways:

  • Regular backups are crucial: I follow the basic concept of the 3-2-1 backup strategy using tools like RSync and RClone. Once it is set up, you don’t have to think about it anymore.
  • Security first: SSL certificates, two-factor authentication for all public web services, Cloudflare for DDoS mitigation and extra security, and using separate networks for different purposes.
  • It will go down: It is inevitable. That’s why I host only non-critical services. Whether it’s your internet provider, a power outage, or a misconfiguration, as long as everything is automated, it should return to normal within a few minutes.
  • Keep it fun: Let’s be realistic—I could host fewer services for more convenience using a VPS provider, but where’s the fun in that? Need more RAM? Just open up the server and add more. Need extra storage? Spend 100€, and you’re set!

Future Plans

  • Adding a NAS to have a dedicated server just for cloud storage and backup.
  • Experimenting with Coolify, an open-source & self-hostable alternative to Heroku, Netlify, and Vercel.

In two years, the server has almost never gone down. The first few weeks are usually the most time-consuming since you’re still learning about your machine’s capabilities, what you can install, and how everything integrates. I made mistakes that broke most of my services for a few days, but that was part of the learning process. Now, after 10 months of stability, it’s just a server that runs in the background—I hardly even think about it anymore.