I have a desktop tower with windows 7 on it but i want to turn it into a private cloud server… i have zero experience with servers. I know @StanSimmons and i have talked about this already but me being the smart guy i am i didnt write anything down. So i thought i would take this time to get it up on talk maybe there is another member wanting to do the same thing?
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What sort of services are you planning on running?
I’d think if you are running it at home the biggest points are going to be port forwarding and some sort of dynamic dns service, unless you have a static IP at home.
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I use my desktop (win7) at home to store my music etc, that I can stream to my phone. I use plex to stream, but if you’re wanting to use it for files then I’m not sure.
Will be interested also in hearing how others handle theirs
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This is kind of my bailiwick, so let me as a couple of questions:
When you say a private cloud server, what do you mean by that? Are you looking for a central storage repository that you can access from anywhere? Are you looking to create a machine that can run virtual machines for microservices or more robust applications? Something else entirely?
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For files, I use owncloud and a letsencrypt cert.
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Take a look at the Open Media Vault project - http://www.openmediavault.org
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Most likely true for a LOT of users here.
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Yes that is exactly what im looking for. Movies, music, word documents etc etc etc
Basically i want my own personal google drive that only i can access(or whom ever i give access to girlfriend parents etc etc etc) from anywhere.
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Thank you @LisaSelk i wasnt sure where to put this! Lol
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No, I mean this is literally my job. I design clouds. I did enterprise private clouds for 4 years, and now work on public clouds.
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Oh, OK, that makes it a WHOLE lot easier.
So, it’s a couple of steps in the process: the first is setting up the software on your machine, and then you need to make it possible to access your machine from outside your home network.
On the first step, you should check out Tonido:
Bang around on their website and let me know if that software offers the features you’re after. They’ve been around for a while, have good support, and are fairly robust. It’s not the most powerful solution, but is easy to maintain, and they take care of some of the more complicated parts of the system for you.
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In terms of access to your server at home I have found https://www.dynu.com/ to be super helpful and they will let you point a standard Top Level Domain at a dynamic IP address, like the one you likely have at home.
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on that 
…
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Basically i want my own personal google drive that only i can access(or whom ever i give access to girlfriend parents etc etc etc) from anywhere.
Then one wants to either setup owncloud and ngrok or buy a freenas server and setup a openvpn server into one’s network.
Setting up one’s own cloud typically means building openstack servers and network storage or running things in AWS.
If you just want simple a storage system that’s self hosted (ie on your desk at home) that you’re allowing access to a select few and yourself try this:
- Buy a raspberry pi and usb storage
- Install owncloud and ngrok
- Configure owncloud with users that need access to files
- Hand out ngrok.io url to whom ever wants to access your files
Some of the great features of this is that ownCloud clients exist for android and the desktop which allow for automatic file syncing, has several plugins, and can run on your own web server. Making it easy to manage.
A few good articles on to read are Getting owncloud running, Setting up Samba/DNLA/UPnP and Running ngrok. I’m also available to help via google hangouts or PM if one needs guidance.
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My personal setup is pretty close to what you described, differences are:
- My PI is connected to an actual NAS device (an old boss asked me if I wanted the really heavy external hard drive… I said yes, enthusiastically) , with 2 x 2TB drives in a RAID 1 currently setup.
- The owncloud data directory, encrypted, is mounted in a CIFS/Samba mount.
- Running a lets encrypt cert
- Running a TLD from dynu, PI is responsible for syncing my IP changes.
- I am treading my ATT router as the outside edge of my network boundary anyways so my actual router is taking care of port forwards etc.
Long term goal is to switch to CEPH… because it is AWESOME.
- Windows 7 is the stumbling block
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If i need to take it from windiws 7 to another OS i would be ok with that i just need to figure out which one
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That was somewhat tongue in cheek. Honestly, I’d stick with what you’re familiar with, if you’re going to keep it patched etc Win 7 will probably be fine. Lifecycle FAQ - Windows | Microsoft Learn looks like you have a while before EOL. I just feel like windows is generally a larger attack surface, but again lots of folks run windows securely. I am sure you can find good info on hardening Win 7 out there.
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CEPH… because it is AWESOME
Personally, I’d drop the CEPH and go iSCSI instead then use RAID 0+1 and LVM combo. Any new storage lun becomes a part of the RAID then added to the logical volume group.
The other cool part about this is that I can SSL encrypt the iSCSI communications so my block devices are not going to get sniffed off the wire while having a system that is supported by nearly any device.
Other than that, while I use to use dynamic dns back in the day, I don’t anymore since for the most part it gets flagged by ISPs when using anything that’s not a Business class account. Considering that I’m able to run my own TOR network via separate directories/relays and configuring for Transparent TOR access to access services bound on 127.0.0.1/32 I’d say that security and dns are already baked in. Anyone wanting to access my “private net” needs to know about the proxy and have a client key.
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to another OS i would be ok
If one is new to linux/unix go Ubuntu, if one is familiar with enterprise systems go Fedora/CentOS. Otherwise if one is really wanting to learn linux try Arch, Gentoo, or Debian.
Ultimately stick to what one knows the best but don’t be afraid to experiment. After all we live in an era that software is not only freely available but so is the source code. Try things out, learn what works for you and become the SME on it.
Oh and remember the axiom; “Software should do one thing and do it well.”
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@thatguy I will take the role of make sure don’t go down the path of making something overly complicated like most of the people in this thread I have gone down the path of DIY. But I just want to say there are commercial solutions that are designed for exactly what you want to do. If the intent is something plug and play, DIY is never as simple as your grandmother could do it.
Almost every cloud service already does cloud storage you may already be paying for it
Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Dropbox.
Since you use the word personal assuming you want to run your own hardware some things to consider as non technical requirements.
- Placement you need to store this somewhere with power and likely a data run permanently.
- Sound assuming you stick with your desktop this may not be an issue but servers are loud.
- Uptime your data will be tied to your internet connection and power.
- Maintenance you become responsible for disk failures or system failures if it’s not monitored could result in the destruction of your data.
I can tell you personally I run a QNAP NAS and offsite everything from that NAS to a cloud service for backup and unlimited retention and versions.
I have been quite happy with that setup for a very long time.
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