Ahoy mateys! I've been doing some research into getting a self-hosted streaming setup built, and I'd like to ask the knowledgeable folks here for advice as well.

My goal is to be running a server that can host a jellyfin stack for acquiring and streaming media for myself and my partner. (I'd like to also run a matrix chat server on it for us to have secure chats as well, but I think that'll be less of a hassle. I hope...)

I found a few guides that don't seem too out of date. I'm an experienced full stack software dev, so the idea of running some docker containers and doing a little command line server set up doesn't intimidate me.

These guides though, they just cover the software application set up mainly. I also need to know:

Where should I host at? I'm on a shitty 5G internet at home, so VPS seems like the way to go but with who? What are some good secure hosts that aren't super expensive? Considering Hetzner auctions maybe? Anyone used them?
Will I need a VPN on the server too? If I'm torrenting, do I need to be careful which hosts I choose so I don't get copyright pinged?
Is there a good guide for securing and hardening my server? I'd like my partner and i to have easy access from home or on our mobiles, but I also don't want to find out my box is suddenly mining crypto because I forgot to close one port. I don't know what gotchas to be looking out for.
Any other guides you'd recommend? Any must have software or sites to know about?

Thanks in advance!

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[–] DesolateMood@lemm.ee 7 points 5 days ago

I host at home so unfortunately can't give you any advice on a vps
If you're torrenting, yes I would recommend a VPN. If you're setting up docker containers, gluetun is what you want to use. It's a client you can use to connect to most major VPN providers
You don't need to open your server to the internet for you or your partner to remotely access it. You can use tailscale (or manually setup wireguard) to remotely access it without exposing anything. Alternatively, if you still want to open it, you can use fail2ban. I don't know enough about networking to tell you exactly how secure it makes you, but assuming you're a normal guy who isn't pissing off any major corporations/states/etc it's probably fine
I haven't clicked on any of the links you provided, but I assume they mention the *arr stack. Some other goodies that may not have been mentioned though are jellyseerr, which has a nice frontend to search and request movies and TV, and homarr, which is a dashboard you can setup to sync with your other hosted apps. I have a couple extra I could tell you if you want, but I think these are the most important for a basic "official feeling" setup