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I found a few guides that don't seem too out of date.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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[–] Andromxda@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Where should I host at?

Recently I became a huge fan of just renting a small dedicated server with a seedbox provider. Because they are specialized in providing hosting for pirates, they are usually located in jurisdictions that don't give a fuck about the American DMCA. Check out seedhost.eu, they aren't as expensive, or Appbox.

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?

Not if you use a seedbox or a dedicated server hosted by a seedbox provider.

Is there a good guide for securing and hardening my server?

Just follow some basic Linux server hardening advice, e.g. disable SSH root login, disable password login and use SSH keys, don't open unnecessary ports in your firewall, etc. If you're feeling fancy, you can set up an SSH tarpit on default port 22 and use a different port for actually logging in. This massively wastes the time of script kiddies who run automated SSH scanners.

I’d like my partner and i to have easy access from home or on our mobiles

For that I recommend Tailscale or Netbird.

Any other guides you’d recommend?

@db0@lemmy.dbzer0.com posted an amazing guide some time ago: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/5911320

Any must have software or sites to know about?

I like bitmagnet, it lets you run your own torrent indexer. It's basically your own, self-hosted alternative to SolidTorrents, BitSearch or BTDigg.
Also check out Flood if you want a nicer web frontend for rTorrent, qBittorrent, Transmission or Deluge.
Transdroid is pretty nice if you want to control the torrent client on your server from your Android phone.
There's also qBitController if you use qBittorrent, or qBitControl if you're on iOS, but you have to sideload it using AltStore.

Also make sure to join !qbittorrent@lemmy.dbzer0.com, !seedboxes@lemmy.dbzer0.com, !trackers@lemmy.dbzer0.com and !PrivateTrackers@lemmy.dbzer0.com.