Home Servers

Creating a home server is a very liberating feeling, giving you complete control over your network and what goes on within it. I personally got into setting up a home media server for media and it has been a life changer. Accessing my media anywhere at any time, complete control of what is added and removed, no IP locking (I am looking at you, Netflix), and so much more. However, media servers aren't the only thing that home servers are good for. With options ranging from a dedicated NAS server for home use to a DIY home server rack, there is a whole community out there for creating your own home network and there is a lot! Let's look at some of the benefits and uses of a home server.

Creating a Home Media Server

Years ago, I was using Plex and drifted away from media hosting in favor of simplicity with the few streaming services out there. Now, every company has a streaming service, and it just becomes overwhelming, not only in cost, but trying to track down who has what. That’s when I discovered Jellyfin, an open-source platform for building your own home media server. I set mine up on a mini custom computer server, and it’s been wonderful. Complete control over the styling, customization of the UI, and a huge library of community plugins make it feel limitless. Don't like the UI? There is a fix for that. Missing features that you want? I promise there is a fix for that.

File Sharing

File sharing is a big one as well. There are many options out there that allow you to store your files and access them anywhere; however, it is in the hands of a big corporation and there are many people who are not fans of that. Well, good news is you can set up your own file sharing server that allows you to store all of your files and access them anywhere at any time. With a private NAS server for home, you can store files, access them securely from anywhere, and keep complete control of your data. You can add extra security to help protect these files even further, but the best thing is you are the only one that has access to it, not the big companies.

Ad-Blocking

Here’s one more unique use: ad-blocking. You can configure your internet traffic to run through your home server rack or home server PC and filter ads across every device in your household. Let's be honest with each other and acknowledge that ads are everywhere. I am sure you know this, but when I say everywhere I mean absolutely everywhere. They are even showing up in our video games these days as well. While I haven't tried this myself, I do know a lot of people set this up to allow their home internet usage to be less dominated by ads.

Minecraft Server

This one is more so for the gamers; however, hosting your own Minecraft server is one of the best things I ever did. A big thing for me is free and not charging people to play in modded worlds or specific realms, and hosting your own server gives you, you guessed it, control over your own server for free. You also don't have to rely on Microsoft servers as it is all hosted locally on your machine, giving you complete control over it.

The Limitless Potential of Home Servers

The number of uses a home server can provide us is limitless. From hosting a home media server to building a secure NAS server for home file storage, or even setting up a full home server rack, these systems offer freedom, knowledge, and complete control. Some things may require additional learning; however, there is nothing wrong with gaining more knowledge. The big thing is freedom and doing what you want with your devices. Custom PCs built specifically for server use open up that world of freedom, and it is an ever-expanding community on what will come next!