this post was submitted on 24 Nov 2023
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Beginner Questions about using a laptop as a server. (alien.top)
submitted 11 months ago by LukasNation@alien.top to c/main@selfhosted.forum
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Hi everyone!
Just got into self hosting my media, by making a media server using a laptop and plex.
I am wondering, on the laptop I am using Ubuntu server, and I made it so that I can close the screen without it turning off.

Now my questions:

  1. I turn the laptop(server) off at night, but it's running all day, should I keep it plugged into the wall, or not? And if I am leaving my house, should I plug it out and keep it running?
  2. I don't have much storage on the laptop rn, 210gb, but since I use it only for 16bit 44kHz music, so far it'll do, but I am wondering, would it be fine to run my external hard drive (My Passport by WD) pretty much all day over USB 3.0, would it work well, and would it be safe for the external drive?
  3. Since I am turning off the server at night, how much worse would it be just running it 24/7?
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[–] mrashley@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

An old laptop is a great way to run a server. They can be reasonably energy efficient and have their own built-in UPS, to protect against momentary power outages.

I replaced my laptop's old HDD with an SSD and added a 5tb external SSD for data storage. So far it's been excellent and a fun and useful learning experience.