More Planning on Self Hosting
So I came home from work and sketched out a logo concept for my new domain. Nowhere near the final version... just a rough sketch.
It is probably good that the computer shipping is taking a full week. Had it arrived next day I would have already borked and reinstalled the entire OS at least half a dozen times. It also gave me time to figure out an overall plan for the installations I want to test out.
Of course, I will have to wipe Windows off the system and stick Linux on it. I'll probably start with a WordPress install and get a basic "blog" page up so my domain name actually lands on something. I'll usr Docker to install WordPress. I have zero experience with it, but it seems to be the way to go these days.
I want to do installs of Bonfire and Friendica after that. Friendica, especially, I want to use long term. After a LOT of thought about it, I will install it in a virtual machine. I can make regular clones of the VM drive. So if I bork something doing an update - I can remove the main "drive" and drop in the clone to restore everything quickly.
Anyway, think I have a plan in place. Maybe by the end of next weekend I'll have stage 1 up and running.
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gmc
in reply to Etienne le Marchand (Steve J) • • •Etienne le Marchand (Steve J)
in reply to gmc • •@gmc I debated a number of ways to do back ups for it. For the Friendica instance, it will be a small single user (me) instance. Simply copying the VBox drive (VMWare calls it cloning) is the easiest solution that I know how to do right now. The WordPress install is just WordPress. I'll make backups of my actual site which can be moved and/or restored anywhere easily.
I really DO need to learn how to backup and restore things... the Linux way. I assume Docker containers should be easy enough?? I just have zero experience with Docker yet.
Etienne le Marchand (Steve J)
in reply to gmc • •gmc
in reply to Etienne le Marchand (Steve J) • • •Docker is pretty convenient indeed. It's how I run my friendica instance and I love how easy it is to update the container.
For bonus points, you could look at podman. It's completely compatible with docker, everything works the same, except it doesn't use root for all containers, so more security.
As for backups, generally, you only need to backup the data volumes, since the docker images themselves can be rebuilt from scratch easily if needed, and you don't normally modify anything in the images.
What's your plan for backups?
Anyway, if you have questions along the way, feel free to ask. I'm a huge self-hosting proponent, and the more people self host the happier I am 😀
Etienne le Marchand (Steve J) likes this.
Etienne le Marchand (Steve J)
in reply to gmc • •@gmc I haven't figured out backups yet. My original plan was to put each platform in a dedicated VM and simply make backups of VM drives. This seemed manageable since I'm not opening registration for anyone other than myself. This is VERY much a learning server for me. I want to learn how to deploy and maintain them. Some day I'd like to host with a provider and allow for users to create accounts. So I better figure out how to back up and restore data lol!
I may still stick my personal Friendica server in a VM. It is the easiest solution I can think of - and most stable long term for self hosting I think. I want to experiment with Bonfire (I like their long term road map). And maybe Hubzilla. I'll probably install go to social as well since it is supposed to be relatively easy to install and maintain. I might start with it once I have WordPress installed.
I may have questions once I get started (the computer itself is scheduled for delivery tomorrow). There will be a few days of getting linux on it and getting it ready. I did already flash the USB drive so ready to install right out of the box - in my spare time around a day job haha.