Hello everyone! It has been a while, hasn’t it? Well, there have been many things going on in my life that I just have not had any time to write a blog post. Well, I wanted to take some time and explain why the server has been going offline every so often.
If you want the short version, I made the switch from a Raspberry Pi-based server to an x86-based server will all of it being self-hosted!
Now, for the people who want an explanation, here I go. I used to use a Raspberry Pi 4 for all of my server operations (running my website, my VPN, etc), and it was getting a little slow for my liking. I was also wanting to run applications that required an x86 machine to run. So, I needed a change, and that came when I bought an HP EliteDesk from a recycler here in Meridian. Ironically, they most likely take computers from my school district, so this might have been at a West Ada school sometime in its life. Interesting, right?
The Raspberry Pi in the Case & Outside the Case:
I would like to point out the specs before I move on, so here they are…
Processor/Graphics: Intel Core i5-6500T @ 2.5Ghz with Integrated Graphics
Memory: 8GB DDR4
Storage: 128GB SSD with 2TB USB HDD Plugged In
Networking: 10/100/1000 Ethernet
Now, when I got it, I installed Windows 11, since my plan originally was to make this new computer cheap a somewhat decent gaming PC, but things did not go to plan. Windows was slow doing anything, and I was barely able to play a YouTube video. It also struggled even with light gaming. So, I knew I needed to change something. So, I decided to do something that no gamer in their right mind would do… install Linux!
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know… crazy! But, doing this was the best decision I have ever made. I decided on Linux Mint as my distro of choice for many reasons including being based on Ubuntu (which is based on Debian, which has APT, something that I am very familiar with), the support for software, and the community surrounding it. So, after 30 minutes of installing, I got things working where I was actually able to watch YouTube, and then play a game (on low settings, but still a huge win over Windows).
The next step was getting server things to transfer, and this took my hours. Actually, I did the first part the night before (along with Tailscale, my VPN solution), and this the next morning. WordPress was hard to transfer, but I eventually got everything over with some plugins and a bit of elbow grease with the command line. It also took me some time to get Apache configurations right for my subdomains (by the way, those are projects.jackshorenstein.com, old.jackshorenstein.com, dummies.jackshorenstein.com, and dreamsbyarlene.com for my grandma’s website). Thankfully, I was able to get everything all figured out, and everything was complete. I disconnected the Raspberry Pi and switched all of the settings on my router to use the EliteDesk as the server.
And… that was it! I just wanted to document the things I did over the last little while and explain why the website has been going offline. I just want to thank all of you for reading this blog post plus the others that I have posted (I know there are only a few, but whatever) and I hope you will come read the ones in the future. Until next time, surf up, see you on the net! 🙂
P.S. I just want to share this song with ya…
Lyrics:
On your mark, get set! We’re riding on the internet! Cyberspace, set free! Hello, virtual reality! Interactive appetite! Searching for a website! A window to the world, ’bout to get online! Take a spin! Now you’re in! With the techno set! You’re goin’ surfin’ on the internet!
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