The future of selfhosted services is going to be… Android?

Wait, what?

Think about it. At some point everyone has had an old phone lying around. They are designed to be constantly connected, constantly on… and even have a battery and potentially still a SIM card to survive power outages.

We just need to make it easy to create APK packaged servers that can avoid battery-optimization kills and automatically configure an outbound tunnel like ngrok, zerotrust, etc…

The goal: hosting services like #nextcloud, #syncthing, #mastodon!? should be as easy as installing an APK and leaving an old phone connected to a spare charger / outlet.

It would be tempting to have an optimized ROM, but if self-hosting is meant to become more commonplace, installing an APK should be all that’s needed. #Android can do SSH, VPN and other tunnels without the need for root, so there should be no problem in using tunnels to publicly expose a phone/server in a secure manner.

In regards to the suitability of home-grade broadband, I believe that it should not be a huge problem at least in Europe where home connections are most often unmetered: “At the end of June 2021, 70.2% of EU homes were passed by either FTTP or cable DOCSIS
3.1 networks, i.e. those technologies currently capable of supporting gigabit speeds.”

Source: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/broadband-coverage-europe-2021

PS. syncthing actually already has an APK and is easy to use. Although I had to sort out some battery optimization stuff, it’s a good example of what should become much more commonplace.

cc: @selfhosted
#selfhosted #selfhosting

      • bustrpoindextr@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        1 year ago

        Pass, I’ll take the cluster of raspberry pis for the same cost… For the purpose of self hosting my cluster is going to out perform your x86. Like why are you going to spend hundreds of dollars for an x86 that will do fine when you can spend $50 for a pi that will also do fine?

        Then you can just cluster those pis and get redundancy

        • Encrypt-Keeper@lemmy.worldEnglish
          14·
          1 year ago

          You’ve got it backwards, a small x86 box is more cost effective for better performance. With a raspberry pi you’re paying for the form factor (and often scarcity)

          • bustrpoindextr@lemmy.worldEnglish
            1·
            1 year ago

            You’ve got it backwards. A small x86 is a hundreds, and a rpi is 50… Like come on… Cost for performance isn’t even a question…

            Y’all… I thought you’d be better at tech than Reddit… this is sad

            • AbidanYre@lemmy.worldEnglish
              6·
              1 year ago

              You can get a wyse thin client on eBay for $50, and if you’re clustering the pis it’s not $50 anymore, so you can get a real computer on woot in the $150 range.

              Either of those options will run circles around a pi/pi cluster.

              • bustrpoindextr@lemmy.worldEnglish
                1·
                1 year ago

                Please learn to read. Again. I thought I wasn’t on Reddit anymore.

                $50 for a pi. Not for clustering. For one. That’s it.

                An X86 PC is gonna cost you hundreds. That’s how I can cluster rpi, for the same cost. I hope you now know how to do basic math.

                • AbidanYre@lemmy.worldEnglish
                  4·
                  1 year ago

                  Insulting my reading ability and math skills would work better if you weren’t making a fool of yourself.

                  I gave you an example of a $50 x86 PC and mentioned the more expensive options because you brought up building a pi cluster in your first response to me, at which point you’re not talking about spending $50 anymore.

                  The main point is that either the thin client or the slightly more expensive computer will runs circles around your pi(s) for the same price.

                  • bustrpoindextr@lemmy.worldEnglish
                    1·
                    1 year ago

                    I gave you an example of a $50 x86 PC

                    No you didn’t. You gave an example of a >= 200 x86 PC… So, like… That’s why I even suggested clustering. To match the cost of your claim.

                • TCB13@lemmy.worldEnglish
                  3·
                  1 year ago

                  This isn’t even true. A Pi sells for 50$ yes, + USB cable for power + USB power adapter + case + whatever else money grab.

                  A second hand HP mini with an i5 7th gen CPU that is WAY faster comes with everything including 8 GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD (or better if you get a good deal) for around 80$. Tell me about your math again…

                  • BearOfaTime@lemm.eeEnglish
                    2·
                    1 year ago

                    How’s the power consumption compare between two performance equivalent setups? (Genuine question, it’s something I’m trying to determine for my self-host use-cases).

                    My first RPi is for Joplin to replace OneNote. My current server runs 24/7 and costs about $1/day for power (it provides other services too). I haven’t calculated my Pi power consumption yet, but it’s running on a 2.5 watt power supply, vs my server 700 watt (of course, these are both peak measurements).

                    Given my self-host stuff will spend 99% of its time at idle, it seems like Pi has a massive advantage. But of course that all depends on how things are used and setup.

                  • bustrpoindextr@lemmy.worldEnglish
                    1·
                    1 year ago

                    Yeah, a second hand old as shit hp, that’ll die on you so quick. There’s a reason that hp is selling for so cheap. HP is garbage, unless you’re buying their actual servers…

                    Edit: also all the “cash grab” parts… you probably already have those parts just lying around doing nothing.

              • MonkCanatella@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
                1·
                1 year ago

                holy shit I haven’t thought about that webside in over a decade. Do you have personal experience purchasing self hosting stuff from there?

                • AbidanYre@lemmy.worldEnglish
                  2·
                  1 year ago

                  I’ve bought a couple old SFF PCs and tablets from there for low powered workstation stuff.

                  For self hosting I end up with rack mount dell servers when the prices fall off a cliff; right now it’s the 13th gen stuff that’s super cheap.