this post was submitted on 12 Nov 2023
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Should I go with docker containers or continue just using Arch for my home server? (alien.top)
submitted 1 year ago by Nightwish612@alien.top to c/main@selfhosted.forum
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I mean basically the title. Currently all my services are just running directly on my arch server and it has been working well enough for me and i am super comfortable working with it. A few months back I had a minor crash of the server where the system had become not functional. I was able to recover the server to the point that my services could run but i never got the graphical part of the server going again or nextcloud running.

At this point I'm just considering wiping the os to a fresh one and starting clean to get everything working correctly again. What I'm wondering is, is it worth learning docker and deploying all my services that way or should I just continue with the way i have been doing it for years now?

I will be running the various Arr apps, Emby, NextCloud, Qbit, Homepage?, and probably a few others that i can't recall off the top of my head. Some of the services are accessed of site if that matters at all. I did briefly explore docker in the past but got stuck and my friend pushed me towards straight arch. Now I'm considering giving it another shot but wanted to hear folks here input on the pros and cons of either way

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[–] ddifdevsda@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

Definitely worth the effort. If you want the services you run to be stable, that is :)

BTW; using Arch on your server is probably not the best idea! The reason why many people prefer release-based distros on their servers is because they are much less likely to have a dependency conflict. Also, while I love Arch — it's just not for servers that are required to stay stable and reliable.

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So, let's get back to the question at hand: why Docker? It'll be WAY easier for you to control everything. Every image has its own environment with dependencies that don't interfere with other services' requirements. Also, updating your services will be much easier and without needing that much attention — you won't be risking breaking stuff that's already running on your server.

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The downside will be that you won't have as much understanding of your system and everything that's running on it. But that could be solved with a separate PC for tinkering or a VM :)

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Good luck!