Are you hosting on win server? I'm genuinely curious, not trying to shill Linux though I prefer it on the server side, believe me I've been on the receiving end of that for desktop Linux. How do you manage it? Do you have your home LAN set up as an active directory domain? Do you use mostly Powershell or the GUI? What do you have running on it? It just seems like everything on the server side assumes you're using Linux and the only stuff that runs on Win server is stuff made by Microsoft like MS SQL server or IIS.
this post was submitted on 14 Jun 2026
102 points (85.9% liked)
Selfhosted
59939 readers
438 users here now
A place to share alternatives to popular online services that can be self-hosted without giving up privacy or locking you into a service you don't control.
Rules:
-
Be civil: we're here to support and learn from one another. Insults won't be tolerated. Flame wars are frowned upon.
-
No spam.
-
Posts here are to be centered around self-hosting. Please ensure it is clear in your post how it relates to self-hosting.
-
Don't duplicate the full text of your blog or git here. Just post the link for folks to click.
-
Submission headline should match the article title.
-
No trolling.
Resources:
- selfh.st Newsletter and index of selfhosted software and apps
- awesome-selfhosted software
- awesome-sysadmin resources
- Self-Hosted Podcast from Jupiter Broadcasting
Any issues on the community? Report it using the report flag.
Questions? DM the mods!
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
You can find a description of my first project here https://lemmy.world/post/48204688
Private email. Very nice 👍
Thanks!
Welcome sure, but few and far between. Check out JimsGarage on YouTube. He does a lot of windows selfhosting content
My host OS is Windows Server 2022 because I Prefer it, HyperV works, Windows Backup works, and the drivers work. I then run a Linux VM for Docker and a few other VM's for silly things. If I break a VM I can have it restored in a few clicks. I tried to use Proxmox as the host OS but it would kill itself every 6 months. It was a good learning experience but it would take a Lot of convincing to try it again.
I'm gonna sound like everyone I complain about here, so feel free to ignore me. How did Proxmox break? I've been hosting a bunch of Proxmox containers on a 15 year old crappy laptop and it's been smooth sailing for at least a year and a half.
Not trying to shun you for using windows or discount your personal experience with Proxmox or anything, just genuinely curious. If you prefer windows, use it.
I can't remember the actual errors. I was running it on an old DELL PC they I had added an extra drive to, I think it was an SSD I had lying about. Everything would be running fine with no errors, Linux and Windows VM's. Then one day all services were offline. Being a PC I had to plug in a screen+KB/Mouse. The host OS would boot and then flood the screen with errors regarding unable to mount the storage. troubleshooting with Boot USB showed all of the virtual Partitions (the ones that the VM data sits in) had been corrupted. Maybe a Linux guru could have restored them but I was lost.
I started over with a clean install of Proxmox, Maybe I had done something wrong the first time. I cant remember if I managed to restore the VM's from backup. A few months later Bam, exact same thing happened again. I thought maybe my PC or drives had issues but decided to try Windows 2019 HyperV host instead. That ran for 2 years without issues on the same hardware.
Windows hacking is just as fun as anything else, sometimes it's even more rewarding just because you made it work on windows! My favorite is replacing the windows shell... Haven't done that since 7 though :(
Well, if masochism is your kink...
Being a former pure windows guy it's more like battered wife syndrome.
Its an abusive relationship but its all you know and hard to leave.
I'm on bazzite now with a Debian homelab on a SFF.
Still really new to Linux but I'm trying.
Good for you. If the way Windows behaves now doesn't drive people to Linux, they'll never jump. They'll just keep taking the abuse because they like it.
I don't understand starting out on Linux in an immutable distro, but maybe that's the oldhead in me, I've been on Linux since the 90s. I find adding software in those distros to be a massive pain in the ass, as well as dealing with its constraints on configurability. But if it's working for you, fill your boots. Welcome to the dark side.
My daily driver is bazzite. It's my web surfing gaming box.
I got a Linux mint laptop to fuddle with as well. Thats where I break things.
Sure, but know you're doing things the hard way. I started with Win 10, WSL, and Docker Desktop but moving to Linux made things 10x easier, Windows is... difficult.
I agree with this comment. Switching to Linux, with minimal experience, has been so much easier than trying to arse around with Docker Desktop on Windows.
Yes, masochists are welcome.
Yup, there's no kinkshaming here
That's kinda the core of self-hosting, isn't it? We are taking back digital sovereignty but giving our time and mental health to the Machine God.
load more comments
(1 replies)
100% there is room for Windows self hosters. Welcome. May your self hosting be productive, secure and fun.
Sure, if that’s what you want to do. Though, you’ll probably find less references and expertise here. There is a reason that even Microsoft runs Linux on most of its own servers.
I don't think that Linux is in the title or description of this community!
You pick your own poison ....
Mine is Gentoo Linux all the way, yours is Windows. Find two more selfhosters and they will criticize both of us! We are kind of the two extreme of the spectrum....
Welcome!
How does Gentoo work for you? Is it true, that an update takes like a week, because you have to compile everything from scratch?
It's a myth.
Yes it takes longer, but specialy on headless server updates are pretty fast
Big boys like LibreOffice Firefox have also pre built binaries if you so prefer as well ..
I use Gentoo since amd k6-400 MHz times so today build times feel like no wait at all
So true! I met a friend of a friend at a church social last week and he spent the whole time trying to convince me to try FreeBSD instead of selfhosting on Windows. I might try it someday but as polite as he was about it he just couldn't get the hint lol
load more comments
(1 replies)
load more comments
(2 replies)
I wouldn't recommend it personally
Are posts about that welcome here?
Absolutely. The gate's open...come on in. It's been quite a while since I've had a Windows based server. I still run Windows 10 in the lab, plus Linux and Mac. I don't really discriminate. All OS's have their place imho.
So far its a blast!
That is one of the prime directives of selfhosting. I have a ton of fun learning about new stuff to do and how to do it. Tell us all about it man. What do you selfhost? Are you running any Docker containers? I'm all ears, which in reality isn't too far from the truth with my Jumbo ears. Share! Share!
I guess everyone is welcome, from windows to people doing it on OSes they made themselves!
Sure ! But... How !? I don't have even the first idea how you'd host... Almost anything on Windows 😅 and I would be concerned by the power consumption of any non-minimalist OS.
load more comments
(8 replies)
Most self-hosted solutions come as containers, containers are Linux only and on Windows they run under the WSL VM, so eventually (if you are not doing full installs) you are still using Linux
I would recommend at most ruining windows as the hypervisor then running Linux virtual machines. Maybe run a windows VM if you have a specific need.
This is mainly because Linux is much better "supported" for the majority of self hosted projects.
But you can of course do whatever you want.
I also recommend ruining windows
Now, let me be polemical here ....
(And this is to be read with a pinch of /s)
Selfhosting on windows and understanding what you do is so much better than selfhost on CasaOS/ZimaOS/FancyWebGui/Synology and just spin up containers randomly without even understand what a container is and how it does work at all ...
Now roast me :)
Didnt find any /s there. That's one of the reasons why I dislike docker, it supports not understanding stuff. But then that's just me, who wants to understand stuff. Enabling less tech savvy ppl is also great I guess.
I feel with you, but at the same time I remember trying to setup Apache Guacamole and failing miserably. Doing it now with docker would remove everything that made me fail 10 years ago.
load more comments
(1 replies)
load more comments
(1 replies)
I started out self hosting with windows server 2012 because my school was a Microsoft and Cisco partner but mostly ran Linux VMs on it using hardware raid. Ran bitwarden, Plex and a wiki plus a VM with a bunch of docker containers. Ran that for about 3 years and now have been on Unraid for 6 or so years and loving it.
Temporary becomes permanent. When I was experiencing severe long-term symptoms of Covid, I bought a refurbished computer to use as a NAS with Jellyfin, Sonarr, and indexers. I kept the installed Windows 10 because I simply did not have the energy to do more. Then, when I felt better, I told myself, "Let me add more services."
Now, it's a Frankenstein computer where Windows 10 acts as the hypervisor, running Caddy as my reverse proxy. Crowdsec protects my services, and my Flint 2's firewall acts as the Crowdsec bouncer. A VirtualBox VM runs in Windows 10 and hosts most of my Docker containers. Stablebits DrivePool manages my drive pool.
I've been running this setup for over a year, and I haven't had any issues. I know I should switch to Linux, but since it's been working great and I'm busy, I've been procrastinating.
load more comments
(6 replies)
Posts about self hosting are welcome, posts to strangers seeking external validation...? Maybe save for therapy.
view more: next ›