How do you make full use of your old PC?

DarkSwordsman · February 10, 2022

On 1/29/2022 at 5:59 PM, TurquoiseA said:

Your answer is more interesting than I expected. I have to admit I am fairly new to docker and these container topics even though I am running some on my lab PC. I do have a couple of questions

If I am going to make it a personal server, I would definitely have a deep interaction with Linux, that makes the OS either Ubuntu or CentOS. In this case, do I still need VMs like Proxmox or VMware?

Is there a way I can control this a linux server like this via LAN, just like a local teamviewer? I do not intend to get another monitor for this server. Is it possible through WAN?

Even though I am currently in CS as student, I don't have the experience as a CS bachelor would have. I was in math then stat and now cs in ml. Would you care sharing some forums or websites regarding these fun stuff? Like where can I watch people do cool things with code, etc.

Anyways, thanks a lot for sharing your experience. I will definitely check them all out!

I personally like having VMs available to make things completely separate. Or you can do LXC containers which are lighter weight containers, like Docker but for the whole OS rather than just an application container. Proxmox runs on Debian, which is what Ubuntu is based on.
Proxmox comes with a web interface that you can access once you install it on the server. There are some more advanced things you can only do via command line, but for the most part you won't need to do that.
I'm not sure of any specific places to find stuff like that, but I personally find it's easiest to learn to code when you're solving some problem for yourself or want to make a specific type of application. From there, you have goals you want to achieve and can usually find decent resources by scouring google or other places pertaining to your goals.

Akolyte · February 10, 2022

Install Linux on it and use it for some labbing, or you can use it as a development server. Spin up your own K8s lab? That's pretty hot at the moment, and having an always-on multi-node cluster can be pretty useful.

You'll just need to make sure you buy as much RAM as you can for it. 32GB will be the entire cluster + some virtual network equipment.

Either way, I like to use my machines for actually doing more practical work - so having a development server I can spin up a database, or some containers, or tunnel into and muck around is really helpful.