Your own privacy-aware, personally controlled server, part one

Authors Jason Self

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Your own privacy-aware, personally controlled server, part one Home

This is part one of a series. Linux-libre
Why Run Your Own Server?
There are lots of reasons why someone might want to run their own server, but I think GitWeb
the important ones boil down to freedom, privacy, and autonomy. If you're not sure
why you should run your own server, Eben Moglen does an excellent job of explaining How To
why everyone should. I recommend this recording to become familiar with the issues.
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What Hardware To Use?
Now that you know why it's important, the next step is to get your own. The server for
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a single person doesn't need to be very powerful. Indeed, Eben was talking about
computers that were no bigger than a plug, so any computer should work fine.
About Me
If you already have something that can function as your server, great. If not, I
recommend building one from scratch. It's a great way to become familiar with Contact Me
computers (assuming that you're not already) and is currently the only way to ensure
that you're only running free software from top to bottom. GPL enforced

Specifically you should select a motherboard that is supported by Coreboot. The Free
Software Foundation explains why having a free BIOS is essential and I wrote about it If you appreciate any of the things I
in The Importance Of Free Firmware. am doing you can make a donation.

Computer motherboards come in a variety of sizes. The technical specifications don't
matter as much in these cases, because practically any modern computer is powerful
enough to run as your server. That doesn't mean you can ignore the technical
specifications entirely, though: You should pay attention to which CPUs and RAM are
compatible with whatever motherboard you select, and make sure to get compatible
parts. In addition to a CPU and RAM you'll need to get a hard drive (I recommend at
least two so that your server can perform automated backups), a power supply to run
it, and a case to put everything in.

What Software To Use?
I recommend using free software on your computer. If you're not familiar with free
software, Bradley Kuhn, former executive director at the Free Software Foundation,
gave a speech that I consider to be an excellent introduction to free software. Richard
Stallman, founder and president of the Free Software Foundation, also regularly gives
talks on this. Here's one. I recommend both of these recordings to become familiar
with free software. (If you need a program to play these files, VLC can do so.)

Now that you're familiar with the basics of free software and why it's important, the
Free Software Foundation maintains a list of GNU+Linux distributions that contain only
free software at gnu.org/distros. I use Trisquel, and that's what this series is based on.

This covers the basics. In the later parts of this series I'll get more detailed: Getting a
domain name, and things to consider before getting one, installing Trisquel,
configuring it to do what you want, and more.

Continue to part two.