I currently have a server, a Dell T310 with an SSD in it and 12Gig of ram (weird config, I know I messed up but it works fine so I can’t be bothered to change that for now), with all my dockers running in it.
It runs mostly fine, with Debian 11, a VPN so that I can block public ssh and allow it only on the VPN network, an nginx proxy to have services like a forgejo and a music library (ampache).
However it can’t run a Minecraft server with more than a single person on it without stuttering ; so I was considering changing it maybe next year, after more than 3 years of services, for something beefier but also consuming less W/h (current consumption is 80W), and since I already have a Mac for work I was wondering how suitable a Mac Mini M1/M2 would be for a homelab?
Does anyone have such a configuration and how does it work for you? Any hurdle that you should be aware of?
I have a Mac mini m1 and run several containers to manage media, arrs and vpn. I also have a Debian vm for homeassitant. I had used UTM prior but now moved the vm to VMware fusion.
Main issue I run into is not enough ram as the base model only has 8gb. And I do not have redundancy optimised when I reboot. I have it locked with a password so it doesn’t auto run the containers or the vm.
I double the mac for light browsing too. I considered getting a dedicated Linux mini pc for the services next to a desktop Mac. But my usage is too sparse at both ends of the spectrum.