home server alternatives

[Steve Wolf]

Assume I'm not going to have any access to the internet hardware, which is
why I need some other location to host whatever I migrate my server to.
I'm starting to investigate a virtual private server (VPS) at
https://www.bluehost.com/ for example.

Regards,
Steve

On Tue, Apr 14, 2026 at 9:36 PM Daniel Vinci <me at danielvinci.com> wrote:

> I thought you meant as a Matrix homeserver, and I got excited. Anyway.
>
> I'm behind two CGNAT connections. I have a cheapo cloud VPS that has the
> sole purpose of running FreeBSD and pf rdr'ing most ports to an internal
> server connected over WireGuard. Make sure said VPS is close to you
> topographically or things will get slow because TCP congestion algorithms
> don't really know how to handle a hop having a stupid high RTR. Yes, I have
> tried all the tunables and algorithms. rdr doesn't do NAT or anything, so
> you need some funky configuration to make sure packets leave through the
> WireGuard tunnel as well.
>
> root at newcaddy:~ # cat /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf
> [Interface]
> PrivateKey = strictly verboten
>
> [Peer]
> PublicKey = wHhPCBIh4NysNsM+AP84/dq2Wa/53B3NU2KgPlk5OWM=
> Endpoint = 74.91.124.64:5280
> AllowedIPs = 0.0.0.0/0
> PersistentKeepalive = 25
> root at newcaddy:~ # cat /etc/start_if.wg0
> #!/bin/sh
> /usr/bin/wg setconf wg0 /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf
> root at newcaddy:~ # cat /etc/rc.conf
> hostname="newcaddy"
> firstboot_freebsd_update_enable=YES
> growfs_enable=YES
> sshd_enable=YES
> nuageinit_enable=YES
> dumpdev="AUTO"
> # RSA host keys are obsolete and also very slow to generate
> sshd_rsa_enable="NO"
> cloned_interfaces="wg0 wg1"
> ifconfig_wg0="inet 10.0.0.3/24 mtu 1420 up"
> gateway_enable="NO"
> firewall_enable="YES"
> firewall_type="/usr/local/etc/ipfw/rules.conf"
> route_wg_fib1="-fib 1 default -iface wg0"
> caddy_enable="NO"
> ifconfig_vtnet0="inet 172.17.31.1 netmask 255.255.0.0"
> defaultrouter="172.17.0.1"
> tailscaled_enable="YES"
> nginx_enable="YES"
> ifconfig_wg1="inet 10.1.0.1/24 mtu 1420 up"
> static_routes="wg_fib1"
> root at newcaddy:~ # cat /usr/local/etc/ipfw/rules.conf
> add 100 setfib 1 ip from 10.0.0.3 to not 10.0.0.0/24 out
> add 65534 allow ip from any to any
>
> The "frontend" box just rdrs everything using pf, as mentioned.
>
> On Tue, Apr 14, 2026, at 7:26 PM, Steve Wolf wrote:
>
> I have a server running RedHat with two domain names and a static IP.
> It's hosting a couple of WordPress sites, light mail, and family photo
> albums.
>
> Eventually we might move to an independent living community that provides
> its own internet, and static IP won't be possible.  I figure my options at
> that point are colocation, dedicated (leased) server, shared server, and
> cloud server.  Colocation is probably off the table for cost reasons.
>
> What are the advantages/disadvantages of the other options?  Which has the
> most bang for the buck?  Are there other options  I haven't thought of?
> Who are the best providers?
>
> Optimally, I'd like a solution that gives me most of what I currently
> have: root access, multiple domain support, email support, MariaDB
> support...
>
> Regards,
> Steve
>
>
> Daniel Vinci
> em: me at danielvinci.com
> mx: @xylobol:amber.tel
>
>
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