You Scored a Black Friday Deal - Now What?¿!¡

DrNutella · November 30

Congratulations to everyone who scored a fantastic deal this Black Friday on a VPS (Virtual Private Server), cloud computing, dedicated server, or any related deal! You're about to unlock a treasure trove of opportunities. This type of hosting provides a dedicated slice of server resources, allowing you to run applications and websites with increased performance and control. Let's dive into the practical uses for your new VPS and explore some amazing open-source software to get you started.

Why Choose a VPS or Dedicated Server? I won't go back to shared personally, I cannot!

Cost-effectiveness: Affordable resources with extensive capabilities.
Complete Control: Root access allows you to customize your server.
Enhanced Performance: Greater stability and speed compared to shared hosting.
Flexibility: Adapt to various needs and applications with ease.
Innovation: Experiment with new technologies and solutions.

Examples of all the things I do with my servers:

Web Hosting

Host your personal or business website with full control over settings.
Install a Content Management System (CMS) like WordPress or Ghost CMS for easy content management.

Development and Testing Environment

Create a sandbox for developing applications or testing software without affecting production environments.
Run multiple programming language environments effortlessly. Before I used to buy multiple VPS for this, now I can do it all in one server!

Game Server

Host multiplayer games like Minecraft, Counter-Strike, Valheim, and other popular games.
Provide a seamless gaming experience for friends or community members.
Customize game settings and mods to enhance gameplay.
This may be weird but I still host ventrilo, I am old school and still miss the Classic WoW days

Virtualization and App Hosting

Create a platform to host applications like GitLab for version control. But Github is free too, just saying.
Set up Jitsi for video conferencing. Forget paying for video conferencing!
Deploy collaborative tools like Mattermost or Rocket.Chat. TBH - I have had issues with recent versions with Mattermost last year but I am sure they will fix it.
Host business applications like Odoo ERP for enterprise resource planning. You can also use nocode builders in here to make your website and integrate with effectively with other things in Odoo or outside!
Install Portainer to manage Docker environments efficiently. I did this to learn about containers better, I am a visual person.

VPN Server

Set up a Virtual Private Network to browse securely and protect your online identity. Think about where you go, when you use public wifi and more!
Implement SoftEther for flexibility and speed. This is my personal favorite.
Opt for WireGuard for a modern and efficient VPN solution. Many cloud panels available today even automate installation of WG which is nice.

Top Open Source & Free Software to Install

Getting started with your new VPS is simple with the right software. Here are some top recommendations:

Apache / Nginx: For web hosting capabilities, these are the two most popular web servers.
WordPress: An easy-to-use CMS for anyone looking to create a stunning website or blog.
Ghost CMS: A powerful CMS known for its simplicity and flexibility.
Docker: Utilize containers for easy deployment and management of applications.
GitLab: Perfect for version control, this platform aids in software development collaboration.
OpenVPN: A secure VPN solution to help you maintain privacy online.
Nextcloud: An open-source file sync and share solution—perfect for businesses and personal use.
Odoo ERP: An all-in-one management software that offers a range of business applications.
Piwik Matomo: A powerful web analytics platform to gain insights into website traffic.
Portainer: Simplifies Docker container management with an intuitive interface.
Emby: Host all your awesome media in one spot, this is my personal go to player and I recommend getting the Lifetime Emby premiere license!

Conclusion: Make the Most of Your Black Friday VPS Deal

I hope this guide has given you something to think about and perhaps a new passion to explore this year. Investing in a cheap VPS can open the door to a world of possibilities. Whether you're venturing into web hosting, software development, or gaming, your VPS can be a powerful ally. I remember when I started my journey long ago, and that is when I discovered the awesome LowEnd community.

Take care and have a happy holiday season all.

Giving Back

I hope you all enjoyed reading my recommendations and my Saturday morning thinking. I am going to be testing out some more cooler things this year for myself, examples include:

Launching my first blog using Ghost CMS
Rebuild my company website using Breakdance and Wordpress, then ship it onto cloudfare free hosting after running a static page converter
Set up an ERP for my business and activate it on a closed network (VPN)
Set up Serpbear to prepare to launch a (free) local nature and wildlife network in my home state, this is a stretch goal for next year

Feel free to leave a comment and share what you are going to do with your awesome deal this year!

imok · November 30

What?

AuroraZero · November 30

Now I rest for the Yeti is tired and in need of snacks

Not_Oles · November 30

@AuroraZero said:
Now I rest for the Yeti is tired and in need of snacks

Well deserved rest! You did a great job! ❤️

Not_Oles · November 30

@huntercop Not trying to give you a hard time, but may I please ask how much AI was involved in creating this post? If there was AI, can you please share some specific details? Thanks!

DrNutella · November 30

@Not_Oles said:
@huntercop Not trying to give you a hard time, but may I please ask how much AI was involved in creating this post? If there was AI, can you please share some specific details? Thanks!

Less than 10%?Half of first paragraph. Half of the why section. I was struggling to open it properly. Brain fart maybe.

I had AI format it into markdown for me and check for spellings / grammar. It pissed me off when I noticed it changed a few sentences so had it redo it and tried to compare a few times.

Rest I mostly wrote. Spent an hour writing it in my notes first while walking my dogs and all. Then another 15-20 min to clean up before I posted. These are all FOSS I use(d).

COLBYLICIOUS · November 30

I didn't got anything until now...

user123 · November 30

Nice, but you omitted the main category: idling.

DrNutella · November 30

@user123 said:
Nice, but you omitted the main category: idling.

That was on purpose. But it’s there as option 2 on the poll. I’ve spent a lot of time idling thousands of dollars and I am sure many others will too. Many of these are fun and quick projects. I usually do most new projects under 2 hours as I have gotten comfortable with Linux over time.

Otus9051 · November 30

You have missed the point to give them to me instead!

Not_Oles · November 30

@huntercop said:

These are all FOSS I use(d)

I guess you mean that all the projects on your list are FOSS, which is great!

May I please ask what you are using for your AI? Is your AI FOSS too?

What I have been using for AI is https://github.com/eliben/gemini-cli which is an open source command line interface to Google Gemini. eliben's geminni-cli seems to work great!

Thanks!

DrNutella · November 30

@Not_Oles said:

@huntercop said:

These are all FOSS I use(d)

I guess you mean that all the projects on your list are FOSS, which is great!

May I please ask what you are using for your AI? Is your AI FOSS too?

What I have been using for AI is https://github.com/eliben/gemini-cli which is an open source command line interface to Google Gemini. eliben's geminni-cli seems to work great!

Thanks!

The AI I pick varies from time to time really. For this I copied my notes into copilot incognito mode. Then gave it a few instructions to understand what I am trying to do - read what I wrote and “help me write a better intro as I am just going straight into my content”. Also shared I am also posting it on the low end community.

Then it gave me a new intro and I kept half of it. It also modified some of my sentences. Kept some because my grammar wasn’t perfect. Ignored others because I like the way I said it.

Then I copied in my final version which it really only helped at the start with. Including the why too - random suggestion so I grew the list.

Sidebarish? - Now I have really been wanting to try AnythingLLM but I haven’t yet. Going to do it when my new computer arrives maybe.

https://anythingllm.com/

@Not_Oles how is Gemini CLI?

fiberstate · November 30

Now let it idle

ZizzyDizzyMC · November 30

I got a great deal on a Netherlands VPS with 16GB of ram and 8 cores, gonna run a DDoS protected reverse proxy from frantech / buyvm Lux and host a few EU minecraft servers on it for some friend groups.

I could get away without the proxy but I'd rather not cause any issues to the host if someone were to decide to throw a billion packets at it for any reason. MC's pretty lightweight and won't destroy the resources, and I get a good use out of it.

Now for BuyVM Lux stock to appear...

Richard · November 30

I’m just waiting to immediately replace them all on Cyber Monday with better deals.

By the time I’m ready to set up my Cyber Monday VPS, I should be able to snag some killer new years deals.

tarasis · December 1

I haven't grabbed any this year, I hadn't even realised it was black friday till the other day. Been largely offline the lasy year.

I've an oldish VirMach server thats just renewed, and a hosthatch one due to renew next year. Kinda want to hover and see what flash deal I could maybe score, but equally I cannot be arsed right now. (which is irritating as some of the great deals are now). Getting up & eating is struggle enough without having to think of what to do with a VPS

DrNutella · December 1

@tarasis said:
I haven't grabbed any this year, I hadn't even realised it was black friday till the other day. Been largely offline the lasy year.

I've an oldish VirMach server thats just renewed, and a hosthatch one due to renew next year. Kinda want to hover and see what flash deal I could maybe score, but equally I cannot be arsed right now. (which is irritating as some of the great deals are now). Getting up & eating is struggle enough without having to think of what to do with a VPS

What are the server specs? If at least 2gb ram. Try easypanel, 1 min install done. I use it to automate everything that’s tedious.

I am going to maybe install Coolify on one to play with AnythingLLM. Motivation rekindled by @Not_Oles

Mason · December 1

@huntercop said: I still host ventrilo

Ah, I see you're a man of culture. It's been a long ass time, but Vent was great back when I was deep in a few gaming communities. Then things kinds shifted to TeamSpeak. Seems like everyone now is using Discord. But I still contend that Ventrilo was the best of them all.

hornet · December 1

Reverse Proxy, hosting, and messing about ...okay, you got me! Just idling.

I did want to try some static site generators, like Hugo: https://gohugo.io/

JerryHou · December 2

I thought the only purpose for BF deal is to idle it...

allnetstore · December 2

Now we wait for New Year and Christmas deals

Encoders · December 2

Black Friday Deal are for the weak, real men plays with Unsustainable Black Friday Deals

kv1108 · December 2

torrent uploading, just wanna seed random things

jam · December 2

I got several vps which I intend to use to learn freebsd.

I acquired:

1 x AMD KVM 1GB | $15.00/year | in Ohio from Linveo
1 x 1 GB KVM VPS | $10.99/Year | in Texas from RackNerd
1 x LET-BFBLOWOUT-2GB | $20/Year | in Tampa from SolidSeoVps

The first of what I purchased I already have it configured with freebsd and installed uptimekuma on a jail. I will probably use it to move my headscale server there as well.

The second one I purchased I will probably use it to experiment and learn Freebsd, possibly I can move my headscale server there if I don't move it to the first vps.

The third one I bought, has more resources and I have better ping, so I will probably use it to move there my blog and some personal rails apps.

I would like to acquire a fourth vps with a little more resources (2cpu and +2gb ram) in Florida from a good provider and with payments in BTC to host more personal Rails apps, replace my reverse proxy server that gives access to the rails apps hosted in the different vps and possibly move a teamspeak server.

Not_Oles · December 3

@jam Please join us in the LES BSD Thread!

vyas · December 3

@Not_Oles said:
@jam Please join us in the LES BSD Thread!

I Read it as LES BSOD thread, and I thought "well, almost Every Windows user might have experienced it at some point, maybe a discussion does make sense."

codelock · December 3

@vyas said:

@Not_Oles said:
@jam Please join us in the LES BSD Thread!

I Read it as LES BSOD thread, and I thought "well, almost Every Windows user might have experienced it at some point, maybe a discussion does make sense."

You are misreading a lot of things lately

vyas · December 3

@codelock said:

@vyas said:

@Not_Oles said:
@jam Please join us in the LES BSD Thread!

I Read it as LES BSOD thread, and I thought "well, almost Every Windows user might have experienced it at some point, maybe a discussion does make sense."

You are misreading a lot of things lately

Totally un intentional. Have an appointment for eye doctor this afternoon. That might reveal a thing or two. Or maybe not :-)