Question about Hosting using Debian

[progrockfrog]

I don’t understand where I should post this. I started a thread 10 days ago asking about starting a server. I thought this had to do with web hosting. I was told it wasn’t after they suggested I get a Debian .iso and install.

I used Ubuntu a long time ago, and I wanted to start up my own server (which I understand Ubuntu has, I just want to use something else). I like the Xfce stuff that various developers come out with and thought maybe I could do that with the new Debian 13. The only problem is I don’t know much about it. I just logged in now and I see that thread was locked, and now it is stating before I typed anything here that this isn’t the right category either. If I want to ask a question about hosting using a server through a Linux distro, where should I ask it? Then I will go there and explain exactly what I am trying to do. I hope I get cheese at the end of this maze.

[Meishin]

The “Hosting” in the “Hosting Support” category exclusively refers to InfinityFree instead of whatever that has a relation to hosting something in general, due to the simple fact that this is InfinityFree forum, not a random forum on the Internet.

While you’ll have better luck asking these in a more general forum about Linux, Informal is correct.

[KangJL]

@progrockfrog

I don’t understand where I should post this

Debian forum of course

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[siglo_ph]

Hoping you are sincere about this because it will involve a serious amount of your time and it will be a truly frustrating experience to back out midway realizing that what you invested on did not lead you to what you are trying to accomplish in the first place.

The first thing is what is your end goal? Hosting using Debian for what? Hosting can mean a lot of things. Are you trying to host a game server? FTP server? Hosting a streaming platform? Web server? Self-hosted? Cloud hosted?

What does Xfce stuff means? Are you planning to be Desktop Environment developer? Or are you referring to the console typing commands/running scripts? Or are you developing a desktop app for Linux?

Debian is an Operating System similar to Ubuntu, Windows, MacOs, etc. It offers you tools and an environment to work on something. However, in order to develop something you will need more than just an OS. You must know several programming languages, probably a bit of systems administration, networking, database administration if your application requires it, and nowadays a framework. Think of Debian as a Swiss-army knife. It has lots of built-in tools free. It can open a bottle of milk, cut through a bag of flour. It can unscrew even the service panel behind your oven. But if you want to bake cookies, a knife is not enough.

Note also that before developing something, for the most part, people underwent a certain level of education, additional training, a route of specialization, and maybe certification. This is a profession for some people after all. However, if you are just starting, a hobbyist, an enthusiast, or from a completely different field, do not be afraid! It is still possible. You just need to put the time, effort, and patience. There will be lots and lots of reading (RFC, white papers, documentation, manuals, bug tracking reports, logs, other peoples’ code, etc) and self-investigation.

If you are unsure where to start, start from the source of what you have. Most of the time, an official guide is already supplied and will be sufficient. Search also for FAQs. Then look for the specific community forum/wiki or mailing list. Probably the exact problems you are experiencing were experienced by some people before and were solved already. If everything fails, Google is your friend. Good luck!

[Admin]

The Hosting Support category is for InfinityFree hosting support specifically. Questions about setting up Linux distributions on other servers aren’t really relevant here since that’s not something you can do with our hosting.

For questions about Debian, you can check the official communication channels from Debian, like their forum. However, please understand that Debian is a community project run by volunteers, so they don’t have a help desk available to help you setup their software. There are also websites such as the Unix Stack Exchange that contain a lot of useful information, as well as guides on many other websites (DigitalOcean has a lot of easy to follow guides to setup specific software).

Ubuntu is a company and they do offer support, but only to paying customers.

Remember that while people are happy to answer questions, they won’t mentor you through every step. You need to put in effort to research, read, and learn independently.

Regarding Xfce on Debian 13: yes, you can run it. However, Linux servers typically don’t have desktop environments, they’re managed via terminal commands over SSH. But there is nothing stopping you from installing it anyway.

Still, if you’re serious about learning Linux server hosting, I suggest getting comfortable with the command line first.

[progrockfrog]

Hello, I just saw your reply. I would like to post images and some sound files. I don’t think video files will be needed yet (for streaming). The ideal picture would be to allow a rotation implementation where picture files would randomly be selected (on SSD drive or 3.0 USB drive) and then broadcast to the monitor. I would like to have it numbered. This way, when someone sees a picture they like, they favorite it. Then, that picture gets moved up some hierarchy chain. This is a way to filter the less desirable photos. Can a server achieve this?

[progrockfrog]

UPDATE: Found another solution, 95% resolved.

I am reading online about other options. One was a quick way to use your folder and get it assigned to a 10.0.0.x address. This would allow people locally to access it. The problem with that is I could only get it to access one folder. The minimum I need is to bounce around from folder to folder and it must thumbnail photos. Audio files aren’t necessary at this time, and if it turns into a bigger project videos would be added. However, manual screenshots to .jpg for movies is good enough. I don’t want to house GBs of files, just 1 to 10mb individual photos (weddings, graduation, traveling, pets, family, etc… that sort of thing).

This brought me to apps and programs like TeamViewer, Anydesk, Warpinator, and LocalSend. Only LocalSend had some success, but I couldn’t find a way to preview photos. It would only list the file names. Then I came upon Plex. On the surface it seems to be an all in one application I can use. The reason why I am updating here is to just give a final consideration in case someone knows of a better way to get this up and running. It is possible further down the road I will take this thing beyond the local home environment and host it on the internet. In that case, I would gladly integrate that with my use on InfinityFree and the services advertised through it. This is where I understand database recording can come in handy since Plex (and I am sure other services) record users actions in a database (they say Plex has it in a .db file). I have some experience with .sql, so I am willing to learn more if needed in this department.

So, is Plex the right way to go? If not the best, would it be a good stepping stone for a beginner, or should I set my eyes on something else? Thanks in advance for any insight into this.

[siglo_ph]

I’m still unsure of the final objective. Rereading it looks like your looking for a self-hosted image gallery/carousel for events probably in a booth with no internet connection necessary. There are ready-made open-source solutions already available I believe. I’m unfamiliar with those you mention but glad that something work for you.