Building a home server is the dream of many. They’re extremely multi-functional and allow a user to have all of their important documents and other data stored safely in a place that they have full control over. This also means increased privacy while also not letting third party companies have access to personal information.

There are a lot of elements to consider when putting together a server at home. Hardware makes up one side, but it’s just as important to have the right operating system. A server-based operating system is one that offers reliability and stability and gives the user as much freedom as they need.

TrueNAS

Most people would probably recognise the name of FreeNAS, a 100% operating system that’s designed from the ground up to work for server hardware, with a specific focus on large amounts of backup storage. FreeNAS recently changed its name, and is now known as TrueNAS, but the cost and licencing of the operating system has remained open source and free. It’s compatible with a wide range of different systems, including Linux, Windows, and MacOS.

Many use TrueNAS as a means of backing up media, streaming, or taking snapshots of their operating system. This makes it much easier to recover any important information in the event that something should happen to the device.

Ubuntu Linux

GNU/Linux is the most widely used operating system in the world when it comes to servers, and there’s an excellent reason for that: reliability and compatibility. Linux works on just about any piece of hardware imaginable, going back decades, and there’s always been a strong focus on keeping the Linux kernel and other necessary tools as reliable as possible; after all, a server is meant to run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and it’s vital to try and reduce any potential points of failure. There are a lot of choices when it comes to a Linux server, but most people are advised to make use of Ubuntu.

Debian

Ubuntu is an excellent choice for a server, there’s no doubt, but to take the relatability up another notch, it might be worth using Debian. Debian is a base distribution, meaning that many other Linux distros build on top of it.

Debian is well-known in the industry for being almost indestructible – some Debian-based servers can run for decades at a time without needing any real updates save security, and they can be used for backups, streaming, and even run as a normal computer for word processing or communication or playing the latest CA casino online. Debian is free and open source, and the has long been celebrated as an important part of the free and open source software movement.

Windows Server

Of course, there’s always Windows Server, which makes a good choice for the user that’s most comfortable using Windows as their main operating system. While it does come at a price, Windows Server offers improved compatibility with other Windows machines, and the user can expect to have access to decent customer care should anything go wrong.

On top of that, Windows Server might be a better choice for the user that relies on graphical user interfaces.