====== The Approach ======

**Self-hosting** and **Home-Automation** are something that grow over time, getting more complex and elaborated. You start small, with some recycled hardware and makeshift cables to host some experimental services, then you start self-hosting important stuff.  You add sensors, devices, IP cameras, and so on as yo udiscover new toys and interesting stuff to try out.

But then...
  * One day your home internet connection is down and so you find out about **reliability**...  
  * One day power goes out at home, and you find out that an unexpected server reboot might cause side issues... 
  * One day, maybe during a hot summer day, your USB network card fails on you, when you are on vacation...
  * One day that critical CalDAV service stop working due to a Python update and you miss an appointment...
  * One day maybe you get hacked....

So you start studying and investing in UPS, reodundant ISPs with failover capability, advanced routing for your services, containers, backup techniques...

I went trough the process (except i never got hacked, maybe my security measures where good from the beginning, or i was lucky, o maybe i just never noticed?), and you will as well go trough it.

At the beginning i started out with a very [[selfhost:simple_approach|simple approach]], spent one year and half more or less expanding to the point where something a little bit more [[selfhost:advanced_approach|advanced]] was actually required.

You should stody both ways and pick yours, wihch can even be a good mix of the two, or even a third  way that fits you better.


==== Basics & Approaches ====

No matter which approach you prefer, the following are the **very basics** that i assume you will take into consideration, on which you should not even think to skip:
  * Have a **proper backup plan** in place (see [[selfhost:backup|here]]), and **verify your backups** regularly.
  * Have **two** ISPs to provide a failsafe internet connection (see [[router:multiisp|here]])
  * Stored your data on some redoundant **RAID array** (see [[selfhost:storage|here]])
  * Have an **UPS** solution to protect your server / disk RAIDS from blackouts
  * Maybe even have an additional 4G SIM card for **last chance** internet connectivity?

Still, bad things happens over time, and the above guidelines are just the **bare minimum** that is mandatory to start a self-hosting journey.

In addition to the above basics, i will illustrate two approaches. One, the simple one, will fit your bill but might prove limited over time. The advanced one, instead, resemble more how things are done at a professional level and offer better reliaiblity and scalability at a higher price range and complexity.