Curious to know what the experiences are for those who are sticking to bare metal. Would like to better understand what keeps such admins from migrating to containers, Docker, Podman, Virtual Machines, etc. What keeps you on bare metal in 2025?
I consider them unnecessary layers of abstraction. Why do I need to fiddle with Docker Compose to install Immich, Vaultwarden etc.? Wouldn’t it be simpler if I could just run
sudo apt install immich vaultwarden, just like I can dosudo apt install qbittorrent-noxtoday? I don’t think there’s anything that prohibits them from running on the same bare metal, actually I think they’d both run as well as in Docker (if not better because of lack of overhead)!Both your examples actually include their own bloat to accomplish the same thing that Docker would. They both bundle the libraries they depend on as part of the build
It’s not just libraries in a docker
True, Docker does it better because any executables also have redundant copies. Running two different node applications on bare metal, they can still disagree about the node version, etc.
The actual old-school bloat-free way to do it is shared libraries of course. And that shit sucks.
Well, that is how I started out. Docker was not around yet (or not mainstream enough, maybe). So it is basically a legacy thing.
My main machine is a Frankenstein monster by now, so I am gradually moving. But since the days when I started out, time has become a scarce resource, so the process is painfully slow.
I’m using proxmox now with lots of lxc containers. Prior to that, I used bare metal.
VMs were never really an option for me because the overhead is too high for the low power machines I use – my entire empire of dirt doesn’t have any fans, it’s all fanless PCs. More reliable, less noise, less energy, but less power to throw at things.
Stuff like docker I didn’t like because it never really felt like I was in control of my own system. I was downloading a thing someone else made and it really wasn’t intended for tinkering or anything. You aren’t supposed to build from source in docker as far as I can tell.
The nice thing about proxmox’s lxc implementation is I can hop in and change things or fix things as I desire. It’s all very intuitive, and I can still separate things out and run them where I want to, and not have to worry about keeping 15 different services running on the same version of whatever common services are required.
Actually docker is excellent for building from source. Some projects only come with instructions for building in Docker because it’s easier to make sure you have tested versions of tools.
Im a hobbiest who just learned how to self host my own static website on a spare laptop over the summer. I went with what I knew and was comfortable with which is a fresh install of linux and installing from the apt package manager.
As im getting more serious im starting to take another look at docker. Unforunately my OS package manager only has old outdated versions of docker I may need to reinstall with like ubuntu/debian LTS server something with more cutting edge software in repo. I don’t care much for building from scratch and navigating dependency roulette.
What OS are you using?
Linux Mint 22
I guess it isn’t the most user friendly process, but you can add the official Docker repo and get an up-to-date version without compiling or anything. You just want to make sure to uninstall any Docker packages that you installed before, before you start.
https://linuxiac.com/how-to-install-docker-on-linux-mint-22/
They can but - if their current setup meets their needs - why? There ain’t nothing wrong with having a few simple spare laptops, each an isolated environment for a few simple home server tasks each.
Don’t get me wrong - I too advocate for docker, particularly on new builds, or as a relatively turnkey solution to get started for novice friends, but the best setup is the one that works, and they sound like they got theirs where they want it.
For me the learning curve of learning containers does not match the value proposition of what benefits they’re supposed to provide.
I really thought the same thing. But it truly is super easy. At least just the containers like docker. Not kubernetes, that shit is hard to wrap your head around.
Plus if you screw up one service and mess everything up, you don’t have to rebuild your whole machine.
100% agree, my server has pretty much nothing except docker installed on it and every service I run is always in containers.
Setting up a new service is mostly 0% risk and apps can’t bog down my main file system with random log files, configs, etc that feel impossible to completely remove.
I also know that if for any reason my server were to explode, all I would have to do is pull my compose files from the cloud and
docker compose upeverything and I am exactly where I left off at my last backup point.
Ok I’m arguing for containers/VMs and granted I do this for a living… I’m a systems architect so I build VMs and containers pretty much all the time time at work… but having just one sorta beefy box at home that I can run lots of different things is the way to go. Plus I like to tinker with things so when I screw something up, I can get back to a known state so much easier.
Just having all this things sandboxed makes it SO much easier.
Why would I want add overheard and complexity to my system when I don’t need to? I can totally see legitimate use cases for docker, and work for purposes I use VMs constantly. I just don’t see a benefit to doing so at home.
Main benefit of Docker for home is Docker compose IMO. Makes it so easy to reuse your configuration
It’s so simple that it takes so much less time, one day I may move to Podman but I need to have the time to learn. I host Jellyfin
In my own experience, certain things should always be on their own dedicated machines.
My primary router/firewall is on bare metal for this very reason.
I do not want to worry about my home network being completely unusable by the rest of my family because I decided to tweak something on the server.
I could quite easily run OpnSense in a VM, and I do that, too. I run proxmox, and have OpnSense installed and configured to at least provide connectivity for most devices. (Long story short: I have several subnets in my home network, but my VM OpnSense setup does not, as I only had one extra interface on that equipment, so only devices on the primary network would work)
And tbh, that only exists because I did have a router die, and installed OpnSense into my proxmox server temporarily while awaiting new-to-me equipment.
I didn’t see a point in removing it. So it’s there, just not automatically started.
Same here. In particular I like small cheap hardware to act as appliances, and have several raspberry pi.
My example is home assistant. Deploying on its own hardware means an officially supported management layer, which makes my life easier. It is actually running containers but i don’t have to deal with that. It also needs to be always available so i use efficient “right sized” hardware and it works regardless whether im futzing with my “lab”
My example is home assistant. Deploying on its own hardware means an officially supported management layer, which makes my life easier.
If you’re talking about backups and updates for addons and core, that works on VMs as well.
For my use case, I’m continually fiddling with my VM config. That’s my playground, not just the services hosted there. I want home assistant to always be available so it can’t be there.
I suppose I could have a “production “ vm server that I keep stable, separately from my “dev” vm server but that would be more effort. Maybe it’s simply that I don’t have many services I want to treat as production, so the physical hardware is the cheapest and easiest option
All I have is Minecraft and a discord bot so I don’t think it justifies vms
It’s just another system to maintain, another link in the chain that can fail.
I run all my services on my personal gaming pc.
Curious to know what the experiences are for those who are sticking to bare metal. Would like to better understand what keeps such admins from migrating to containers, Docker, Podman, Virtual Machines, etc. What keeps you on bare metal in 2025?
If it aint broke, don’t fix it 🤷
Mainly that I don’t understand how to use containers… or VMs that well… I have and old MyCloud NAS and little pucky PC that I wanted to run simple QoL services on… HomeAssistant, JellyFin etc…
I got Proxmox installed on it, I can access it… I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing… There was a website that allowed you to just run scripts on shell to install a lot of things… but now none of those work becuase it says my version of Proxmox is wrong (when it’s not?)… so those don’t work…
And at least VMs are easy(ish) to understand. Fake computer with OS… easy. I’ve built PCs before, I get it… Containers just never want to work, or I don’t understand wtf to do to make them work.
I wanted to run a Zulip or Rocket.chat for internal messaging around the house (wife and I both work at home, kid does home/virtualschool)… wanted to use a container because a service that simple doesn’t feel like it needs a whole VM… but it won’t work…
I would give docker compose a try instead. I found Proxmox to be too much, when a simple yaml file (that can be checked into a repo) can do the job.
Pay attention to when people say things can be improved (secrets/passwords, rootless/podman, backups), etc. And come back to them later.
Just don’t expose things to the internet until you understand the risks and don’t check in secrets to a public git repo and go from there. It is a lot more manageable and feels like a hobby vs feeling like I’m still at work trying to get high availability, concurrency and all this other stuff that does not matter for a home setup.
I would give docker compose a try instead. I found Proxmox to be too much, when a simple yaml file (that can be checked into a repo) can do the job.
Proxmox and Docker serve different purposes. They aren’t mutually exclusive. I have 4 separate VMs in my Proxmox cluster dedicated specifically to Docker; all running Dockge, too, so the stacks can all be managed from one interface.
I get that, but the services listed by the other comment run just fine in docker with less hassle by throwing in some bind mounts.
The 4 VMs dedicated dockge instances is exactly the kind of thing I had in mind for people that want to avoid something that sounds more like work than a hobby when starting out. Building the knowledge takes time and each product introduced reduces the likelihood of it being completed anytime soon.
Fair point. I’m 12 years into my own self-hosting journey, I guess it’s easy to forget that haha.
When I started dicking around with Docker, I initially used Portainer for a while, but that just had way too much going on and the licensing was confusing. Dockge is way easier to deal with, and stupid simple to set up.
It depends on the service and the desired level of it stack.
I generally will run services directly on things like a raspberry pi because VMs and containers offer added complexity that isn’t really suitable for the task.
At work, I run services in docker in VMs because the benefits far outweigh the complexity.
“What is stopping you from” <- this is a loaded question.
We’ve been hosting stuff long before docker existed. Docker isn’t necessary. It is helpful sometimes, and even useful in some cases, but it is not a requirement.
I had no problems with dependencies, config, etc because I am familiar with just running stuff on servers across multiple OSs. I am used to the workflow. I am also used to docker and k8s, mind you - I’ve even worked at a company that made k8s controllers + operators, etc. I believe in the right tool for the right job, where “right” varies on a case-by-case basis.
tl;dr docker is not an absolute necessity and your phrasing makes it seem like it’s the only way of self‐hosting you are comfy with. People are and have been comfy with a ton of other things for a long time.
Question is totally on purpose, so that you’ll fill in what it means to you. The intention is to get responses from people who are not using containers, that is all. Thank you for responding!
Honest response - respect.
