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System

The operating system is the software layer that makes hardware accessible to applications — managing the processor, memory, storage, and networking so applications don't have to. For self-hosted servers, that means Linux. The choice of distribution affects update cycles, long-term support, and suitability for containerised workloads.

AppLicenseFOSS problemsSSOUsersTested
DebianStable, community-driven Linux distribution renowned for reliability and its vast DFSG-compliant package archive.Various (DFSG)Unlimited
UbuntuPopular Debian-based Linux distribution with LTS releases, wide hardware support, and a large ecosystem.Various (DFSG)Proprietary componentsUnlimited

Keeping it running

Operating System — which distribution to run, keeping it patched, and the firewall.

Containerization — the architecture that isolates and runs every self-hosted service: images, containers, volumes, and resource limits. Docker is the implementation used here.

Maintenance Services — the deployment platform, monitoring, auth, and dev tooling that sit on top: what we chose, and why.