For something a bit more robust, a popular option is to take an older laptop, install an SSD into it, and use it as a server. On top of that, they draw very little power, great for keeping the electricity bill down. They come in a number of shapes and sizes, but make great servers for backing up data, and even for streaming media.

For those that want a very simple and cheap server that’s easy to set up, and can easily handle saving media, then a Raspberry Pi is probably the best choice. Server software can be installed on most types of hardware, but it ultimately depends on the budget of the person building the server, and what they intend to do with it. This might seem like a daunting task, especially for those that aren’t especially tech savvy – but getting a small server running at home is both easy to do and doesn’t cost too much, as we will look at here. The best overall option is to set up a server at home. More people than ever are relying on third party cloud storage for their media, work, and other data, but this also means that the third party has access to the information that they are storing. When it comes to long term data storage, the best option right now is to make use of a server.

Setting up a home media server