Update is here: https://lemmy.zip/post/72142441
Hey guys, since I got into hosting my own servers, any electronic device I see I wonder - can it become a server?
This is probably not a crazy and new idea with android phones, but I had to share it with you. If you don’t know, there’s this thing called postmarket OS, full linux experience on an android phone.
Of course, not all phones are supported, but a phone like Galaxy Note 9 is a great candidate - it supports LAN over usb, postmarket OS fully supports it (the Exinos version) and setting up a phone as a selfhosted server has it’s real perks. Pis got really expensive, not to mention they don’t have a built-in UPS (phones have batteries), they use slow SD cards, while phones have faster UFS memory, phones draw way less power.
What do you guys think? I will for sure get a used Galaxy Note 9 and explore this idea, and if all goes well, I might even buy more of them and create a cluster.
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This has been discussed many times already, and I am not saying that to scold you but if you look for the right keywords you’ll find a lot in the search.
E.g. the most recent one I know of is this https://lemmy.world/post/52120798
But that was posted in an android community, so not visible here.
But that was posted in an android community, so not visible here.
Nah, it was also posted here. Yesterday.
Ah, I made a scrollthrough and still missed it! Thanks for correcting me.
Thanks! I’ll check it out
bad idea IMO. i did this once, the device has to be permanently plugged in, which strains the battery. after a few weeks the battery inflated. that stuff can explode and set your house on fire.
better buy a raspberry pi. last time i checked they were $20 each.
last time i checked they were $20 each.
$20? Hundreds of $$ now with ramflation
I saw one post where a guy was using a phone as a torrent share server thing. They had an app that cycled the battery between 10% and 80%. Setting that sort of thing up would take care of the battery issue.
Not in perpetuity though
Of course not. I didn’t mean to say that would solve the issue completely. Theres plenty of other reasons why having a phone as a server is not the best idea, the battery is just the most flammable reason.
I looked at using my old Galaxy S10e to host some things and ran into this same issue. It depends on the device, but I found a video of a guy revmoving the battery and soldering in a special resistor or something to trick the phone into a) thinking the battery is installed and b) that the battery is not discharging and will stay powered on.
It’s been a minute since I’ve seen the video, but I think he gave an explanation of how it all works. Still on my to-do list for when I need a weekend project.
I have 3 pi 4s that where maybe 45 dollars each when I bought them, last time unchecked they where 600 dollars. I thought about selling them, but completely forgot if I want a pi again, and go to buy one, by then they might be 400 each.
You can buy x86 mini PCs for less now with only a minor hit to power consumption (they use slightly more power). I used to love Pis for home labbing, but I have switched to mini PCs for it.
I have two spare 8th gen Intel PCs I saved from the garbage bin, and a old gaming desktop that I now use as the server. So if I need a spare server I’m probably going to use one of those. I can get USB to gpio so been thinking of trying trying that route more considering how often people get rid of old pcs. I have a stack of windows vista-7 era laptops I was going to take apart for scrap too which could be used.
I bought the pis a long time ago, each time a found a project for one I was sad I didn’t have one to play with and kept buying more. They aren’t really even in use now. Ones built in to my work station and occasionally I boot into it and use raspberry pi imager to flash ubuntu or something on a USB. Its useful to have just ready on occasion. I have a hard time getting rid of them because of use cases like that, and in have a lot of hats/accessories for them like the ai camera. Even though I’m not really going to use them like I used to anymore.
I love reusing old tech like this. People toss / sell at a loss a lot of stuff that has quite a bit of use left in it.
If you already make a recycling run to the scrap yard its worth doing. I got 120 bucks last run just off old PCs and it wasn’t even that much, you just get more when you separate it. Aluminium cases, ram, motherboard, hard drives, CPUs. The older they are often the more they are worth, and if you are into eBay selling im sure you could make a killing. I heard even DDR 3 is coming back so who knows anymore.
Only thing you shouldn’t take is TVs you have to pay to get rid of them. Maybe don’t take appliance too. some people do, for example fridges have a few valuable components but I would not reccomend it. You end up with plastics and other junk sometimes and have to pay to get a dump run.
A lot of it only makes sense if you can store a pile until it gets big enough to be worth a trip out.
you sure they cost 600 dollars?
https://www.cytron.io/p-raspberry-pi-3-model-b-plus?currency=USD&src=raspberrypi
has 1 GB RAM:
Amazon and adafruit lists it for around 120-150 USD now so yes. 200 for one with a case and charger, etc.
I don’t know what those services are they look sketch to me so that screen shot means nothing to me. Even if they are legit I doubt they will ship to me. Or if they do ship it me its going to cost 80 dollars and take 3 months.
Theres generally a reason why it’s so cheap.
I guess I’ll be the devil’s advocate today. 😈
I’ve seen some pretty serious phone “servers”.
I personally think that turning a phone into a device that can stay on 24/7 should be easy enough.
Finding software that works on your phone’s hardware… that’s a whole different beast. 😬
The only thing that keeps me worried is the battery. I would never leave it plugged in 24/7. It’s a fire hazard…
A friend is running Linux, Nginx, Hermes Agent, and a few other things on her old phone. Definitely doable! It’s a decent idea - very small form factor, phones have pretty powerful CPUs, and a lot of people have an old phone they’re not doing anything with.
Thank you everyone for commenting on this, I didn’t expect this much feedback!
I will go ahead and start this project with an old phone, not sure yet which phone, and I’ll document everything and give you an update soon!
I would be worried about the battery, as many others pointed out too. I had a somewhat similar project with old MacBooks. I thought taking the battery off would make its fan to spin at 100%, yet turned out it does not. Right now one of my servers is MacBook Pro from 2011, and it kicks. It has no battery installed, and it looks like a pretty good server to me. It starts automatically when there’s a power loss, which is ideal for a server. Can totally recommend.
Old phone means old unsupported vendor version of the linux kernel vulnerable to script kiddie exploits.
I had the same thought. Got an older laptop laying around and might try to fiddle with it.
The issue that arises for me is electricity cost. A smartphone doesn’t have a fan and I trimmed for efficiency, unlike many other devices.
What do you want to use the cluster for?
I get that, using phones as servers is a pain because of cooling, but I was thinking maybe wire a fan to a custom made 3d printed rack, and also create a script for batteries, so the phones are not charging not stop.
Creating a cluster could help me self host more websites I create as I want to move away from using hosting services, I do have 2 mini pcs as servers right now, but they are kinda shit.
Creating a cluster could help me self host more websites I create as I want to move away from using hosting services
Just jeep an eye on electricity prices. This is probably not an issue with a phone server, but for me, hosting at home with a decent server PC costs more per month just in electricity compared to using a cheap VPS. Continuous draw of 50W 24/7 is ~37kWh per month which can cost $15 or more in California.
I do still host some things at home, but all my sites are on VPSes. The enterprise hardware and fast, data center grade internet connection is worth it for me. Some of my VPSes are only $40/year.
My always on server hosting 20+ services draws no more than 50w at peak during the night backup, but that lasts maybe an hour or so, normally runs nearer 5w-10w when the hdd’s are spun down and unmounted 22 hours a day. I use an Intel n97 CPU in a mini pc. Navidrome, immich, adguard home, Lemmy, find my device, forgejo, file browser quantum, sterling pdf, valutwarden just to name some of the services it runs easily. Paying 22p per kWh in the UK.
I would instead look into old Chromeboxes. They have about the same compute but don’t have a battery and can typically run mainline Linux (assuming they are supported by mrchromebox)
You can also buy refurbished Lenovo Thinkstation TinyPCs. These are low-power, small and quiet.
True but if you look online Chrome OS devices are dirt cheap. The major trade off is that storage is limited
300 EUR for refurbished devices with 16 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD is very reasonable.
300 EUR is a lot of money depending on who you are
How much is a Chrome box with those specs?
I think it’s a very good idea for reusing old, unused phones and make them useful again. No need to buy a phone for that.
This is the point where having a 24/7 up server is not the smartest thing to do and a device that is sometimes turned off is fine
Sounds like a good idea! I read somewhere, that you can also launch Docker via Termux on Android. Just in case Postmarket OS won’t work.
it would probably be a great way for people to get their feet wet if they dont have a server, but maybe not a great long term solution due to possible battery issues (unless its a phone that supports bypass charging)
most people have an old phone lying around that could be set up fairly quickly with something like syncthing for some basic file synciing, or run some services using termux along with tailscale or netbird so they can be accessed when away from home. all that would still be a bit of work but it would be a lot less daunting than all the research you have to do when youre getting into self-hosting. server/nas hardware, disks, how you are going to set them up, what OS to install etc etc
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I’ve seen in this thread:
Fewer Letters More Letters DHCP Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, automates assignment of IPs when connecting to a network DNS Domain Name Service/System NAS Network-Attached Storage SSD Solid State Drive mass storage VPS Virtual Private Server (opposed to shared hosting)
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I would root it and use Droidspaces. With all postmarketOS pros, not properly battle tested custom Linux ROM is not something I would use for any kind of hosted service.
Droidspaces is nice, give it a try.
