5 Tips for Building a Home Server with an SBC

Key insights

• Choose x86 SBCs for home lab projects to avoid compatibility issues.
• For more complex projects, choose an SBC model with at least 8GB of RAM.
• Use an SSD instead of microSD cards for faster speeds and longer lifespan.

Because of their affordable prices, low power consumption, and tiny form factor, single-board computers are ideal for light DIY projects. However, due to their performance limitations, it may be difficult to imagine their usefulness in specific home laboratory environments.

Although running multiple GUI-based VMs is out of the question, SBCs can punch above their weight if you want to get into containers and self-hosted apps. So here are five pointers for anyone looking to turn their credit card-sized system into a reliable home server.

5 Prioritize x86 SBCs over their ARM counterparts

To avoid compatibility issues

Unlike the PC landscape, the SBC ecosystem is littered with ARM boards, from the lesser-known Libre Computer devices to the hugely popular Raspberry Pi family. However, if you're trying to build a full-fledged home lab, x86 architecture is better than ARM.

Don't get me wrong, I admit that the average ARM SBC has enough power to run most popular apps in containers. However, you may run into compatibility issues if you want to experiment with Proxmox, TrueNAS Scale, and other NAS/home lab platforms that lack ARM64 images on a typical SBC. So unless you're particularly interested in troubleshooting, it might be a good idea to stick with x86 boards for your home projects.

4 Choose a model with more memory

The more the better

Next to the CPU cores, memory is the most important part of your home lab setup. And this statement applies whether you are using server hardware or a miniature development board. If you haven't decided on an SBC yet, I recommend choosing one with lots of RAM.

While you can test CLI distributions and self-hosted apps with 4GB (or even 2GB) of RAM, an SBC with at least 8GB of RAM is ideal as it gives you a little more headroom for complex projects.

3 Use an SSD as your primary storage device

Greater endurance and faster speeds than your average microSD card

For years, microSD cards have been the de facto storage devices for SBCs. Not only are they inexpensive, but you can load different operating systems onto your microSD cards and swap them out as you please, making them ideal for DIY enthusiasts.

However, when building a home lab, you want to keep latency as low as possible. Modern SBCs typically come with USB Gen 3 ports, with some also featuring dedicated M.2 and PCIe ports. The average SSD not only improves the transfer speed of your home server, but also has a longer lifespan than an ordinary microSD card. Therefore, it is a good idea to use these high-speed drives in your SBC-powered workstation.

2 Containers are your best friends

VMs, not so much…

If you've ever tried experimenting with virtual machines on low-core CPUs, it's not hard to imagine the performance limitations of deploying VMs on SBCs. In contrast, containers are extremely lightweight – to the point where you can deploy many apps simultaneously in container environments without experiencing any performance issues.

Provided your SBC's architecture is compatible with the container image, you can even run operating systems in containers. As someone who makes a living testing quirky projects on the Raspberry Pi, I can assure you that Docker and SBCs are an impressive combination, especially when combined with a simple operating system…

1 Grab CLI distributions with minimal effort

DietPi for the win!

Operating systems based on a command line interface can seem quite complicated compared to their menu-based and GUI counterparts. However, reducing resource overhead on the operating system side is crucial for any home server, and this is where CLI distributions come in handy, especially those with the least amount of bloatware.

DietPi is easily my favorite operating system for this job. Although the name suggests otherwise, this ultralight distribution is compatible with most SBCs, not just the Raspberry Pi family. However, if you want something more familiar, the minimal version of Debian works quite well for home lab setups.

Venture into the wide and interesting world of home laboratories with SBCs

If you're new to home lab work, single-board computers can help you get up to speed without putting a strain on your wallet or increasing your utility bills. For those who want to focus solely on the self-hosting aspect of home labs, you can build a robust FOSS server with a decent SBC.

However, once you get into the more complex virtual machine projects, it might be a good idea to look elsewhere. While it may not be able to deliver peak performance in modern games, your aging PC can serve as a solid experimental hub for all your home lab ideas.