Replacing Google Photos with a self-hosted photo and blog server
storage reached 96% full, creating a need for a long-term photo storage setup under personal control. The options considered were a commercial NAS such as Synology, a setup, and a custom PC build. was rejected because its was not strong enough for a main photo storage system.
A custom PC was chosen as the better balance of cost and flexibility. The hardware used a budget Intel Core i5 4th generation PC, with enough power to run several services. The software setup was first tested with RHEL Linux and Docker.
Immich was chosen for photo storage because its phone sync and interface were better suited for photos than Nextcloud’s photo features. Nextcloud was still used alongside it for general file management. The finished server now works as a personal photo archive and also hosts the blog itself.
Key points
- storage was 96% full, which pushed the move to photo storage.
- The setup compared , , and a custom PC build.
- was rejected because it was not fast enough for primary photo storage.
- Immich was picked for photos, while Nextcloud was used for general files.
- The same now stores photos and hosts the blog.