# How I Built My Home Server and Made It Accessible from Anywhere

## Introduction

Setting up a personal home server can be a game-changer for those who want to self-host applications, manage cloud services, or create a test environment. In this guide, I will walk you through how I set up my server using a Lenovo ThinkCentre M93p, featuring:

* CentOS Server Installation
    
* Strict networking configuration
    
* Cloudflare Tunnel for secure remote SSH access
    
* Installing and configuring Kubernetes and Docker
    
* Setting up Prometheus and Grafana for monitoring
    
* Hosting applications and jobs efficiently
    

Let’s dive into the details of how I built this home server and made it accessible from anywhere securely.

## **1\. Hardware and Initial Setup**

### **1.1 Choosing the Hardware**

I used a **Lenovo ThinkCentre M93p** with the following specifications:

* **CPU**: Intel Core i5-4570
    
* **RAM**: 24GB
    
* **Storage**:
    
    * **1TB HDD** for general storage
        
    * **256GB SSD** for the operating system
        

This setup is powerful enough for running multiple containers and handling monitoring tasks efficiently.

### **1.2 Installing CentOS Server**

To keep things lightweight and secure, I installed **CentOS Stream 9** as the operating system.

#### **Steps to Install CentOS Server**

1. Download the **CentOS Stream 9 ISO** from the official website.
    
2. Create a bootable USB using `dd` on Linux or use `Rufus` Software.
    
3. Boot from the USB and follow the installation wizard.
    
4. Choose **Minimal Installation** to keep the system lightweight.
    
5. Configure a **root password** and create a **new user account**.
    
6. Complete the installation and reboot the system.
    

## **2\. Configuring Strict Networking**

### **2.1 Disabling Unused Services**

To enhance security, enable `firewalld` if not:

```bash
sudo systemctl start firewalld
sudo systemctl enable firewalld
sudo systemctl status firewalld
```

### **2.2 Configuring Firewall Rules**

To allow only essential traffic:

```bash
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=22/tcp  # SSH Access
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=6443/tcp # Kubernetes API Server
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=http
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=https
sudo firewall-cmd --reload
```

## **3\. Setting Up Cloudflare Tunnel for Remote SSH Access**

Cloudflare Tunnel allows you to access your home server from anywhere securely.

### **3.1 Installing Cloudflared**

```bash
sudo yum install -y cloudflared
```

### **3.2 Authenticating with Cloudflare**

```bash
cloudflared tunnel login
```

This command opens a browser to authenticate with Cloudflare.

### **3.3 Creating the Tunnel**

```bash
cloudflared tunnel create my-home-server
```

### **3.4 Configuring the Tunnel**

```bash
cloudflared tunnel route dns my-home-server myserver.example.com
```

### **3.5 Running the Tunnel as a Service**

```bash
sudo cloudflared service install
```

Now, you can SSH securely into your server using:

```bash
ssh -o ProxyCommand="cloudflared access ssh --hostname myserver.example.com" user@myserver.example.com
```

## **4\. Installing Kubernetes and Docker**

### **4.1 Installing Containerd and Kubernetes**

```bash
sudo yum install -y containerd kubelet kubeadm kubectl
```

### **4.2 Initializing Kubernetes**

```bash
sudo kubeadm init --pod-network-cidr=10.244.0.0/16
```

### **4.3 Configuring Kubeconfig**

```bash
mkdir -p $HOME/.kube
sudo cp -i /etc/kubernetes/admin.conf $HOME/.kube/config
sudo chown $(id -u):$(id -g) $HOME/.kube/config
```

### **4.4 Installing Flannel for Networking**

```bash
kubectl apply -f https://github.com/flannel-io/flannel/releases/latest/download/kube-flannel.yml
```

## **5\. Setting Up Prometheus and Grafana for Monitoring**

### **5.1 Deploying Prometheus**

```bash
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: prometheus
  namespace: monitoring
spec:
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: prometheus
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: prometheus
    spec:
      containers:
        - name: prometheus
          image: prom/prometheus:latest
          ports:
            - containerPort: 9090
```

### **5.2 Deploying Grafana**

```bash
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: grafana
  namespace: monitoring
spec:
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: grafana
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: grafana
    spec:
      containers:
        - name: grafana
          image: grafana/grafana:latest
          ports:
            - containerPort: 3000
```

After applying these configurations, you can access:

* **Prometheus**: `http://<server-ip>:9090`
    
* **Grafana**: `http://<server-ip>:3000`
    

## **6\. Conclusion**

By following this guide, you now have a fully functional home server running Kubernetes, Docker, and a monitoring stack. **With Cloudflare Tunnel, you can securely access your server from anywhere.**

### **What’s Next?**

* Deploy self-hosted apps using Helm charts.
    
* Set up automatic backups.
    
* Experiment with CI/CD pipelines on your home server.
    

Let me know your thoughts, and happy self-hosting! 🚀