After some agonizing over the infinite number of trade-offs available these days, I’ve finally made a couple of big decisions w.r.t. Internet and Jee Labs.

Until now, all the web sites for Jee Labs have been running on a rented dedicated web server located in Germany. That little setup has served me extremely well, running some 5 years with just a (precautionary) HD swap about halfway down the road. Downtime over these years has been less than 24 hours I think, in total – or as they say: “three 9’s” (99.9% uptime).

The current server machine is showing its age though, so some form of upgrade and transition is needed in the not too distant future. Preferably one which can again last 5 years or more. Content changes all the time – but a server really shouldn’t need to. It’s a commodity by now.

As it so happens, Fiber to the home (FTTH) is currently being rolled out around here at Jee Labs. Meaning: fast uploads, not just downloads. Which changes the landscape – it’s no longer necessary to rent something, a server at home will work just fine. Jee Labs is not a bank or some high-profile company setup. I don’t need a team of support personnel to get around-the-clock support. If it fails, I can fix it. And if I’m not there to fix it, then Jee Labs has a bigger problem than just its websites…

So the plan is now to move all of the Jee Labs internet “operations” to … Jee Labs in Houten, The Netherlands. Not hastily – there is no rush. But still.

Now I need a server. One which I won’t outgrow. One which won’t break – or at least if it ever does: one which is easily replaceable. I’ve traveled across the planet in my searches. I’ve seen it all. Amazingly small, amazingly cheap, amazingly powerful, amazingly robust, and amazingly simple. None of them is everything at the same time. But I did end up with a setup that fits me.

I’ve decided to base the system on the latest Mac Mini:

Server edition, i.e. no DVD but a second hard disk. High end stuff, more than I’ve ever plunked down for a server. Still under €0.50 a day, if it lasts and delivers over the planned 6-year lifetime. Modern in terms of capabilities, modern in terms of noise level, and modern in terms of energy consumption. I’m pleased with this decision.

Inside, it’s going to run a couple of virtual machines. That will give me a level of (manually managed) fail-over which I’ve never had before. Security is crucial, but there too, the VM’s should add some good security barriers. One of the VM’s will be used for home automation.

I’m already running parts of the setup at Jee Labs as virtual machines, so the task ahead is to continue that migration, and then bring it together on the new server.

I’ll do my best to minimize the hickups, for this weblog and for the rest of the public-facing activities at Jee Labs and Equi 4 Software. There will no doubt be some disruptions and even foul-ups. But the hard part for me is over – the direction and the goal are clear now. The rest is … just work :)