🚀 Lil Bestie Server Manual

USS Lil Bestie – Commissioned Infrastructure Platform

Hostname: multiplexer
OS: Debian 13 (Trixie)
Role: Media • Web • File • Container Host
Status: Operational

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📚 Table of Contents

• Overview
• Architecture
• Core Systems
• Storage Layout
• Backup Strategy
• Post-Reboot Checklist
• Lessons Learned
• Commissioning Statement

🖥 Overview

Lil Bestie began life as a Windows 10 machine that could no longer receive updates due to hardware limitations.

It has since been rebuilt from bare metal into a stable Debian-based infrastructure platform running Dockerized services, network file sharing, a dashboard control plane, and automated backup strategy.

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🛰 Architecture

flowchart TB
    Internet --> Router["Router (DHCP Reservation)"]
    Router --> Host["multiplexer (Debian 13)"]

    Host --> Emby["Emby :8096"]
    Host --> Portainer["Portainer :9443"]
    Host --> Homarr["Homarr :7575"]
    Host --> Dashdot["Dashdot :3002"]
    Host --> Caddy["Caddy :8080"]
    Host --> Samba["Samba (/srv/storage)"]
    Host --> RAID["15TB RAID Array (/srv/storage)"]

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🧠 Core Systems

🐳 Docker

Container runtime for all application services.

docker ps systemctl status docker

🎬 Emby (Media Server)

Port: 8096

Media Root: /srv/storage/media

Status: Operational

🛠 Portainer (Container Management)

Port: 9443

SSL enabled

Used for container lifecycle management

🖥 Homarr (Dashboard)

Port: 7575

Centralized service control interface

Contains Captain’s Log and telemetry

📊 Dashdot (System Telemetry)

Port: 3002

Host metrics mounted read-only

Real-time CPU, memory, disk, network

🌐 Caddy (Web Server)

Port: 8080

Hosts personal site

Static content served from /srv/storage/www

📂 Samba (File Sharing)

Network Share: \192.168.x.x\Media

Mounted locally at /srv/storage/media

Windows Z: drive mapping configured

💾 Storage Layout

NVMe SSD: Operating System

15TB RAID: Primary Data (/srv/storage)

8TB HDD: Backup Target (offline strategy in progress)

Mount validation:

df -h | grep storage

🔁 Backup Strategy

Critical assets:

Photos

Recipes

Minecraft Worlds

Website content

Strategy:

Primary: RAID

Secondary: 8TB backup disk

rsync-based nightly backups

Docker volume snapshotting

🚨 Post-Reboot Checklist

uname -r df -h | grep storage docker ps

If all pass → vessel stable.

🛠 Lessons Learned

Kernel regressions happen.

systemd mount options matter.

A single misplaced dash can cost hours.

DHCP reservations prevent existential dread.

Monitoring dashboards can lie.

Documentation reduces future chaos.

Cookies improve uptime.

🏁 Commissioning Statement

Lil Bestie has been successfully converted from a defunct Windows 10 machine into a stable Debian-based infrastructure host supporting:

Media streaming

Container orchestration

Network file sharing

Personal web hosting

Real-time telemetry

Dashboard control plane

Structured backup strategy

Deployed and stabilized by Michelle.

Breaker of Kernels. Mapper of Z Drives. All romance containerized.