Yehor 🇺🇦

I see a lot of self-hosters have Macs in their #homelab. I’m wondering how it works? Is it still MacOS on it or is it just Apple hardware with Linux on it?

#macos #macmini #SelfHosted #selfhosting #selfhost

Mar 10 at 2:26pmWeb
Show threadDaniel SchildtMar 10

@yehor Have seen people mention using both. Some are running applications on top of macOS, others (with a bit older Macs) are using Linux on those. Both have advantages and disadvantages, as macOS-based server applications might work better (if people use iOS devices locally).

Latest mac minis are especially useful for people who do a lot of GPU compute, as those are massively cheaper than "proper" GenAI-focused devices.

Show threadHmpffffMar 10
@yehor Latest NixOS on an old 2012 Mac mini. :)
Show threadbasMar 10
@yehor tried both on an old 2014 mac mini. macos nowadays isnt the best when it comes to server functionality. however, under linux these things perform flawlessly (also 8w of power draw is pretty neat).
Show threadAnthony BosioMar 11
@yehor I could see it not mattering much to the extent that a lot of self-hoster are running everything in containers.
Show threadFelix SteindorffMar 13
@yehor I also have my Mac Mini M4 Pro in the rack, but it's just an AI endpoint for a few services. Unfortunately, it's still running macOS, but it works reasonably well. If Asahi ever becomes available for it, I'll definitely give it a try.