···

       
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## Step 1: Find a server

     

       
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- Option 1 (recommended): a Virtual Private Server (VPS) with a cloud provider such as Hetzner, Vultr, or Digital Ocean. Get an IPv4 address^[1].

     

       
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+
       
- Option 1 (recommended): a Virtual Private Server (VPS) with a cloud provider such as Hetzner, Vultr, or Digital Ocean. Get an IPv4 address[^1].

     

       
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You can use this referral link to get started on Hetzner: https://hetzner.cloud/?ref=XydbkWdf49TY.

     

       
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- Option 2: your own hardware, such as an old PC or laptop, Raspberry Pi, or a custom-build server.

     

       
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Note you'll need a static IPv4^[1] address for reliable hosting^[2]. If you're behind Network Address Translation (NAT) you'll need to set up port forwarding for every service you want to run.

     

       
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+
       
Note you'll need a static IPv4^[1] address for reliable hosting[^2]. If you're behind Network Address Translation (NAT) you'll need to set up port forwarding for every service you want to run.

     

       
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The resource requirements depend on the number of services you want to run and 

     

       
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resource requirements

     
···

       
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with all enabled...

     

       
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[1]: You could just use an IPv6 address, but much of the Internet is still [IPv4-only](https://stats.labs.apnic.net/ipv6).

     

       
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[^1]: You could just use an IPv6 address, but much of the Internet is still [IPv4-only](https://stats.labs.apnic.net/ipv6).

     

       
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[2]: If you don't have a static address, Dynamic DNS is possible but takes some time to propagate. Email reputation is tied to your IP address; using a residential address assigned by your ISP may get your mail blocked.

     

       
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[^2]: If you don't have a static address, Dynamic DNS is possible but takes some time to propagate. Email reputation is tied to your IP address; using a residential address assigned by your ISP may get your mail blocked.

     

       
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Resource requirements depends how many service you want to run and how much load they'll be under, but 2 GB RAM and 20 GB disk should be a good starting point.

     

       
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···

       
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Note that we are using the `hardware-configuration.nix` generated by `nixos-generate-config`.

     

       
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Eilean uses [flakes](https://www.tweag.io/blog/2020-05-25-flakes/).

     

       
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Without going into too much depth, they enable hermetic evaluation of Nix expressions and provide a standard way to compose Nix projects^[3].

     

       
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Without going into too much depth, they enable hermetic evaluation of Nix expressions and provide a standard way to compose Nix projects[^3].

     

       
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[3]: [tweag.io/blog/2020-05-25-flakes](https://www.tweag.io/blog/2020-05-25-flakes/).

     

       
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[^3]: [tweag.io/blog/2020-05-25-flakes](https://www.tweag.io/blog/2020-05-25-flakes/).

     

       
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You can edit the resulting `configuration.nix`.

     

       
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Check out the `TODO`'s for a place to start.

     
···

       
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```

     

       
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Upon boot you should be able to login as root.

     

       
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You may need to run `passwd <username>` (where `<username>` is `eilean` by default) to be able to log in as `<username>`^[4].

     

       
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+
       
You may need to run `passwd <username>` (where `<username>` is `eilean` by default) to be able to log in as `<username>`[^4].

     

       
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You should be able to edit `/etc/nixos/configuration.nix` and rebuild you system with `sudo nixos-rebuild switch`.

     

       
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[4]: [github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues/55424](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues/55424)

     

       
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[^4]: [github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues/55424](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues/55424)

     

       
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By default DHCP will be enabled so your machine will discovery it's IP address, however some providers don't enable DHCPv6 or SLAAC so you need to manually configure the IP address.

     

       
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For example a Hetzner VPS IPv6 address can be found in the networking tab and enabled with: