ASUS A409UJ
An old laptop with an Intel Core i3-7020U and 4 GB of RAM, repurposed as a small always-on server.
$cat README.md↳01 / OVERVIEW
Home Server
An old laptop turned into a small home server for running personal services and learning more about Linux and self-hosting.
TYPEPersonal Project
ROLEHomelab
PERIODFeb 2026–Present
LINKS
TECHNOLOGY STACK
Debian 13DockerCloudflare TunnelLinux
~/home/projects/home-server[ 01 / 05 ]homelab / self-hostingpreview
ASSETS / SCREENSHOTS
↳02 / CONTEXT
The context
This home server started with an old ASUS A409UJ laptop that was no longer being used for much.
I got the laptop back in 10th grade of high school, and it was also where I first spent a lot of time learning Linux. The hardware was not exactly powerful, but that was part of what made it fun to learn with.
Instead of selling it, I decided to give it another purpose and turned it into a small home server. It now runs Debian 13 and hosts personal services and experiments.
↳03 / WHAT I DID
What I did
/repurpose
Repurposed an old ASUS A409UJ laptop into a small home server.
/linux
Installed and maintain Debian 13 as the server operating system.
/services
Run personal services and experiments on the server, mainly using Docker.
/networking
Connected the server to the home Wi-Fi network and set up external access using Cloudflare Tunnel.
/monitoring
Set up a public status page to keep track of the services running on the server.
↳04 / UNDER THE HOOD
Under the hood.
Debian 13
Debian 13 is used as the base operating system for running and managing the server.
Docker
Docker is used to run and manage personal services on the server.
Home Wi-Fi
The server runs on the home network through a regular Wi-Fi connection.
Cloudflare Tunnel
Cloudflare Tunnel provides external access to selected services without requiring a publicly accessible IP address.
Public status page
A simple status page shows the current state of services running on the server.
↳05 / NOTES
A second life for an old laptop.
The old laptop
This is the same laptop I used back in high school to start learning Linux. Keeping it around gave it a second purpose.
Why a home server?
I had an unused laptop and wanted a place to run personal services, experiment with Linux, and learn more about self-hosting.
Still running
The server is still being used and maintained as a small personal environment for projects and experiments.