So, the first step was just getting started with the hardware. What exactly is a Rasberry Pi? Think of it is a micro motherboard with a chip, RAM, and the necessary basic connection points included. That's it. If you get a case for it, that's extra. Why bother? The beauty of a PI comes in the fact that they are small, compact, and easily designed into other components, which is why they tend to be used in robotics a lot. However, these mini-motherboards are essentially computers in and of themselves, similar to a basic desktop. They don't have big video card capability, but they are sufficient to run a basic desktop setup, especially if you run Unix on them as the OS (hint hint).
Again though, why bother? For me in particularly, I want a standalone computer that I can use as a testing site, both as a mini-server and web platform that is not connected to my main computer. I could do a VM, but I like working and programming my own hardware and maintaining it. So a Pi works really well. It's compact, low-cost, functional, and most importantly, it operates as a clean system separate from my personal computers. So I could set up an entire platform on it, be hacked, and not care because I won't have anything valuable on it. Physical separation is a key defense in avoiding the relentless bot attacks that happen whenever you connect anything to the Internet with an address.
Additionally, I've always wanted to run a Minecraft server with other players, and a Rasberry Pi is perfect for that kind of project. In fact, with a sizable micro storage, it's more than enough storage plus the Pi's computing power to run the Minecraft server and small web-hosting project as well.
Physically, the Rasberry Pi is noticeably small. In fact, it explains how office desktop computers are turning into little flat boxes versus the big towers they used to be.
For storage, the best recommendation is an SDD card attached to the USB socket. Personally, I have a 256gb micro-SD flash drive instead, which is close to capability of a small SDD. So, being the type that likes to use what I have already, that's become my Raspberry storage for the initial setup.
I also had to double-check with my ISP regarding rules of operating server and hosting on a consumer account. Generally, as long as no one else is using it, I'm good, but the terms vary from one ISP to another. So it's always good to check before getting started. I also need to have an static IP per my ISP. It's not absolutely necessary, but using the typical DHCP setup means my IP changes and can go out erratically or change. That means, whatever websites I'm hosting will be unreliable a full 24/7. So, a static IP solves that problem but requires an additional setup with my ISP.
Depending on which Pi you get, the peripherals can be a handful or a few. The basic setup is a socket for keyboard and monitor. Mine was a bigger model, so it can handle two monitors, a keyboard and a mouse. The controls use a USB socket, and the video can be attached with an adapter to HMDI cables. In short, it's a pretty nifty little setup and great as an Internet connection that you don't need to worry about if it gets compromised. You're not spending a big chunk of money on it, and with a Raspian Unix OS, it runs Apache and similar for easy server management.
Now I'm curious what I can do stacking four of five of them together. That's for another project.
