How to install a cloud service at home: It’s easy

I recently wrote an opinion piece on the most important reason you should be using Linux at home. 

In the end, it's all about keeping your data safe from third-party services and the ability to expand the applications, services, and tools you have available to you — without having to break the bank or get a degree in computer science.

You might either not know about Linux or believe it to be too challenging for your skills. 

For those that haven't heard of Linux, it's a free operating system you can install on computers (or as virtual machines) that is more powerful, flexible, reliable, and secure than either Windows or MacOS. 

And Linux is everywhere. Not only does it run on computers, but also on IoT devices, smart devices, appliances, automobiles, and more.

In this series on making use of Linux at home, I want to show you how to install the Nextcloud on-premises cloud host. Think of it as your own Google Workspace, complete with documents, storage, calendar, email, and more. 

Also: My new idea for a great new beginner-friendly Linux distribution

It should come as no surprise (given the title of this piece), that there's a very easy way to install this cloud platform and I'm going to show you how it's done.

Ready?

How to install a cloud service at home: It's easy

Requirements

To successfully install Nextcloud, you will need an instance of Ubuntu Server up and running on your home network. Fear not, as I've already explained how you can do this in under 30 minutes. With that server running, you'll need a user with sudo privileges (which you create during the operating system installation).

That's it. Let's do this.

sudo snap install nextcloud

Next steps with Nextcloud

After the installation is complete, you can start using Nextcloud as is. However, I would suggest you at least configure the email server settings, so you'll be able to share and collaborate on files. To configure the email server, you'll first need to have an SMTP server. You can always use the Google SMTP server, the settings of which you'll need are:

• SMTP server: smtp.gmail.com.
• Port: 465.
• From email address: Your Gmail address.
• Password: Your Gmail password (or app password, if you use two-factor Authentication with Gmail).

To configure the SMTP server, click your Nextcloud profile icon at the top right of the window and, from the drop-down, click Administration Settings. From the left sidebar, click Basic Settings, and then in the resulting window, scroll down until you see the Email Server section. Fill in the options as outlined above and click Save. With that complete, click Send Email to make sure everything is working. 

Once you've taken care of the SMTP server settings, click the Mail icon at the top of the window. When prompted, fill out the necessary information for your email account, and click Connect.

With this complete, your Nextcloud instance can do just about anything your other cloud services can offer… all the while remaining within your home network. Even with the installation of Ubuntu Server, you should be able to complete this process in well under an hour. Believe me when I tell you, the time invested will be well worth it.