Your own self-hosted Nextcloud server, with room for every file

What does a Nextcloud server need?

Less than you might fear, and more than a hobby box. Nextcloud's admin manual for version 36 asks for a 64-bit system, recommends Ubuntu 26.04 LTS or Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, and wants at least 512 MB of memory for each PHP process, the small workers that answer every click and sync. Ten people syncing at once means ten of those, plus the database.

• Database: PostgreSQL or MariaDB for real use. SQLite is only meant for tests and very small setups.
• PHP: version 8.5 is recommended, with 8.3 and 8.4 still supported.
• Web server: Apache 2.4 is recommended, with mod_php or php-fpm; nginx with php-fpm is also supported.
• Disks: solid-state. The All-in-One project recommends SSDs over spinning disks and warns against SD cards.

The easy way in: All-in-One

Nextcloud GmbH, the company behind the software, maintains an official All-in-One image. You start one "master" container, open its web page, and it sets up the rest: Nextcloud itself, a PostgreSQL database, Redis caching, and, if you tick them, Nextcloud Office for editing documents in the browser, Talk for calls, a virus scanner, and BorgBackup for backups. Updates happen from the same page, all parts together.

Installing Nextcloud by hand is possible and gives you more control, but every upgrade of PHP, the database and Nextcloud then becomes your job. For a team that just wants its files, All-in-One is the sensible start.

Up and running in an evening

1. Point your domain, for example cloud.yourcompany.com, at the server's IP address.
2. Install Docker by following Docker's own guide for Ubuntu. Avoid the snap version; the All-in-One instructions specifically warn against it.
3. Pick the folder for your files and pass it as NEXTCLOUD_DATADIR the first time you start. It cannot be moved by changing this setting later.
4. Start the master container with the official command from the All-in-One page.
5. Open port 8080 of your server in a browser, typing its IP address rather than the domain, and follow the steps: enter your domain, choose the extras, and start the containers.

Open ports 80 and 443 for the website and its free certificate, 8443 for the setup page once your domain works, and 3478 if you switch on Talk. Close 8080 to the world once you are done with it.

Where your files actually live

The question that matters most is what happens on the day a drive dies, and drives do die. On one disk, that day means restoring from backup while everyone waits. With RAID, two or more drives hold your data together, so the server keeps working while the failed one is replaced.

Our storage servers are built around that choice. You set up the drives for the balance you want between speed, capacity and safety, and a storage consultant will talk the RAID level through with you on chat. Blade and rack lines have hardware RAID, plus an iLO, iDRAC or BMC console so you can reach the machine even when its system will not boot. The whole machine is yours, including its port, and nothing counts the traffic when your team syncs a large project folder.

Need speed more than capacity? Our NVMe servers suit a busy team with smaller files, and every other machine is on the dedicated servers page.

Backups that save you

RAID is not a backup. It will not bring back a folder somebody deleted, files scrambled by ransomware on a laptop that synced them, or a server broken by a bad update. Turn on BorgBackup in the All-in-One page and send the backups to a different machine, ideally in another data centre. Then try restoring something, before you need to.

Keeping it healthy

• Install updates from the All-in-One page, and read what a major version changes first.
• Switch on two-step login for admin accounts at the very least.
• Look at the warnings on Nextcloud's admin overview after each update; they usually say exactly what to fix.
• Log in to the server with SSH keys rather than passwords.

Support is around the clock by phone or live chat if the hardware itself needs attention.

Is a dedicated server overkill for you?

For two or three people with a few gigabytes each, probably yes. A dedicated server makes sense when your team is bigger, your files run to terabytes, or you want to know exactly which machine in which building holds them. A racked server that matches what you choose is ready about 30 minutes after your order is approved; a custom build takes from 4 to 24 hours when we already hold the parts.

Questions people ask

How much memory should my Nextcloud server have?

Nextcloud recommends at least 512 MB for each PHP process. Multiply that by the number of people syncing or browsing at the same moment, then add room for the database, Redis and any extras such as Office or Talk.

Is Nextcloud All-in-One good enough for a business?

It is the Docker setup that Nextcloud GmbH itself maintains, and it handles the database, caching and updates for you. Many teams start and stay there; a manual install is for those who want to tune every part.

Can I move my files to another disk later?

Plan it before you install. The All-in-One instructions say the NEXTCLOUD_DATADIR setting must not be changed after the first installation, so choose the drive or array for your files on day one.

Do I still need backups if I have RAID?

Yes. RAID keeps you working when a drive fails, but it copies mistakes and deletions instantly. Keep a separate backup, for example with BorgBackup from the All-in-One page, on another machine.

Can Nextcloud replace our shared drive and video calls?

It can cover a lot of it: file sync and sharing, Nextcloud Office for documents in the browser, and Talk for chat and calls. Each extra uses more memory, so size the server for the features you switch on.

Which Linux should I install?

Nextcloud 36 recommends Ubuntu 26.04 LTS or Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, and also supports Debian 13, RHEL 9 and Ubuntu 24.04. Use the 64-bit editions: Nextcloud strongly recommends 64-bit for the processor, the system and PHP alike.