VPS recommendations/ OS recommendations

[Spect0rr]

Hi,
I am a newer jellyfin user and after originally hosting a media server for me and my family off of an old laptop and using caddy I found out that my isp had decided to go ahead and block all of my ports for port forwarding (80.8080,430,8430) etc etc. I phoned them and there is no chance of them getting unblocked......
I am now looking for a vps solution that could serve maybe 5/7 users simultaneously and hold maybe 4-5 terabytes of content (movies, shows). Budget up to 30-40 ish CAD monthly (could be higher if this is too low a number for what i'm looking for).

Q1: What sort of specs should I look for in a good vps to be great for jellyfin, Do I need more ram or CPU cores, unlimited bandwidth. I'm not exactly sure. I know about low end box but found navigating all the options quite difficult.

Q2: I have some technical knowledge and was wondering if a linux box would be better bang for my buck than windows. I'm sure I could follow a guide to setup on a linux boot. 

Q3: In terms of storage it seems that I have several options. I have heard a few people say it is better to select a vps with enough storage by default but also have seen people talking about buying cheap storage and then using a program to mount that storage to the vps. I'm not entirely sure of the downsides of this and how it would effect performance as i've seen mixed reviews.

[Jerky]

Hey,
I could be wrong, but I think you want a dedicated server with an iGPU, so something of the intel verity would probably be the path of least resistance.

OVH is more expensive, so I'd go with something from here: https://www.hetzner.com/sb?cpuType=Intel

I prefer a box with ECC RAM, but that would mean a more expensive server.

They are a great provider.

As far as OS of choice, I'd go linux but it can be a steep learning curve, but doable. Ubuntu tends to be an easier choice. Others might say debian. I like Gentoo, myself.

You can add more storage over the network with this from the same provider if you want to save on how much storage the various dedicated servers have: https://www.hetzner.com/storage/storage-box

[Spect0rr]

Hey,
I could be wrong, but I think you want a dedicated server with an iGPU, so something of the intel verity would probably be the path of least resistance.

OVH is more expensive, so I'd go with something from here: https://www.hetzner.com/sb?cpuType=Intel

I prefer a box with ECC RAM, but that would mean a more expensive server.

They are a great provider.

As far as OS of choice, I'd go linux but it can be a steep learning curve, but doable. Ubuntu tends to be an easier choice. Others might say debian. I like Gentoo, myself.

You can add more storage over the network with this from the same provider if you want to save on how much storage the various dedicated servers have: https://www.hetzner.com/storage/storage-box

I am in Canada so I am slightly concerned about latency in using a european host. Would I still be ok on the east coast of NA?

[Jerky]

I don't know, someone else will have to chime in on latency and streaming. OVH is in Canada but way more expensive.

[Spect0rr]

I don't know, someone else will have to chime in on latency and streaming. OVH is in Canada but way more expensive.

this is an option on ovh as an eco server. 
CPU : Intel Xeon D1520 - 4c/8t - 2.2 GHz/2.6 GHz Memory : 32 GB DDR4 ECC Storage : 4 x 2 TB HDD SATA Soft RAID Public bandwidth : 250 Mbps

wondering if it may be a decent option.
its around 40 canadian
another one was
CPU : Intel Xeon D1540 - 8c/16t - 2 GHz/2.6 GHz Memory : 32 GB DDR4 ECC Storage : 4 x 2 TB HDD SATA Soft RAID Public bandwidth : 250 Mbps
slightly more expensive.

[Jerky]

Look into a Intel Xeon E3 1245v5

I found some on a reseller of OVH here listed as SYS-3-SAT-32 on https://www.soyoustart.com/us/essential-servers/

or from here https://eco.ovhcloud.com/en/#filterType=...ue=kimsufi

you really want an CPU : Intel Xeon E3-1225v2 - 4c/4t - 3.2 GHz/3.6 GHz or greater.

The important thing is to google the processor to find a spec sheet on intel.com like these:
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/...tions.html this link is from the soyoustart.com link I mentioned, see where under graphics it says 'Intel® Quick Sync Video'? You need that if you want to hardware transcode. This is also a v5 CPU so it's newer and the quality of hardware transcodes will be better then the v2 or v3 from kimsufi

[TheDreadPirate]

Have you tried just using a completely arbitrary port? Comcast blocks hosting on port 80 or 443, but I host on port 50443 without issue.

[Spect0rr]

Have you tried just using a completely arbitrary port?  Comcast blocks hosting on port 80 or 443, but I host on port 50443 without issue.

I tried about 8 or 9 then gave up. I was having some issues with the laptop that I was hosting from anyhow. I think a dedicated server/vps solution will be better for my needs anyhow.
I phoned as well to ask for two ports to be potentially opened and my isp told me to kick dirt. I would run my own router and try to forward that way but the isp's router/modem combo is locked down with no true bridge/modem mode.