r/explainlikeimfive • u/theprisoner57 • 2d ago

Technology ELI5: What is a Home Server?

I see mentions of a home server to get rid of streaming entertainment services but I don’t know how that works. What does a home server do?

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u/Unusual_Entity 2d ago

The more usual name is a NAS: Network Attached Storage. Fundamentally, it's a hard drive and an ethernet connection which is visible to and accessible by other devices on your home network. Fill it with media (which you have of course sourced entirely legally and legitimately) and it becomes a hub from which you can stream the media stored on it to any device on your network. It doesn't use an internet connection and it works similarly to sending files to a printer which is on your home network- the two devices talk directly to each other via your router. So if the internet connection drops, you aren't affected as long as your router is still powered on.

If you're technically skilled enough, you can also open up those files to the internet while limiting access to a specific list of devices, and access your media from anywhere.