Servers
Firewall
While a Router, Gateway or even your ISP might have an existing Firewall, it is never a bad idea to add an addition Firewall to your Server(s).
You can do this virtually or build your own firewall, just make sure if you build your own that it has dual NIC’s (Network Interface Cards or Ports).
OPN Sense
PF Sense
Cache Server
Is a server that acts as a single point on the network to reach out to the internet and download updates and new releases to distribute across your network.
LANCache
Web Server
Making an online website for players to be able to get information of hosted game servers running in the garage, software available to download or links to their websites, posting schedules, pictures, makes the Garage LAN even more fun as players can now share with their friends, family and more!
IIS (already on windows)
NGiNX
Apache
W3Schools
LAMP
WordPress
Storage Server
Build a fat game library on steam. Steam allows you to take those game files downloaded and save them on a network storage point or NAS (Network Attached Storage) for everyone to copy/paste to their system if not on the Cache Server or maybe the Cache Server is to complicated to setup. This is a great alternative.
Windows NAS
True NAS Core
Nextcloud (free cloud like onedrive)
Game Server
Hosting your own Game Server will reduce required bandwidth going out to the internet. It will also increase interest in “how things work” because it’s just awesome to know you have a world with players exploring on their own adventures within a server you or everyone built together! You can use an old pc laying around, install a Linux server OS, run windows or windows server, and host a game server.
Ubuntu Server
VirtualBox
Want to get fancy, check these self-hosting solutions.
Pterodactyl – my favorite and a great community
Linux GSM
Windows GSM
MC Server Soft
Puffer Panel
McMyAdmin
Music Server
I like collecting music, buying albums and having a big music collection. One of the servers I had running played music in the garage very low as background music. There was a touchscreen pc for a while that was the “JukeBox” like a TouchTunes box at a resturaunt. People could go up, add music to the playlist I had loaded into the JukeBox. It’s also great for parties and if you have mastered Static IP’s, Port Forwarding and SSL’s by this point, it will also serve as your own personal Spotify like service!
Subsonic
Hypervisor
Allows you to virtualize one physical system into many virtual systems. Great for hosting game servers for players in your garage lan to connect to and from home if they can’t make it or at anytime for both players at the garage and at home to play on at the same time. (Warning, the whole internet can join in depending on how you have your game servers configured which could lead to an elevated gaming experience very quickly!
Tip: A single physical hypervisor is capable of doing all the above at one time, which is great on the wallet! Or if you have a system(s) or two laying around, this is a great way to repurpose them.
Hyper-V (already in windows)
Proxmax
Docker
VMWare ESXi vSphere
VMWare Desktop Hypervisor, Workstation & Fusion