Cloud Server Plan.
// What it would cost to move the Docker apps out of the house · 2026-07-23
Why this page exists: on 7/23 we fixed why va.onfleek.live kept going down
(the server's Docker "building" was out of memory air; it now self-heals in minutes). The next
question was: "Can the apps keep working even when the house loses power or internet?"
The only real way is renting a computer in the cloud. Here are the honest choices and prices.
01 // Your ~96 apps are 3 families
Only one family makes sense to move. The other two should stay home.
Can move — cheap
The Movers
~35 apps
The little web apps: VA Claims, chores, grocery list, lawn, allergy, word game,
reunion sites, kids' games, prep coaches... Each one sips tiny amounts of power.
All 35 together fit on one modest rented computer.
Stays home
The Media Giants
~20 apps
Plex, Jellyfin, the downloaders — and the terabytes of movies on your
drives. Renting that much cloud disk runs $300–500+ every month before
anyone even presses play. Never worth it.
Stays home
The Muscle
~10 apps
The AI helpers (Ollama, voice, whisper, photo-fixer) need your graphics
card. Renting a cloud graphics card is $150–400/month. Cheaper answer:
cloud apps borrow the Claude API for pennies per use.
02 // The options
Rented computers come in sizes, like trucks. Prices checked 2026-07-23.
Option 0 — Stay home (what you have today)
$0per month
After the 7/23 fixes: the server self-heals in 2–5 minutes, texts you when it does, and
visitors see a friendly "We'll be right back" page during blips (that page runs at
Cloudflare, so it even shows during a power outage). Weak spot: when the house is dark, the apps
are still down until power returns.
Fits: right now — already done
Option A — Small cloud box (the starter)
$13–24per month
A 4 GB rented computer (Hetzner ~$13, DigitalOcean $24). Comfortably runs VA Claims +
about 5 more important apps and their databases. Those apps stay up through any house
outage. Everything else stays home like today.
Fits: when VA Claims / ProStops opens to real strangers
Option B — Medium box (the sweet spot)
$26–48per month
An 8 GB machine (Hetzner ~$26, DigitalOcean $48). Runs all ~15 public-facing
apps — everything family and friends touch from outside the house. Home keeps media,
AI, and house gadgets.
Fits: if outages start costing trust with users
Option C — Big box ("most of my Docker")
$47–96per month
A 16 GB machine (Hetzner ~$47, DigitalOcean ~$96). Runs all ~35 light apps —
literally everything except the media giants, the GPU muscle, and gadgets wired to the house.
The home server becomes just the media + AI machine.
Fits: the full "most of my docker" move you asked about
Wildcards — worth knowing
$0–180one-time / free
Oracle Cloud free tier: a free-forever 24 GB ARM machine. Genuinely $0, but
picky signup, apps must be rebuilt for ARM chips, and Oracle can reclaim idle machines — fine as
an experiment lane, not as the main home for veterans' data.
The .191 server you already own: free load-spreading, but it's in the same house —
same power, same internet, so it does NOT solve outages.
A UPS battery ($130–180 once): rides the server through short power blips and
protects the hardware. Best dollar-for-dollar upgrade on this page.
03 // Monthly cost, added up
| Plan | What lives in the cloud | Cloud box | Backups | Total / month |
|---|
| Today |
Nothing — self-healing home server |
$0 | $0 |
$0 |
| Starter (A) |
VA Claims + ~5 key apps |
$13–24 | $2 |
$15–26 |
| Public fleet (B) |
All ~15 public apps |
$26–48 | $3 |
$29–51 |
| Most of Docker (C) |
All ~35 light apps |
$47–96 | $3 |
$50–99 |
| Everything, media too |
Movies + downloads + GPU in the cloud |
$300+ | $10+ |
$350–600+ — don't |
04 // Stays home no matter what
- Plex + Jellyfin + your drives — terabytes belong on disks you own.
- Downloaders + VPN — tied to those same drives.
- The AI muscle (Ollama, voice, photo tools) — they need your graphics card.
- House gadgets — BedJet, the beds, BAF fans, UniFi, Alexa bridges. They ARE the house.
- Paperless originals — already mirrored to OneDrive; nothing to rent.
05 // Fine print (the honest part)
1. Cloud apps that lean on home Ollama get a switch: use the Claude API (pennies
per use) or show "AI helper resting" while the house is dark. VA's letter-writer already uses the
Claude API, so it keeps working.
2. Moving is weekend-sized batches, not one scary night — VA + its database is
one weekend.
3. Rented boxes include 1+ TB of traffic — endless for web apps, never enough for
movie streaming. That's the trap this plan avoids.
4. Two locations means the watchdogs and dashboard grow a cloud section — planned
work, not a surprise.
5. Prices drift. Hetzner raised US prices in June 2026; numbers above are
July 2026 checks, rounded.
06 // The recommendation
Right now: spend $0. The 7/23 fixes already shrank outages to a few minutes with
a friendly curtain page over the gaps.
Buy a UPS battery (~$150 once) whenever you're ready — best protection per dollar,
helps every plan on this page.
When VA Claims / ProStops opens to strangers: go Option A (~$15–26/mo) and move
VA + its database first. If that feels good and you want more apps outage-proof, step up to B, then
C — each step is just "same recipe, bigger box."