Hello everyone. Currently I have a Minecraft server and a Jellyfin server running on an old Windows 10 gaming PC, but it's too hot and it makes working in my office (where my UDM SE and switch are in). Both applications are running on a 1TB platter drive. I would like to setup something that is at least cooler and less power hungry to run, as well as give it redundant storage as I would also like to throw NextCloud, and a personal web server into that. What hardware recommendations would you all recommend.
As a bonus question, does anyone have any resources to learn how I could securely setup my network in order to be able to access my personal server from the web without a VPN (my kids would like to invite their friends to the Minecraft server :P)
I would recommend looking at 2016-era Xeon E5 processor and appropriate motherboard with plenty of memory. Some of these Xeons had up to 22 cores. I got Xeon E5-2690 with 14 cores and 28 threads for a whopping 50.00 on ebay. They can be had for pennies on the dollar and you can do a lot with them. I wouldn't go older than 2016 because those tended to have a lot of power draw and heat. Then I would use ECC RAM if you intend to use as a NAS.
If I were you I would not host Jellyfin publicly. Please use a VPN like Tailscale or ZeroTier. If you feel particularly intrepid you could try using Nebula for your VPN platform which is completely open source and free. I am in the midst of using Nebula to build out my own software-defined overlay network.