Transforming an Old Smartphone into a Mini Server for Your Network

In my previous article, I discussed setting up a local agent for my home network, which involved running various services. However, I quickly encountered a limitation: my router's built-in RAM of 256 MB was inadequate. After attempting to run AdGuard Home and a v2ray fork on OpenWRT, I faced out-of-memory issues as processes were terminated. While upgrading to a router with 1GB or more RAM seemed like a solution, the cost was prohibitive. This led me to consider an alternative: using an old smartphone as a server. In this guide, I will outline the steps to select and purchase a used phone from an online marketplace, transforming it into a functional mini server running PostmarketOS with Podman and AdGuard Home. I will also share some missteps I made along the way that limited my server's capabilities.