# What server do I need to host Nextcloud with several TB of files? > Nextcloud server requirements in 2026 (Nextcloud 35): OS, PHP 8.5, MariaDB or PostgreSQL, RAM per PHP worker, disks for several TB. Crypto, no KYC. - URL: https://basalthold.com/nextcloud-server-requirements/ - Last updated: 2026-11-02 - Publisher: Basalthold (https://basalthold.com) Nextcloud's own requirements for version 35, then the sizing that matters once files reach several terabytes: PHP workers, where the database sits, the data pool, and encryption. **Quick answer — What server do I need to host Nextcloud with several TB of files?** To host Nextcloud with several TB of files, you need a 64-bit Linux server with PHP 8.3 to 8.5 and MariaDB or PostgreSQL on SSD (Nextcloud 35 manual, 2 November 2026). Add Redis and hard drives in ZFS or RAID. Memory scales with PHP workers, not terabytes. **Basalthold** rents servers from $110.99, crypto only, no KYC. ## What are the system requirements of Nextcloud 35? | Component | Supported | Recommended | | --- | --- | --- | | Operating system, 64-bit | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, Debian 13, RHEL 9, SLES 15 SP7 or later, SLES 16, openSUSE Leap 16, CentOS Stream, Alpine | Ubuntu 26.04 LTS or RHEL 10 | | Database | MySQL 8.4 or 9.7; MariaDB 10.11 to 12.3; PostgreSQL 14 to 18; SQLite for tests only | MariaDB or PostgreSQL | | Web server | Apache 2.4, or nginx with php-fpm | Apache 2.4 with mod_php or php-fpm | | PHP | 8.3, 8.4, 8.5 | 8.5 | | Memory | 128 MB per process at least | 512 MB per process at least | | Built-in updater | At least 256 MB | — | Read on docs.nextcloud.com on 2 November 2026. Nextcloud 35 is the latest stable version; 36 is in development and 33 is the oldest still supported. ## Which system image should I pick? Of our images, Debian 13 and Ubuntu 24.04 LTS are the two on Nextcloud's list: use one of them. Debian 13, Debian 12, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, AlmaLinux 10, Rocky Linux 10, Proxmox VE 9 and Proxmox Backup Server 4. Debian 12, AlmaLinux 10 and Rocky Linux 10 are not named on Nextcloud's list, and neither of its two recommended systems is in ours. Proxmox VE 9 works too, with Nextcloud in a virtual machine or container on the data pool. ## How much RAM and CPU does Nextcloud need for several TB? Terabytes barely move the RAM figure; users, apps and activity do. Nextcloud says memory needs vary greatly with users, apps, files and server activity. The number to size is PHP-FPM workers. Nextcloud's tuning guide notes the default pool allows only 5 (`pm.max_children = 5`), which is far too few. Its formula: RAM set aside for PHP, divided by the average worker size, which it puts at 50 to 100 MB. Setting it too high causes swapping, which it calls worse than queuing. **Size Nextcloud by concurrent users and PHP workers; size the disks by terabytes.** ### PHP workers each hold can carry, by calculation | Hold | RAM | If 25% goes to PHP | Workers at 100 MB each | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Hold 24 | 32 GB DDR4 ECC | 8 GB | about 80 | | Hold 40 | 64 GB DDR4 | 16 GB | about 160 | | Hold 100 | 128 GB DDR4 ECC | 32 GB | about 320 | pm.max_children = RAM for PHP ÷ average worker size, from Nextcloud's server tuning guide. The rest of the RAM goes to the database, Redis and the ZFS cache. CPU work comes mostly from previews and background jobs. Nextcloud suggests an external microservice, Imaginary, to speed up preview generation; it does not work with server-side encryption. Run background jobs from cron, as Nextcloud recommends. The memory side of a large pool is on [how much RAM ZFS needs for a 100 TB pool](https://basalthold.com/zfs-ram-requirements/ "ARC, metadata and deduplication on large pools"). ## Where should the files and the database live? Split them. Put the data directory on the hard-drive pool, and the database, PHP and Redis on the system SSD. The operating system sits on its own SSD (two mirrored SSDs on the larger holds); the data drives arrive blank and unpartitioned, so you can build ZFS, an mdadm array or a set of independent disks. If you want the team to prepare a RAID 6 or RAID 10 array before delivery, say so to support before the server is handed over. Nextcloud's tuning guide adds three points for larger instances: - Replace SQLite with MariaDB or PostgreSQL. - Turn on memory caching; APCu needs installing first, as it is off by default. - Move file locking to Redis. By default, transactional file locking uses the database, which adds load to it. Why hard drives for files and SSD for the database is explained in [HDD or SSD for a rented storage server](https://basalthold.com/hdd-vs-ssd-storage-server/ "Capacity on hard drives, latency on SSD"). ## How much disk do several TB of files really need? More than the files themselves. Previews, file versions and the trash all take space on the data pool, and parity takes its share of raw disk. **Basalthold's survey of 2 November 2026 found that storage servers from 16 TB cost a median $9.50 per TB a month at hosts taking crypto without KYC.** Across every listed plan, the median was $5.12. Hold 24 costs $4.62/TB and Hold 160 $3.50/TB, raw. Every term is on [the hold price list](https://basalthold.com/pricing/ "Every hold, term and city, with prices"). ### Usable space for Nextcloud data per hold | Hold | Data drives | Layout | Usable, before file system overhead | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Hold 24 | 2 × 12 TB HDD | Mirror | 12 TB | | Hold 40 | 4 × 10 TB HDD | RAIDZ2 or RAID 6 | 20 TB | | Hold 100 | 10 × 10 TB HDD | RAIDZ2 or RAID 6 | 80 TB | | Hold 160 | 10 × 16 TB HDD | RAIDZ2 or RAID 6 | 128 TB | Calculated from the drives in each hold, with 1 TB = 10^12 bytes. ## Should I turn on Nextcloud's server-side encryption? Usually not, on a server you rent. Nextcloud's documentation says its server-side encryption does not protect against a compromised server or a malicious administrator. In master key mode, admins can decrypt any user's files. Encrypted files are about 1% larger; before Nextcloud 25, the overhead was 35%. For local storage, Nextcloud itself suggests disk encryption such as LUKS, which also covers theft of the physical server. You can encrypt every data drive with LUKS or ZFS native encryption; the keys stay with you and nobody on the team ever asks for them. Each reboot then needs an unlock, as shown in [unlocking a LUKS-encrypted rented server remotely](https://basalthold.com/luks-remote-unlock/ "Dropbear in the initramfs, and ZFS native encryption"). **Encrypt the drives under Nextcloud, not the files inside it, and keep the keys off the server's own disks.** ## Is the Nextcloud server its own backup? No. A storage server is not a backup of itself: we keep no copy of your data anywhere else, so a second copy in another place stays your job. Back up the data directory, a database dump and `config.php` to a second place, with versions. Targets and costs are compared on [the best offsite backup for a NAS](https://basalthold.com/offsite-backup-for-nas/ "rsync, restic, Borg and S3 targets, and what a terabyte costs"), and the same targets serve a Nextcloud server. ## What else do people ask about Nextcloud on a rented server? ### How much RAM does Nextcloud need for 10 TB of files? The terabytes matter less than the users. Nextcloud asks for at least 128 MB per process and recommends 512 MB. Count the PHP workers your users need at once, at 50 to 100 MB each, then add the database, Redis and file system cache. ### Can the database sit on hard drives? It can, but it should not on a large instance. Put MariaDB or PostgreSQL on the system SSD and keep only user files on the hard-drive pool. Nextcloud's file locking and every page load go through the database. ### Which PHP version should I install? PHP 8.5, which Nextcloud 35 recommends; 8.3 and 8.4 are also supported. Nextcloud drops old PHP versions over time, so a current one saves an upgrade later. ### Can I host Nextcloud for my team on Basalthold? Yes. Each hold is a whole machine with root access, so Nextcloud, its database and its users are yours to manage. No logs are kept: no connection records, no traffic records and no visitor or customer IP addresses, on the website, in the dashboard or on the servers. ### What does a Nextcloud server with several TB cost? Hold 24 costs $110.99/30 days for 24 TB raw, and Hold 40 $201.09/30 days for 40 TB. Longer terms cost less per month; crypto is the only payment, and there is no KYC. **A Nextcloud server with room for terabytes** Hold 40: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 (6 cores / 12 threads), 64 GB DDR4, 4 × 10 TB hard drives (40 TB raw) plus 512 GB NVMe for the system, 1 Gbit/s port with 60 TB of traffic per 30 days, 1 IPv4 and an IPv6 /64, for $201.09/30 days. Crypto, no KYC. [Rent Hold 40 in Amsterdam](https://basalthold.com/app/checkout/?plan=hold-40&location=nl-ams&lang=en) · [Rent Hold 24 in Bucharest](https://basalthold.com/app/checkout/?plan=hold-24&location=ro-buh&lang=en) ## Sources 1. [System requirements (Nextcloud 35 Administration Manual)](https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/35/admin_manual/installation/system_requirements.html) — Nextcloud (read 2026-11-02) 2. [Nextcloud documentation overview: maintained versions](https://docs.nextcloud.com/) — Nextcloud (read 2026-11-02) 3. [Server tuning (Nextcloud 35)](https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/35/admin_manual/installation/server_tuning.html) — Nextcloud (read 2026-11-02) 4. [Server-side encryption configuration (Nextcloud 35)](https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/35/admin_manual/configuration_files/encryption_configuration.html) — Nextcloud (read 2026-11-02) --- Basalthold: Basalthold rents storage dedicated servers in Amsterdam, Bucharest and Chisinau, paid in crypto with no KYC: no ID, no selfie, no documents. Each server is a whole physical machine with 24 TB to 160 TB of hard drives for one customer, delivered with blank data drives and root access, for backups, archives, file sync and self-hosted object storage. On 2 November 2026, prices ran from $110.99 per 30 days for 24 TB to $561.39 for 160 TB ($3.50 per raw TB). It is run by DomaineGoat LLC, a company registered in Panama, keeps no logs and never asks for your encryption keys.