The budget is adjusted with the goal of making the most of existing resources and minimizing expenses.
Regarding hardware, normally at least one computer functioning as a server would be needed, as well as some client equipment for testing, routers or switches for the network, and storage devices such as hard drives for backups. Using a personal computer that we already have, which serves both for work and to set up the services, is ideal. The router and switch were also household devices I already had available, and the backup hard drives were external drives I already owned. If everything had to be purchased from scratch, the total hardware cost could be around 700 euros approximately.
Concerning software, the project was based on free or open-source tools. Operating systems like Linux (Ubuntu Server or Debian) were used, virtualization solutions such as VirtualBox, free databases like MariaDB, and security and network management tools like pfSense. This avoided any licensing costs, which is a great advantage for individual projects or educational centers.
As for network and connectivity services, all the work was done using a home Internet connection, without contracting domains or external servers. In a professional environment, these costs would need to be included, but for this project, they were not considered. Still, it’s good to know that registering a domain usually costs around 10 euros per year, and a basic VPS server about 5 euros per month.