How to Build a Private Local AI Server Using Ollama on Debian or Fedora

A developer guide published on DEV Community walks through setting up a fully private, self-hosted AI server using Ollama on a Debian-based machine, eliminating reliance on cloud services and recurring subscription fees. The setup requires a capable NVIDIA GPU with at least 8GB VRAM, 16GB of RAM, and an NVMe SSD, with NVIDIA hardware preferred due to its CUDA core advantage. Ollama, an open-source tool, handles model downloads and execution while exposing a local API on port 11434, and Open WebUI can be layered on top via Docker to provide a ChatGPT-like browser interface. Supported models include Meta's Llama 3, Mistral, DeepSeek Coder, and Microsoft's Phi-3, each suited to different use cases such as general tasks, coding, or low-power hardware. Advanced features like RAG — feeding the AI private PDFs or contracts — and VS Code integration via Continue.dev are highlighted as key benefits of keeping AI processing entirely on a local network.
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