GitLab Runner / Self-Hosted GitLab Servers

GitLab is the all-in-one DevOps platform — source control, CI/CD, container registry, package registry, artifact storage, security scanning. Self-hosting it (GitLab Community Edition, free; or Enterprise paid) gives you full data sovereignty and avoids per-user cloud fees.

GitLab CE self-hosted runs on a single Dell PowerEdge R650 or HPE ProLiant DL360 Gen10 with dual Xeon Silver 4314, 64 GB RAM, and 2× 1.92 TB NVMe SSDs (one for OS+app, one for Git repos and registry). Handles up to ~500 users comfortably.

GitLab Runner agents (the build executors) typically run on separate hosts — see our /use-case/jenkins-ci-cd-runner-servers page for the recommended agent specs. A typical small/medium org runs 1 GitLab CE server + 4-8 Runner agents.

Migration angle: many shops migrate from GitHub Enterprise Cloud ($21/user/month) to self-hosted GitLab CE — savings of $25K/year per 100 developers easily cover the hardware investment in the first year. Plus you get the GitLab security scanning, container registry, and package registry features without separate tooling.

Frequently Asked Questions

What hardware does a self-hosted GitLab server need?

For 100-500 users: 1U server with dual Xeon Silver 4314 (16c each), 64 GB RAM, 2 TB SSD. For 500-2,000 users: scale up to dual Xeon Gold 6326, 128 GB RAM, 4 TB NVMe. For >2,000 users, split into separate web/app, database, registry, and runners on multiple servers.

Is self-hosted GitLab free?

Yes — GitLab Community Edition (CE) is open source (MIT licence), free for unlimited users. Paid Enterprise Edition (EE) adds advanced features (epics, roadmaps, advanced security scanning, deployment freezes) — $24-99/user/month. Most SMB and mid-market self-host CE.

How does GitLab compare to GitHub?

GitLab is more "batteries-included" — built-in CI/CD, container registry, package registry, security scanning, container scanning, all bundled. GitHub started focused on source control + Actions and added the rest via Marketplace integrations. Self-hosted GitLab is more popular in regulated industries (finance, healthcare, government).

Can I run GitLab on a Dell PowerEdge R650?

Yes — R650 with dual Xeon Silver 4314, 64 GB RAM, and 2 TB NVMe SSD is the perfect 100-500-user GitLab CE platform. Refurbished cost: $4-6K. Runs reliably for 5+ years with the standard 3-year warranty plus extended-life options.

Other Use-Case Hardware

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