It takes 2GB of RAM minimum, and about 50GB of free disk space to house the patricia tree and blockchain.
Electrum's python console although limited to ASCII welcome text is nonetheless an opportunity for server ops to build a relationship with users, and it works to a limited extent. Small donations are coming in.
It may not be the optimal method, however I favor the overall approach since it means all donations are fully consensual with a minimum of UI cruft.
The server has copy of blockchain. I am just curious. Is this only for reading wallet balances ? When transaction is sent, can't we just broadcast that to nodes without knowledge of blockchain?