Hi,
I have an “old” Intel NUC and want to run openHAB 2 on it.
What is the easiest and best way to do it?
Is it Ubuntu Server and then use openhabian?
Thanks in advance!
Hi,
If you are not an experienced Linux/Unix user, I would install Ubuntu Desktop (you can always skip the X11 stuff later if you choose). After getting Ubuntu up and running, I would use Package setup (APT). Simply follow the instructions for APT based systems http://docs.openhab.org/installation/linux.html#installation
Follow the openHABian manual setup found here:
http://docs.openhab.org/installation/openhabian.html#manual-setup
Just my two cents: Install Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Server and then openhabian as luckymallari said.
Hey Emil
OpenHAB Ian on Ubuntu server is the smoothest way to archive your goals.
You only need a few Linux commands.
Good luck with your project!
Thanks everyone!
Used the Linux Server and openhabian 
Hi @emil1,
I use Lubuntu ( Lubuntu is a lightweight Linux distribution based on Ubuntu ). Lubuntu is intended to be a low-system-requirement, low-RAM environment for netbooks, mobile devices, and older PCs.
See here for more infomation.
i’m not sure which NUC you have, but if you have a CPU with VT-d, i would recommend to install openhab in a VM, for example with proxmox or bare KVM.
Andvantage is, that you can create a additional test environment or other services, without influencing each other and you can do snapshots etc.
See:
https://www.proxmox.com/en/
https://wiki.debian.org/KVM
1 Like
As this question was last addressed a while ago, would you all say this is still good advice.
I’ve got a ‘spare’ Pentium NUC and am looking to put OpenHab2 onto it.
I’m wondering if I’m better with Windows or some variant of Ubuntu? I am a novice when it comes to Unix but know Windows well.
Any advice greatly appreciated.
From my perspective the above still applies; I have a little NUC5i3 that runs Ubuntu 16.04 (server edition) in a VM very nicely and very reliably and I keep my Squeezebox server on it in a 2nd VM. OpenHabian helps with minimizing any Linux pain…
1 Like
Thanks for the reply.
That’s an idea regarding a VM. Which VM hosting software do you use?
Just one more question, why do you use Ubuntu server rather than desktop?
Thanks.
I am running my NUC headless as I just parked in a remote corner and only use it in command line mode; I thought I would not need any of the user interfaces that come with the desktop version. AS far as I know whether or not graphical user interfaces will be installed is the major difference between server and desktop version.
I am using VirtualBox for my VMs. All works well, but the configuration of a VM is a steeper learning curve, as the command line interface requires a more reading and typing than a graphical interface.
1 Like
Perhaps at this stage I’ll just go for basic Desktop Ubuntu hoSting directly on the ‘metal’.
I’ll also pop mine in a cupboard so will probably, have to remote onto when required.
Why not use the headless server edition and manage your vm through a web interface
1 Like
That sounds awesome, did not know about this, thanks so much!!
That’s another interesting consideration.
I’m gueSsing that there are probably ‘pre-built’ VM instances with Ubuntu already installed in the VM image and then it’s just a matter of firing that VM image up and I’m ready to go?
One thought though. My NUC is only a dual core Pentium with 4GB RAM. I’m thinking that with that hardware, it might be somewhat challenged acting as a VM host?
Don‘t know, as I use my NUC for openHAB only. My VM‘s are running on a Gen8 Microserver running ESXi.
Just did a quick google search and posted the result.
Basically it‘s all about the ressources your VM‘s are allowed to use…
So, with something like your hosting software installed on the NUC, I could devote most (if not all) of the NUC’s resources over to a VM instance?
Yes, to give you a better feeling:
Server Hardware: Intel Xeon QuadCore with Hyperthreading, 16GB Ram
Running VMs:
Development : 2 Cores, 4GB Ram
Plex Media Server : 2 Cores, 4 GB Ram
Network Monitoring: 1 Core, 2 GB Ram
OwnCloud : 1 Core, 2 GB Ram
Windows 10 Pro : 2 Cores, 4 GB Ram (not running permanent)
Quite a substantial piece of hardware then.
So, all these VMs are running concurrently?
My other option is to use an old i5 laptop with 12GB RAM that I have.
This might be able to cope with more VMs I expect.
As regards the VM hosting software you’re using. Is that commercial or free?