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Open Media Vault (OMV) on Debian

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Open Media Vault (OMV) on Debian

#1 Post by LxCoder »

Hello All,

And thanks for reading this, even if you do not plan to respond.

I am in the process of building a Network Access Storage (NAS) for my home (Lab??) system. It consists of an ACER Aspire AST671-EP820A with an 820 Pentium D processor 2GB DDR2 (upgraded by myself from 1 GB) memory and a 250 GB SATA HDD. I rescued the PC from the back of a friend's car as it was headed to the local reclaim centre.

By The Way (BTW) - I consider myself a newbie at Linux, about six (6) years of actual experience building and setting up computers and lately a server with a Linux (Ubuntu 22.04) OS, as well as programming in Python - still learning. I have a Diploma (3 yr) in Electrical Engineering Technology (Power) and a Degree (6 yr) - Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) plus 23+ years of Project Management experience in offshore (submersible) systems, maintaining operating plants - facilities engineering, 3 years selling pole line hardware and 3 years as an electrical tech in a university engineering department - not bragging, just stating my credentials. Now I'm retired and play with computers, radios and wood in my workshop.

So, at this moment I am ready to load an OS on the machine, but I'm not sure of the best OS to use. I don't know if I should load a server like Ubuntu 22.04 Server, or just a simple OS like Debian or Ubuntu Linux Mint 19.3, which I have running on my desktop machine. My preference would be to load Debian, but as a desktop distro or as a server???

The reason that I am leaning toward a Debian OS is twofold. First, Open Media Vault (OMV) my NAS software of choice is Debian based. I feel that an underlying Debian OS would be a stronger foundation. And Secondly, other than a small amount of virtualization experience with Debian, I have heard a lot about how stable Debian is and I want to experience more of this OS. My experience to date, has been to learn by breaking things (make recoverable mistakes) as so many people talk about in books and such.

I have watched both Jay (LearnLinuxTV) and NetworkChuck build their versions of a NAS on a Raspberry Pi platform. Let me say up front that both of these gentlemen and a few other YT channels that revolve around Linux are my "Go To" sources for learning and support. However, in this case I wanted to reach out to the Debian community to help me understand the best implementation (based on my outlined preferences) for a Debian structured NAS. And since I have built a 4 x 2 TB NAS and am adding a 4 TB drive to act as a backup in this machine (using the PCBackup software), I need all the help I can get. Further to this, The machine has a DVD-Dual drive which will also backup the 4TB drive, and I will have a second 4 TB drive in another (physical) location that will mirror the one in this machine. So I will have 3 fallback redundancies. Also, both backup drives will be in HotSwap trays to make access immediate should there be a catastrophic failure or other similar issue.

Ok! That's it. Hopefully, I have stated this clearly and succinctly in order to enable those of you who choose to comment, with all the necessary information you need to state your view.

Again, thank you so much for whatever advice you can provide.

Regards,

Bill
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Re: Open Media Vault (OMV) on Debian

#2 Post by canci »

OMV is pretty nice and very close to vanilla Debian, but with a foolproof web UI. Personally, it made it easier for me to manage Samba. But the big downside for me was that they didn't offer any supported upgrade path from one major version to another. And as someone with little sysadmin experience, I felt left alone. So the safest bet would be to just use vanilla Debian and manage the Smaba stuff yourself, but there's a learning curve to that.

Also, while having a flashy personal cloud with all the bells and whistles sounds nice, it can also be a lot of menial and unpaid work. That's why a simple server with just samba on Debian is very hands off.
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Re: Open Media Vault (OMV) on Debian

#3 Post by LxCoder »

Hello canci, Thank you for your reply, it is enlightening and very much appreciated.
First things first, other than the understanding that it has to do with file shares, I have literally NO experience with Samba. Like you said, there's a learning curve and I should probably read up on it in depth as I feel that I will need to understand how it functions.

Yes, I guess what I am looking at here is a flashy cloud environment, although I thought I was just building a simple (though automated) file storage cabinet; it reminds me of my first woodworking project. That's the problem I guess when you spend a lot of time watching YT vids from experienced says admin types you soon believe that anything is possible and you can have it too; though maybe not as readily.

I've been told that desktop Debian is not as well supported and has a heavy learning curve, whereas Debian server is better supported and and is more user friendly. At this point in my experiencing of Linux desktops and servers it's probably easier to just deal with it as a part of the learnings. (5 years will go by regardless of what route I take.). However, for this exercise, I would rather load the most fit for purpose software OS (desktop or server) and deal with the issues as they come. So...

QUESTION:

So, when you refer to vanilla Debian are you speaking about it as a desktop environment or as a server?

Thank you again for your time...

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Re: Open Media Vault (OMV) on Debian

#4 Post by jmgibson1981 »

They are one and the same. Only difference is package choice. A GUI system can be a server and vice versa. Either way you end up typing things where a server is concerned, gui doesn't work to well for most stuff of that nature.

Google is your friend. With a few minutes of googling you can find all you need to know about samba. From simple file sharing to convoluted ActiveDirectory stuff. Just depends on your goals.

*EDIT* Forgot to note that the ArchLinux wiki is generally considered the best linux wiki there is out there. There is plenty of information out there that can be outdated. That wiki is always current.

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Re: Open Media Vault (OMV) on Debian

#5 Post by canci »

LxCoder wrote: 2022-09-30 16:25 So, when you refer to vanilla Debian are you speaking about it as a desktop environment or as a server?
Vanilla Debian means pure Debian from debian.org. It doesn't matter if you use it as a desktop or server. I use the term vanilla Debian to distinguish it from distributions that build on top of Debian and then make their own thing -- like when you install the Open Media Vault images, it is its own distribution based on Debian, but with a few changes.

Debian has a bit of an involved setup, but you can pick a very comprehensive desktop like Gnome or KDE and those will give you pretty newbie friendly environments to work in, but you can also go with a bare bones window manager like Openbox or a small desktop like LXDE and give yourself a big challenge (but maybe get more performance and customisability in the long run).

I would think of servers separately, as I think that even if you do have a UI like OMV that makes things easier, it's still a lot of work and responsibility to maintain servers. So just bear that in mind. Servers won't be as easy as using a newbie friendly desktop. There's a reason people are making a lot of money with cloud solutions. This doesn't mean I'm advocating for cloud stuff. If you're able and have the time, you should host as much on your own as possible, since the best and safest way to deal with your data is to do it yourself.
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Re: Open Media Vault (OMV) on Debian

#6 Post by LxCoder »

Great! This has helped immensely. Thank you both (canci and jmgibson1981), your comments have helped me decide what my plan forward will be.

As per my initial post, I have already setup a box running Ubuntu server 22.04. per advice from LLTV and NWChuck I hardened it and have set up a private/public key pair so that I can log into it from my desktop on the same network.

Now, what I will do is setup this box with Debian server etc. per the above and then load on OMV and PCBackup. I already use the command line to access and control the Ubuntu server so it's prepared me somewhat for the Debian server work. BTW, I have experimented with virtualization using Oracle's VM box and Debian server - thanks to Sean Mancini's YT videos and help through email, so I should have a bit of a head start setting up a Debian server. It may take time to complete this, but this is one of the hobbies that I enjoy spending time at.

jmgibson1981, thanks for the heads up re ArchLinux wiki, I found some interesting stuff on various suitable Linux computers. There's also a good amount of info re Amateur Radio, my other hobby that Linux ties into nicely.

canci, thanks for all your comments and in particular that of 'maintaining your own data yourself'. I too am big on the 'everyone is responsible for their own equipment' philosophy.

Speaking of giving 'thanks' I'm new to forums in many ways and I see here that they keep stats on how often thanks are given. If there's a way to do that for each of you individually, please let me know. It may be that because I'm using a 1st gen iPad, I don't have access to all of the webpage that I'm viewing.

Thanks again to you both.

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Re: Open Media Vault (OMV) on Debian

#7 Post by scythefwd »

I just setup omv on a raspberry pi using raspbian lite. This may not apply.. so pinch of salt, but the install script I used would NOT let me install omv if there was a gdm installed... I tried with plain raspbian before giving up and going lite.

This may be a quirk of it on the pi, but it's debian based so it may apply. Good luck man.

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Re: Open Media Vault (OMV) on Debian

#8 Post by canci »

GDM is supposed to be used on desktops, so maybe it enables certain power saving features that make no sense on a server.

You don't really need GDM. You can just manage your OMV remotely by using the web UI (i.e. you enter the IP address of your pi in your web browser and it should give you a UI to log in).
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Re: Open Media Vault (OMV) on Debian

#9 Post by LxCoder »

The Preamble:
Well, this project is like the rest of things in life. The anticipation before starting is all about the planning, what it can do, how interesting it will be to put it together and then get it working. Then you reach a point where you hit a wall. This is when I usually take some time, maybe a couple of days to let it percolate in the back of my brain, talk with people who know more than I do, do some more research. And then you reach a point where it all starts to fall into place and it finally works. Then there's the post project depression! No!!! I'm kidding, and I've gotten way ahead of myself. 😊

So after a couple of days of putting out the initial call for help and then getting your replies, I was able to act on my plan - which you all contributed to. The last several days have been a combination of home chores (I did mention I'm retired) with a few hours devoted to installing the Debian 11 ISO followed by setting up and hardening the server against intrusion. I've done this (once) before. It was going moderately well, as life does. And then...

The issue:
Just as I typed in the "wget..." link to Open Media Vault I figured I was home free. Then, I get the message - in the picture below. So, after all that life kicks in and I have to take a step back, do some more research, ask for more help and be patient. And I was wondering earlier today if this post was finished; not likely.

Both LearnLinuxTV and NetworkChuck installed the OMV on a Raspberry Pi running a 'Lite' version of Raspberrian. That's why I don't understand why the OMV wouldn't load. My questions are, do I need to install a 'Lite' version of Debian, can I install a "Lite" version, should I look for more detailed info?

The Solution:
Yet to be determined...
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Re: Open Media Vault (OMV) on Debian

#10 Post by sunrat »

How did you install Debian? Which image? If OMV won't install to a system with desktop environment we have to assume the error is because you installed a desktop environment. You need to deselect "Desktop environment" and not select any desktop in the tasksel stage of installation.
Why did you not use the OMV supplied image? Seems like that would be the simplest way.

Also could you please not post terminal text output in an image, but rather post as text in CODE tags.
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Re: Open Media Vault (OMV) on Debian

#11 Post by LxCoder »

Hello sunrat and thank you for your quick response.

I installed Debian by downloading it from the Debian website moving it to my ISOs folder and then I selected "make it a bootable flash drive" and copied it to my memory stick. Then I plugged it into my Acer Aspire computer that I had set to do a primary boot from a USB and it loaded. The image is "Debian-11.5.0-amd64-netinst.iso.

Yes, I did ask the installer to install a desktop; my mistake. I've been looking for ways to rectify this. But, as I mentioned in above posts, I was following the example provided by LLTV and NChuck, although they did it on a Raspberry Pi after loading Raspian, not Debian. I should probably have clued into that one. 🙄

Why did I not use the OMV supplied image? I'm assuming the one you mean from their website. Well, it's an ISO, right!?! So I assumed that it might overwrite the Debian distribution that I had just spent a day loading, watching videos and hardening against intrusion. Also, as I mentioned I was following the two lads' LLTV & NC method and so I followed them into oblivion, so to speak. I've been scowering the net, trying to find out if it's possible and how to back out of a desktop environment. All comments are gratefully accepted. BTW, is it ok to load the OMV ISO on top of Debian or is it done without loading a Debian foundation? I'm still very new to this server thing and I can honestly say that some (most) days I'm just winging it. Yes, I'm good with simple (even better with uncomplicated).

Regarding the 'terminal text output' my apologies - mea culpa. I snapped the picture with my phone, shrank it down to that size and pulled it into the forum on my iPad. I have no idea about 'text in CODE tags' I'll look it up online, but I could find no explanation on the forum - help section for noobies - on how to do it.

Thanks again for your feedback, and I hope you can respond to this to set me straight.

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Re: Open Media Vault (OMV) on Debian

#12 Post by sunrat »

I have no idea how complicated it would be to remove your current desktop environment, probably a minor nightmare. I would just start again with a totally new install and the OMV iso would seem to be the easiest as it appears to be basically just Bullseye with OMV added.

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Re: Open Media Vault (OMV) on Debian

#13 Post by scythefwd »

Both LearnLinuxTV and NetworkChuck installed the OMV on a Raspberry Pi running a 'Lite' version of Raspberrian. That's why I don't understand why the OMV wouldn't load. My questions are, do I need to install a 'Lite' version of Debian, can I install a "Lite" version, should I look for more detailed info?
It could be looking for the actually installed status of your window manager (gdm in this case). You should be able to change your default target to multiuser. Then change your current runlevel to multiuser target. The script you're running also fails even if you're not running the gdm. You might have to just do an uninstall of the gdm/xorg/etc. This is going to leave you with a a cli only system.. and it'd probably be easier to to just re-install from iso without the graphics components...

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Re: Open Media Vault (OMV) on Debian

#14 Post by canci »

You could also search/ask on the openmediavault forums, what services they expect to be off so the installation will start.
Then you could just remove the packages in question.
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Re: Open Media Vault (OMV) on Debian

#15 Post by LxCoder »

Yes, that would be a good route to take. As it is "so many forums, so little time" could be my quick answer, however, somebody was either smiling or took pity on me and when I reinstalled Debian 11 sans desktop and then used the super-secret control line directive (contained here (less sudos when operating as root) - "sudo wget -O - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/OpenM ... er/install | sudo bash") then all the planets/stars and atoms aligned and I now have access to OMV on top of Debian 11. Yahooo!!! Now the next fun part will be configuring it and moving all the files off the desktop and iMac. I'm hoping the latter will run a little better after this is done. If that hadn't worked I was prepared to just load NFS and run it in the raw.

Again, thank you to all the folks who responded or even just looked. You certainly shortened my time in frustration pergatory and there is now a somewhat helpful file for others with similar issues.

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Re: Open Media Vault (OMV) on Debian

#16 Post by LxCoder »

Hello all,

Here is an update on my NAS adventure:

After spending several weeks trying to install OMV on my NAS server I reached the point where I knew it was not going to work and decided to shift gears.

So, I installed and successfully setup TrueNAS (Debian). I have two pools set up, one for Samba and the other for NFS. I have setup the network and individual ips for the three machines (Lenovo, iMac, Ubuntu Server).

I can get into the NAS from my Lenovo ThinkCentre p58 via FireFox and the TrueNAS GUI. However, I am unable to direct any of the machines on the network to save their files/folders to the NAS. They just do not see it.

When I open a file folder on the Lenovo or iMac to look at my Network, they cannot see the TrueNAS machine. However, they can see and access one another’s file systems.

What I don't understand is why machines on the same network cannot see one another. In the meantime, I plan to explore a bit with nmap.

Cheers

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