I currently run HA in virtual box on a windows 10 laptop but just acquired a dell 3020 mini pc. I was thinking of running HA OS directly on the 3020 as a X86-64 install so i could eliminate windows & windows updates. Suggestions & opinions on if I should make the change or keep my current setup would be greatly appreciated.
I would definitely not go with Windows - forced updates causing restarts can be problematic. HAOS means you can’t run anything outside it (other than via addons). Why not virtualize HAOS under a Linux flavour? Proxmox is a popular option (and better than virtualbox imo). You can alternatively run HA Supervised in a Proxmox container.
I second this. Promox will give you all the benefits of a virtualized environment without the hassle or overhead of Windows. It’s free, results in a fully supported HA environment, and has a simple learning curve. Especially since there are great guides here that can make the installation a snap.
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All my networking gear, including said laptop, is stored in a odd location making it a pain to maintain. The only purpose of this laptop is to run HA. I figured if I ran HA OS headless on the 3020 it would be a little easier. Does HA run better in a vm over installed directly on a X86 machine?
“Better”… probably not. The overhead of Proxmox is much smaller than windows, but still not zero. But what it provides is a great way to make backups of your entire environment, plus the ability to run other systems/services on that hardware.
Definitely not a “right or wrong” situation here. Running HA directly on the bare metal is a fine solution, used by lots of folks. But if you’re already used to a virtual environment and just don’t want the hassle of windows and its forced updates, then Proxmox is a great option.