Thin Clinet PC as a host for the Home Assistant Operating System

Hardware
1

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to share my newest setup for Home Assistant - I have recently migrated from a Pi3 (cite all the SD card woes etc.) to somthing a bit more powerful and reliable.

I have been running a Dell Wyse thin client for a couple years (using DietPi) and have been very happy with it. Considering this I bpought another one to load on HA and have been very happy with it I spent less than $100 (Australian) on it which seems to be a lot more affordable than some single board PCs once you get enclsures, power supplies etc.

Here is the bill of materials:
Dell wise Z90D7 inc power supply (4Gb memory and 32Gb internal storage included) $45 AUS delivered
240GB SSD Crutial BX500 A$35 delivered
SATA to USB adapter A$15 Delivered
4GB DDR3 DIMM mocule (my spare part drawer :slight_smile: )

I got most of my inspiration from the follwoing site:
https://www.parkytowers.me.uk/thin/wyse/z/z90d7/

To get it running I did the follwoing:

  1. Open case and remove original 32GB DOM (main storage) from the main board
  2. Flashed geneirc x86-64 image on the new SSD 240GB with Etcher
  3. Opened up SSD and removed DOM
  4. Installed new SSD in place of old 32GB DOM into SATA conneciton (see bottom of page for more info: Wyse Z90D7: SSD upgrade)
  5. Added second 4GB DDR3 module to board (total 8GB)
  6. Closed up and powered it up.
  7. Set up HA as usual (I restred backup form my Pi3 and transistion was virtually seamless)

The system is a lot snappier than the Pi3 was - I have more storage (and more reliable) and can upgrade up to 16GB ram if I want but cant imagine I will. The one downside may be that it will use more powe than a Pi - apprently it runs at 18W idle and 23W under load.

Anyway I am happy with my new machine - the trick will be to find one of these on the second hand market but I have found them easy to buy on eBay from ex-Gov suppliers.

Hopefully this is helpful for someone who is looking for the next step in their home assistnat journey.

Edit: I didnt modify the boot sequence since the SSD is in the primary SATA port however I need to check the power cycle behaviour - i.e. will it boot if the power goes off then on again - I have done this with my old thin clinet so should be configurable if not set by default in the BIOS.

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