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 )
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:
- Open case and remove original 32GB DOM (main storage) from the main board
- Flashed geneirc x86-64 image on the new SSD 240GB with Etcher
- Opened up SSD and removed DOM
- Installed new SSD in place of old 32GB DOM into SATA conneciton (see bottom of page for more info: Wyse Z90D7: SSD upgrade)
- Added second 4GB DDR3 module to board (total 8GB)
- Closed up and powered it up.
- 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.