#Beginner Advice

1 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

devout cedar
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Hello, looking for some advice, hopefully very easy! I want to get started into the world of HA and start my monitoring power usage through things like Smart Plugs or Shelley Relays and the Octopus integration. I'm also interested in the new IKEA Matter tech (Smart Plugs, Humidity etc). My question based on this information is where is best to start from a hardware perspective. I'm thinking that the easiest entry point for a technical person is; Pi4/5 4GB, ZBT-2 - job done? This will give me the foundations for starting my journey without overly complicated setups. Add-ons will work, I'll have support for Matter over Thread (ZBT-2) and Shelley direct over Wifi?

Appreciate any guidance, thanks!

mighty gyro
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Hi, for the money of a RPi5 you can get a mini PC 🙂

devout cedar
mighty gyro
devout cedar
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Thank you thats awesome I'll check it out

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I didn't realise you can run the add-ons through containers, maybe I can just use my Synolgoy NAS

bleak rune
# devout cedar Hello, looking for some advice, hopefully very easy! I want to get started into ...

I have some nodes about server hardware HERE
I don't recommend a RPI because by the time you get the RPI/PSU/Case/SSD-Hat/SSD you might as well get something better. however if you already have some/all of rpi hardware then that changes the equations and it will run fine.
ZBT-2 is a great device and allows you to create EITHER a zibgee network OR a thread network (but not both at the same time(...unless you have 2 of them))

addons are just containers under the hood but there is some extra "sauce" around them make life easier.
container based installs also means you have to update more manually instead of the built in system for the core updates. (not usually a huge deal but a slight inconvenience for some)

if you are looking for a simple way to start then a Green is a nice peace of hardware. if you need to move to something with more power down the line then its very easy to migrate by making a backup and restoring it on a new install.

maybe I can just use my Synolgoy NAS
some people do this and have various problems with it. I dont recomend it... however if you wanted to slap it on there just to mess around a little bit and find your feet before buying anything. then its something to consider for inital testing. but as mentioned, I would not run it long term.

chilly musk
frigid ember
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If you're planning to use Matter, I very highly recommend running HAOS

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you can do it bare metal on an RPI or a mini-pc, but also consider running it in a virtual machine - gives you more flexibility for running other things on the same system and some additional options for backup/recovery.

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running matter in a container installation requires running an additional container for the matter server, and depends on some host networking config trickyness (haos even has some kernel patches that improve the failover behaviour when multiple thread border routers are present).

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I personally run HAOS in a virtual machine on my NAS. As long as you can have bridged networking and USB passthrough for the zigbee/thread radio, a variety of host operating systems work.

devout cedar
devout cedar
devout cedar
mighty gyro
vague venture
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Zigbee.

mighty gyro
vague venture
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Matter over wifi appears to be a standardised wifi comms method. Has all the same disadvantages that brings. Standardisation offers few advantages if you’re using HA, since that would hide the details of 100 different integrations. MoT is just a more complex less secure Zigbee. Don’t see any noteworthy advantages. But for me security is a very important consideration as I made it a component of my career in IT/product development. Might not be the same for you.

devout cedar
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Thats really helpful, and im in a simple area of work so this is important for me. Zigbee with the ZBT-2 it is 🙂

devout ingot
vague venture
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Yup running half a dozen id guess.

mortal holly
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Mini PC is def the best option, they can be found for about $50-100 US

devout ingot
devout cedar
bleak rune
# devout cedar Do you have the beelink s13? Can the ram be upgraded to 32GB from 16GB?

I own 2 of them in fact 🙂 the N150 CPU on paper only supports 16gb of ram HOWEVER many people have reported it working with 32gb of ram. so the answer will be a solid "Maybe" even if it "works" its possible you may end up with random issues as its technically not within the spec of the CPU. If I had to guess I imagine it will probably work without too much trouble but I can't be sure.
I am not sure what your need to upgrade it would be either. what are you thinking on running on it that you would need the extra ram?

devout cedar
bleak rune
mortal holly
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Mini PC is an amazing piece of hardware for so cheap

devout cedar
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Tempted by the s13 for sure

mighty gyro
devout ingot
wide violet
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Mini pc has jumped a lot in price with the ram shortage tho, in europe it will be something like 2x price of a rpi

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for a beginner that's a steep price

chilly musk
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Still a better choice 😄
But seriously, go on eBay and buy a used Tiny PC.

wide violet
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Yah I guess

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I just got some aqara sensors and a M100 hub to keep an eye on some moisture problems in my house, and that got me thinking about getting HA and doing more with it... they are all matter/thread, what more hardware would i need to link them up with a mini pc?

mortal holly
feral swallow
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I ran HA on my Synology DS223+ for 8 months without issue and I have a large HA install (>5000 entities) and my Synology has 32 gb ram but recently my Plex server on Synology started eating system ram and my HA would freeze up at times and the NAS became unavailable at times. I moved to a Mac Mini M1 running in VMWare Fusion and it made a big difference. I since realized that having DLNA enabled on Plex was the culprit but since moving to the Mac it’s much faster on dashboard loading and templates etc. I now just use Synology for files and Plex and have room for Dockers as I want to test with it. I also use it for Time Machine backups.

wide violet
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Uh stupid question, apart from the actual HA server as in a NUC or RPI do I need a ZBT-2 or would a hub like aqara M100 work initially?

frigid ember
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depends on your goals and what equipment you already have

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If you don't have any zigbee equipment, I'd recommend starting out by getting a usb zigbee radio so you can connect devices directly to home assistant. (you don't have to get a zbt-2, although it is a pretty nice device - cheaper options are available)