Home Assistant on Windows 10-- Docker or Proxmox?

mkh1991 on 31/08/2022 - 13:30

Hi Brains Trust

Bought a refurb windows 10 desktop from recent deals and thinking to install Home assistant. I have searched lot of forums and online but wanted to get thoughts from fellow bargainers. Should I install Docker for desktop and Home Assistant as a container or should I install it in a proxmox. Keen to get thoughts from recent experiences. I am a noob and hence don't know about any of these variants. Down the track, I am thinking to install Pi-hole as well

Any help is appreciated

Thanks

Computing Home Assistant Microsoft Operating System

Comments

  • trapper on 31/08/2022 - 13:37

    Do you want to use it for actual desktop purposes or just homeassistant + other server type stuff?

    • mkh1991 on 31/08/2022 - 13:41

      home assistant and occasional browsing.

      • JimmyF on 31/08/2022 - 15:11

        then Proxmox or esx free and run the HA OS in that.

      • trapper on 31/08/2022 - 16:15
        +1

        Just install debian linux on it then, you can run home assistant supervised. Can put other services on there too like plex server, torrents (transmission), sonarr etc

        https://community.home-assistant.io/t/installing-home-assist…

        • HelpMeiCantSee on 01/09/2022 - 11:07

          This. It’ll be native and run much nicer. But honestly, HA doesn’t need powerful hardware, a raspberry pi is perfect for it!

  • Anvariel on 31/08/2022 - 13:39
    +1

    Proxmox is best if you're thinking of running the machine headless and maybe using also as say a plex server. HA doesn't really take much grunt, so you can definitely have other stuff running on the same host.

  • AndyC1 on 31/08/2022 - 13:40
    +1

    Be aware that you will need to dedicate at least 1 or 2 cores to the container and 1or 2GB of ram.

    If you are a noob then I would not go down the container route, but go down the Windows VM route as it will be a heck of allot easier for you to setup. If you do want to go down the docker route then also have a look at portainer as it will help. As for proxmox I have not used or seen it.

    If you are going to use RP later then I would bite the bullet and go straight to the RP home assistant operating system.

    • mkh1991 on 31/08/2022 - 13:43

      Thanks, RP is difficult to source and expensive these days. Can I not install HA OS on proxmox?

  • bdl on 31/08/2022 - 13:49

    Yes you can install HA on proxmox.

    Are you intending on using a USB zigbee or bluetooth device in the future (for your Home Assistant devices)?

    And are you intending on leaving the machine on 24x7? The "occasional browsing" use you mentioned above means you want to use this as a desktop?

    Have a think about what you want to use it for, both now and in the future and we can recommend accordingly. Prior preparation prevents pisspoor performance (on Proxmox).

    Proxmox has LXC containers, Docker is containers.

    Proxmox also has virtual machines (KVM).

    If you want to really confuse yourself, you can also install docker inside a virtual machine on proxmox :)

    • mkh1991 on 31/08/2022 - 13:51

      running it 24x7 for home automation. Have 2x Xiaomi hubs and a couple of contact, motion, and temp sensors. Have used home assistant portable, which runs as an app, so know a thing or 2 about home assistant but at a beginner level.

      • bdl on 31/08/2022 - 13:54
        +1

        You know what, maybe best to install it directly on bare metal first, once you get used to home assistant you can then look at virtualisation.

        https://www.home-assistant.io/installation/generic-x86-64

        Eventually, I'd move your sensors off the Xiaomi hubs by grabbing a Conbee II or Sonoff Plus zigbee controller.

        Depending on the version of the Xiaomi hubs, you can reuse them as LED lights and luminance sensors.

        • mkh1991 on 31/08/2022 - 13:59

          Thanks, I was considering that since Xiaomi hub keeps on losing connection to HA.

          • bdl on 31/08/2022 - 14:52

            @mkh1991: I'd go bare metal first then until you learn the ins and out of HA, otherwise you'll be trying to learn USB passthrough for docker/VMs while still trying to get your head around HA

            • eug on 31/08/2022 - 14:58

              @bdl:

              otherwise you'll be trying to learn USB passthrough for docker/VMs while still trying to get your head around HA

              It's really easy with Proxmox, it's just a couple of clicks and a restart.

              You can also set a specific physical USB port to be passed through to the VM so whatever you plug into that port is automatically passed through to the VM as if it was bare metal.

  • Gronk on 31/08/2022 - 14:31

    I run HA as a docker container on Linux and one limitation I've found is you cant install add ons, you only have access to those if you do a full install with supervisor mode.

    If you just want to run a few lights /sensors / switches it might not be of too much concern but if you want to leverage the multitude of 3rd party / community add ons and integrations you might want to avoid docker..

  • eug on 31/08/2022 - 14:49

    If you look at the HA installation methods the 'easiest' is running Home Assistant OS. If you install it as a Docker container you won't get the Supervisor, Add-ons, and Backups features.

    You can install the full Home Assistant OS itself onto a Proxmox VM to get all the features. You can also install Docker onto another Proxmox VM for any other Docker stuff you might want to install.

    You can even install Windows onto another Proxmox VM and RDP in for light tasks.

  • boomramada on 31/08/2022 - 14:57

    I used it as docker, easy to restore or rollback the configuration if something goes wrong. Updating is easy as well.
    Each time you need to upgrade, you can test the lastest version with current config in new container as sometmes never version not compatible with some components.

  • mkh1991 on 31/08/2022 - 15:29

    Thanks everyone for your input, one quick question, Is Hyper V no good for HA installation since this is native to windows as opposed to Downloading Proxmox.

    • eug on 31/08/2022 - 15:39

      HyperV can run HA fine, but it can't do USB passthrough so you won't be able to pass through a USB device like a Zigbee dongle. You can get Ethernet-based Zigbee gateways though.

      If your hardware supports it, Hyper-V on Windows Server does support DDA which will let you pass through entire PCI-E devices so you can pass through a PCI-E USB controller directly to the VM.

  • pacer4000 on 31/08/2022 - 17:37

    I've done the same thing recently, although I'm just a beginner with this stuff.

    I got one of the SFF PC's from FuseTech and installed Ubuntu, then have HA running in Docker with a conbee 2 stick for ZigBee devices, running 24/7. This guide helped a lot (with plenty of extra googling too):

    https://www.smarthomebeginner.com/docker-home-media-server-2…

    I use the same machine for emails and web browsing etc that I don't want on my work laptop, so nice to have a full OS (Ubuntu)

    • mkh1991 on 31/08/2022 - 17:52

      Thanks mate, as some people mentioned, we can't have add-ons with Docker versions. Is that a deal breaker ?

      • pacer4000 on 31/08/2022 - 19:54

        Tbh I only realised that today when reading Gronk's comment.

        I'm kind of just getting started, so I only have some lights and switches and lots of aqara temp sensors. Yesterday I got around to setting up LocalTuya, an integration for local control of Tuya wifi devices.

        Not sure if what I have done would have been easier with add-ons or not…

      • Bruceflix on 01/09/2022 - 09:33
        +1

        All the addons do is add further docker containers. If you run HA in docker already you'll have to manually add the containers yourself. It's an extra step but IMHO gives better control. I originally ran HA as a VM but changed to docker when I had some issues with deconz (for my conbee II). I haven't looked back.

  • bweiss on 01/09/2022 - 11:42

    I've got my Home Assistant installation running on a Synology NAS (as a VM).
    I'd recommend something similar (even just on a super low cost NUC would work). Having it on something hidden away in a closest or cabinet is nicer in my opinion than something that you use and might turn off at inopportune times.

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