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I bought a new Intel NUC recently and plan to install Gentoo on it. I don't have a monitor and I only wish to use the NUC as server.

I have these on my hand,

  • Internet, and LAN
  • A Mac that runs OS X (in the same LAN)
  • An Intel NUC mini computer
  • NUC has a WiFi module to connect to the LAN
  • A 2.5" HDD for the NUC
  • A SSD for the NUC
  • A hard drive box that can turn a 2.5" disk into a mobile hard drive (so I can access it directly on my Mac)

The limitations are,

  • No extra keyboard
  • No extra mouse
  • No display

Goal: I need to install an OS on the SSD and be able to access it from my Mac via ssh.

Here's what I thought:

  1. Run a Linux virtual machine on my Mac
  2. Mount the 2.5" hdd onto the linux VM (using the box)
  3. Partition and format it
  4. Install Gentoo on the HDD
  5. Configure it to connect to WiFi automatically and wait on SSH
  6. Install the 2.5" hdd back to the NUC
  7. Boot the NUC
  8. Connect the NUC through SSH
  9. Copy all files from HDD to the SSD
  10. Erase the HDD
  11. Reboot the NUC and it will boot from the OS on SSD

Will this procedure work? Or is there more straightforward way to do that?

shouya
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1 Answers1

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Yes, that procedure will work, as long as you ensure that the kernel and initramfs have all the drivers the NUC will need as well as all the drivers the VM will need. I suggest you start with a wired network connection because the WiFi is likely to be difficult.

The problem will be that it'll be very hard to debug if something doesn't work. The NUC doesn't even have a serial port. :-(

Probably you'll end up pulling out the hard drive to check the system logs.

However, you should bear in mind that the NUC firmware (BIOS/UEFI) will probably benefit from configuring (especially if it is to work without a keyboard and display), and you will need a keyboard and display to do that.

ams
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