Open Media Vault is an Open Source network-attached storage operating system. It is built on Debian and is very easy to set up and use on any device that is compatible with Linux. It is easy to install & manage Open Media Vault because it works on almost all devices that run Linux.Â
It has most of the features a home server user would look for like SMB, NFS, FTP, RSync, SSH. It is also extendable further using various community plugins.Â
Prerequisites for OMV installation:
- CPU: Any x86-64 or ARM compatible processor
- RAM: 1 GiB capacity
- HDD:
- System Drive: min. 4 GiB capacity (but more than the capacity of the RAM)
- Data Drive: capacity according to your needs
Prepare Installation Media
1. Download Open Media Vault ISO installation file from the website
2. Prepare an USB flash drive installation media using rufus on Windows, or dd command in Linux.
rufus (Windows)
   dd (Linux)
sudo dd if=openmediavault_5.5.11-amd64.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4096 Installation Steps
It is recommended to disconnect all other storage mediums except your target boot drive before beginning to install OMV.
1. Insert the flash drive in your machine and turn it on. Set the flash drive as boot device in your BIOS and wait for the below boot menu to pop up.
2. Select your system Language. I am choosing ‘English’ here.
3. You have to select your Location on the next window. I am selecting ‘United States’.
4. After that, select the Keyboard Language. I am choosing ‘American English’.
5. Installer will attempt to configure the network automatically using DHCP. You can manually configure it. if it fails.
6. Enter a hostname to identify your system on the next page.
7. Give your Domain name. Home users can get away with just a dummy name.Â
I am leaving it as local for my setup since I am not setting this up for my domain.
8. Set up a root password for system admin. This is different from web ui admin.
9. Choose a time zone from the list.
10. OMV will install the system if you just have one target boot drive. Otherwise, it will prompt you to select one.
11. Pick a Debian Package Mirror location based on your country/region here.
12. I don’t have a proxy so I am leaving it blank in the next menu. Configure proxy server if you have.
13. APT Package Manager is initialized in the next step if everything went fine above.
14. Select a disk to install GRUB boot loader. Usually it is the same OMV boot drive you used in Step 10.
15. Installation will complete after the GRUB boot loader configuration. Remove the USB flash drive and reboot to start Open Media Vault.
16. Note the IP address from the startup screen. That is where the OMV web interface will be available.
17. Go to a browser and enter http://<IP ADDRESS> to access the OMV web interface. The default web admin password is openmediavault.
You have now installed Open Media Vault 5.0 on your machine successfully!!
OMV officially comes with many plugins built-in. There is also a community plugins repository called OMV-Extras, which requires a manual installation. See how to install OMV-Extras here.
4 comments
Hi — I am very interested In using ZFS on OMV. I have a question:
> Is OMV with ZFS and the Proxmox kernel stable/reliable?
Regards,
Charles
I have been using it for more than two years. I did not have any problems so far. There is no official word on it though, from the developer(s).
My IP address for my omv webpage is constantly changing. Not sure what to do. I just put the server in the guest bedroom and connected to an older HDTV with an optional VGA input. I tune to that channel to see what the new IP address will be every time I need to access the web interface. Very annoying. Any hints or tips would be appreciated.
You might have to check your router settings or try setting a static IP on OMV at System -> Network -> Interfaces.