{"id":933,"date":"2025-06-10T17:20:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T15:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gentz.cloud\/?p=933"},"modified":"2025-09-10T23:37:04","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T21:37:04","slug":"running-gira-homeserver-4-11-on-a-dell-optiplex-fx160","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gentz.cloud\/?p=933","title":{"rendered":"Running Gira Homeserver 4.11 on a Dell Optiplex FX160"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This guide walks you through installing the Gira Homeserver 4.11 firmware on a Dell Optiplex FX160, based on a forum thread (original in German) at [RoelBroersma.nl<\/a> Forums]. It reflects my personal experience and modifications\u2014use it at your own risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Install Debian (Base System)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  1. Use Debian 13 AMD64<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Download the netinstall ISO<\/strong> and boot from it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Create a single primary partition<\/strong> (sda1<\/code>), formatted as ext4<\/strong>, mounted as \/<\/code>, marked bootable, with GRUB<\/strong> installed in the same partition.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Create a user named hs<\/code>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. During setup, minimal software is fine\u2014just install SSH<\/strong> if you want remote access.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    At this point, you should be able to boot into Debian, log in as root or hs<\/code>, and get a console.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2. Rename Network Interface (to eth0<\/code>)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Modern Debian gives NICs names like ens33<\/code> or enp0s3<\/code>, but the Homeserver firmware expects eth0<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n

    \nsudo nano \/etc\/default\/grub\n\n<\/pre><\/div>\n\n\n
    Find:<\/p>\n\n\n
    \nGRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""\n\n<\/pre><\/div>\n\n\n
    Change to:<\/p>\n\n\n
    \nGRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="net.ifnames=0 biosdevname=0"\n\n<\/pre><\/div>\n\n\n
    Then:<\/p>\n\n\n
    \nsudo update-grub\n\n<\/pre><\/div>\n\n\n
    Next, edit \/etc\/network\/interfaces<\/code> and replace the old interface name (e.g., ens33<\/code>) with eth0<\/code>. You can also set a static IP if needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    3. (Optional) Allow Root Login via SSH<\/h3>\n\n\n
    \nsudo nano \/etc\/ssh\/sshd_config\n# Under "Authentication":\nPermitRootLogin yes\n\n<\/pre><\/div>\n\n\n
    Restart SSH service:<\/p>\n\n\n
    \nsudo systemctl restart ssh\n\n<\/pre><\/div>\n\n\n
    4. Install Prerequisite Packages<\/h3>\n\n\n
    \nsudo apt update\nsudo apt install -y \\\n  python-is-python3 \\\n  python3-pil \\\n  python3-numpy \\\n  python3-serial \\\n  openssl \\\n  mc \\\n  setserial \\\n  joe \\\n  net-tools \\\n  cpio \\\n  psmisc \\\n  haproxy \\\n  zip \\\n  chrony\n<\/pre><\/div>\n\n\n
    (On Debian 9, use the original package names: python<\/code>, python-pil<\/code>, etc.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
    5. Extract the HS Firmware from VMware Image<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    1. Download an original Gira Homeserver 4.11 VMware image<\/strong> as described in the forum.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Boot that VM and package the required directories into a TAR:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n
      \ntar -cvf hs411_fw.tar \\\n  \/flash\/* \\\n  \/ofs\/share\/* \\\n  \/etc\/init.d\/hs_starter \\\n  \/etc\/init.d\/hs_main \\\n  \/etc\/init.d\/hs_admin \\\n  \/etc\/init.d\/ctradel\n\n<\/pre><\/div>\n\n\n
        \n
      1. Copy hs411_fw.tar<\/code> to your Debian machine:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n
        \nsudo tar -xvf hs411_fw.tar -C \/\n\n<\/pre><\/div>\n\n\n
        6. Fix Startup Script (hs_starter<\/code>)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
        Edit \/etc\/init.d\/hs_starter<\/code> and insert a short delay to avoid a race condition:<\/p>\n\n\n
        \n\/etc\/init.d\/hs_main &amp;\npid1=$!\nsleep 3\n\/etc\/init.d\/hs_admin\n\n<\/pre><\/div>\n\n\n
        7. Enable Autostart with systemd<\/code><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
        Create a service unit:<\/p>\n\n\n
        \nsudo tee \/etc\/systemd\/system\/hs_starter.service >\/dev\/null &lt;&lt;'EOF'\n[Unit]\nDescription=Homeserver Starter\nAfter=network-online.target\nWants=network-online.target\n\n[Service]\nType=oneshot\nExecStart=\/etc\/init.d\/hs_starter\nRemainAfterExit=yes\n\n[Install]\nWantedBy=multi-user.target\nEOF\n\n<\/pre><\/div>\n\n\n
        Enable and start it:<\/p>\n\n\n
        \nsudo systemctl daemon-reload\nsudo systemctl enable hs_starter\nsudo systemctl start hs_starter\nsystemctl status hs_starter\n\n<\/pre><\/div>\n\n\n
        8. Test<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
        Start it manually:<\/p>\n\n\n
        \nsudo \/etc\/init.d\/hs_starter\nps aux | grep hs_main\n\n<\/pre><\/div>\n\n\n
        If HS starts, reboot and let systemd<\/code> handle it automatically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
        \n\n\n\n
        Notes & Observations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n