Preparing Your Hardware
If you’ve been following this series so far, you should have your hardware picked out and purchased. To actually use this hardware for a homelab you first have to install an operating system (OS) on the hardware. If you have never installed an OS before this may sound daunting. Not to worry though, this step-by-step guide will walk you through the process.
Put the OS Installer Onto a USB Drive
To install Ubuntu Server, you'll need to create a bootable USB drive with at least 4GB of capacity. There are many tools out there that can help set up a bootable USB drive. For this tutorial we are focusing on balenaEtcher. We chose this tool because it supports running on Windows, MacOS and Linux and provides a clean easy to use interface. But first you have to get an OS to install.
Download Ubuntu Server
Our focus is on installing Ubuntu 24.04 LTS server. To do this you will need to download the disk image of the installer from Ubuntu. Go ahead and download that now. If you find the download is slow from the link above, consider downloading from one of their mirrors that's closer to you. Picking the local university got me 10x faster download than the default source. If you go this route, pick the latest patch version of the live-server variant. For example ubuntu-24.04.2-live-server-amd64.iso is the latest version at the time of this writing.
Creating a Bootable USB with balenaEtcher
Warning
Warning: These next steps will erase all content on the USB drive. Make sure there is nothing important that you don’t have backups of on your USB drive.
- Download and install balenaEtcher from the official website
- Insert your USB drive and open balenaEtcher
- Click "Flash from file" and select the Ubuntu Server ISO you downloaded in the last section.
- Click "Select target" and choose your USB drive.
- Click "Flash!" to begin the process
Planning Your Network Configuration
Before we start working on your homelab hardware you need to get some information about your local network that will be used to configure a static IP address when we install Ubuntu. On most home networks new devices will be given an IP address automatically by your router, but it’s not guaranteed your machine will always have the same address. Having a consistent IP address on our homelab server will make it much easier to connect to when we want to use it's services because you know exactly what address to connect to. To prepare ourselves for the OS installation we will gather some key information so we can configure our server with a static IP address.
Key Network Information to Record
Most of the information you need can be found by looking at the network configuration of a device already connected to your network, like the one you're using to download Ubuntu. Running the commands ipconfig /all in Windows, ip addr in Linux, or ifconfig in MacOS from one of these devices will print a bunch of network info to the screen.
- IP Address
- The unique identifier for your server on the network (e.g., 192.168.1.100). You may need to log into your home router and set aside an IP address for your server. Otherwise the router could assign your chosen address to another machine. Check your routers documentation for details.
- Subnet Mask
- Defines the network range, or first and last address available on the network.
- Gateway
- Your router's IP address, used for internet access (typically 192.168.1.1)
- DNS Servers
- Translate domain names to IP addresses. If in doubt use your router’s address for this. Alternatively you can use well known public DNS servers like Cloudflare (1.1.1.1, 1.0.0.1) or Google (8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4)
Keep this information handy so we can use it when Installing Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Server!
Accessing and Configuring BIOS Settings
At this point you have a bootable USB drive to install our OS from. Go ahead and put it in one of the USB ports of your PC. Before you can boot from your USB drive, the BIOS needs to be configured to use it as a boot drive. There are some other settings we should tweak in the BIOS as well so we'll do all that now.
Finding the Right BIOS Key for Your System
Getting into the BIOS requires hitting a certain key when the computer first starts. There is a limited time before the computer starts to load the OS so you have to be somewhat quick for this part. Knowing what key to press is necessary for this part. But different manufacturers use different keys to access the BIOS/UEFI settings so it may take a few tries to get the right key. Here's a quick reference for common PC or Motherboard Manufacturers that can help. If this table doesn't work, try searching for your PC or motherboard model and 'BIOS key' to see if you can find an official answer.
| Manufacturer | BIOS Access Key(s) |
|---|---|
| Dell | F2 or F12 |
| HP | F10 or Esc |
| Lenovo | F1, F2, or Fn+F2 (varies by model) |
| ASUS | F2 (PCs) or Del (Motherboards) |
| Gigabyte | F2 or Del |
| MSI | Del |
Essential BIOS Settings to Configure
Once you've accessed your BIOS/UEFI settings, you will need to explore a bit to get familliar with the menus. As you do look for these options to configure:
- Boot Order: Set your USB drive as the first boot device to install Ubuntu Server.
- Virtualization Technology: Enable Intel VT-x/AMD-V to support virtual machines in the future.
- UEFI/Legacy Boot Mode: For newer hardware, UEFI mode is recommended, but Legacy mode may be needed for older systems.
- Secure Boot: Consider disabling this temporarily if you encounter boot issues with Ubuntu.
- Fast Boot: Disable to ensure all hardware is properly initialized during startup.
Previous: Finding Your Hardware | The Cheap and Simple HomeLab | Next: Installing Ubuntu Server 24.04 LTS
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