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Thought I'd start a thread to help people considering using a Mac Mini as a HomeSeer server and document my experiences.
My Current Setup
I use a 2.8GHz Intel Core i7 iMac with 16GB of RAM as my primary computer at home. It sits in my office and is the workforce behind most of my productivity, side job work, photo and video manipulation, and late nights drooling over home automation setups and equipment. Prior to this endeavor, I had old setups that I've abandoned. And I have not been doing home automation. Shocker!
My Past Setups
Over the years, I've used PCs that were laying around and even built my own rackmount server for hosting HomeSeer. That rackmount experience, along with some other frustrations and a bleeding bank account, actually caused me to give up home automation for a number of years. I just couldn't justify the time and money being spent. I know, I know... but please don't cry for me. I'm a survivor.
My New Platform
I've finally upgraded my HS2 to HS3PRO and am putting it on a late 2012 model Mac Mini. If you've never seen a Mac Mini, they are phenomenal machines. Slim, small, cool, quiet, and very easy to work with.
Specifications:
I use an Aeon Labs Zstick2 for ZWave control.
I run the box headless, although for setup purposes I strongly recommend a wired keyboard and mouse and a monitor. At least until it's been properly configured. The box itself can be placed almost anywhere... I like putting it on its side, stuffed next to my QNAP NAS. It's out of the way but still accessible. It would be right at home sitting on a shelf in my rack, duct-taped to the wall, stuffed into a mount behind a huge monitor, or strapped upside down into a ceiling. You get the idea.
On my first pass, I purchased Parallels Desktop 9 and installed a VM with Windows 7 Pro 64-bit. I figured I could use the Mac *and* the Windows together in a seamless combination of awesomeness.
That. Did. Not. Work. Well.
I'm thinking 4GB is probably not the best configuration for running a box with both Mac OS X and a VM with W7Pro, because it was a little sluggish. But the worst part was the VNC. When using a shared network, you VNC into the Mac and then manipulate the VM from there. For whatever reason, the redraw is terrible. You actually have to minimize the VM window and then re-expand it in order to see screen updates on the VM. Not pretty.
I am currently going through a second pass. My initial thought was to split the networks so that the VM had its own IP address and then I could just VNC into the VM itself. But the speed of this thing combined with a lack of things I need from the Mac side of it at this time create a different direction: I'm going to install Windows 7 Pro directly onto the machine using Boot Camp. That way, the Mac Mini *is* a Windows 7 Pro machine natively. No Mac OS needed. This is likely the preferred way to run a home automation system on a Mac Mini, so I figured I'd just go directly there.
I'll keep you all informed. Riveting information, I'm sure
My Current Setup
I use a 2.8GHz Intel Core i7 iMac with 16GB of RAM as my primary computer at home. It sits in my office and is the workforce behind most of my productivity, side job work, photo and video manipulation, and late nights drooling over home automation setups and equipment. Prior to this endeavor, I had old setups that I've abandoned. And I have not been doing home automation. Shocker!
My Past Setups
Over the years, I've used PCs that were laying around and even built my own rackmount server for hosting HomeSeer. That rackmount experience, along with some other frustrations and a bleeding bank account, actually caused me to give up home automation for a number of years. I just couldn't justify the time and money being spent. I know, I know... but please don't cry for me. I'm a survivor.
My New Platform
I've finally upgraded my HS2 to HS3PRO and am putting it on a late 2012 model Mac Mini. If you've never seen a Mac Mini, they are phenomenal machines. Slim, small, cool, quiet, and very easy to work with.
Specifications:
- 2.5GHz Intel Core i5
- 4GB RAM (2x2GB, expandable to 2x8GB, or 16GB)
- 500GB Hard Drive
- Intel HD Graphics 4000
- Four USB 3.0 ports
- Firewire 800 Port
- Thunderbolt Port
- 802.11n Wi-Fi
- Bluetooth 4.0
- Gigabit Ethernet
- HDMI Port
I use an Aeon Labs Zstick2 for ZWave control.
I run the box headless, although for setup purposes I strongly recommend a wired keyboard and mouse and a monitor. At least until it's been properly configured. The box itself can be placed almost anywhere... I like putting it on its side, stuffed next to my QNAP NAS. It's out of the way but still accessible. It would be right at home sitting on a shelf in my rack, duct-taped to the wall, stuffed into a mount behind a huge monitor, or strapped upside down into a ceiling. You get the idea.
On my first pass, I purchased Parallels Desktop 9 and installed a VM with Windows 7 Pro 64-bit. I figured I could use the Mac *and* the Windows together in a seamless combination of awesomeness.
That. Did. Not. Work. Well.
I'm thinking 4GB is probably not the best configuration for running a box with both Mac OS X and a VM with W7Pro, because it was a little sluggish. But the worst part was the VNC. When using a shared network, you VNC into the Mac and then manipulate the VM from there. For whatever reason, the redraw is terrible. You actually have to minimize the VM window and then re-expand it in order to see screen updates on the VM. Not pretty.
I am currently going through a second pass. My initial thought was to split the networks so that the VM had its own IP address and then I could just VNC into the VM itself. But the speed of this thing combined with a lack of things I need from the Mac side of it at this time create a different direction: I'm going to install Windows 7 Pro directly onto the machine using Boot Camp. That way, the Mac Mini *is* a Windows 7 Pro machine natively. No Mac OS needed. This is likely the preferred way to run a home automation system on a Mac Mini, so I figured I'd just go directly there.
I'll keep you all informed. Riveting information, I'm sure
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