Is there alternatives to the raspberry pi?

General
1

The official docs only recommend raspberry pis, unless I missed it.

With the global shortage, they seem impossible to get. They are being scalped on eBay for $200.

Are there alternatives to the raspberry pi that are tested working fine with octoprint?

2

A lot of devices work fine, but be aware that you have to set up OctoPrint yourself on non Pi devices.
I do not want to scare you off with that - just telling you so you know.

You can use single board computers like the Pi, old PCs or Laptops (even a Linux based cable receiver could work in same cases :wink: ).

If I were you I would look for a used mini PC like an Intel NUC on ebay. They are listed for $50-$80, come with 4GB+ ram and most of the time with a 120GB+ ssd.

Anything from the last 10 years should be fine (if you decide to go with an x86 based system like a NUC).

Install Linux (Debian for example), then install OctoPrint with the help of this guide. Setting up OctoPrint on a Raspberry Pi running Raspberry Pi OS (Debian)

Just replace the Pi user with you own username.

If you need help with the setup let us know.

1 Like
3

Thank you! I'll look at the NUC.

4

I've been using OctoPrint with my Ubuntu 20.04 computer which I installed it using docker.
It's a bit of a hassle to install docker, but you don't have to depend on system packages and makes it easier to upgrade OctoPrint.
You can find it here: Docker Hub

5

I love that you described Docker as a "hassle" it made me laugh because it is sooo true.

6

Installing Docker in a modern OS is easy, its like one command. But learning how it works and all the commands to manage containers/images is definitely a learning curve. But it has a high payoff, highly recommend learning it!

7

i use tv-box

8

Linus Tech Tips just did a video about this topic

Some don't have wifi. Some are more powerful, but not sure how "easy" it would be to install and maintain/update Octoprint on?

9

Hi,

I have an old NUC sitting around that just has Windows 10 on it. It's an Intel i3 with 32gb and the mSATA SSD on it, plus wireless. Would that be suitable for this? Could it reliably support multiple machines?

10

yeah that would work fine

I would install linux on it (debian for headless and mint for desktop) and deploy the multiple instances of OctoPrint with this script:

1 Like
11

Thanks for the reading material. Now I have to figure out LAN/Physical stuff....where to place it. I have 16 Pi3B's on several of my machine enclosures. I have two CR-10 S5's I am setting up and placing the NUC on the both of those might be interesting

12

Are they sitting on a shelf? You could print a shelf mount for the NUC and mount it underneath or something like that :slight_smile:

1 Like