Installing a Stackmill server¶
This turns a bare mini PC into a Stackmill server. It takes about twenty minutes, most of it waiting, and needs no Linux knowledge: the installation asks no questions.
The whole disk is erased. Use a machine with nothing on it.
What you need¶
- An x86-64 mini PC with at least 8 GB of memory and a 64 GB disk, with TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot enabled in the BIOS. TPM 2.0 is often called Intel PTT or AMD fTPM.
- A USB stick of 8 GB or more.
- An Ethernet cable to a network that hands out addresses automatically, with internet access for the activation step. After that the machine can stay offline forever.
- A laptop on the same network.
- The server licence key for the customer, and access to the Apemill portal.
1. Download the image¶
In the portal, open Server and download the ISO. Next to it is a long checksum; keep the page open, you can compare it after writing the stick.
2. Write the USB stick¶
Use balenaEtcher (Windows, macOS, Linux) or Rufus on Windows. Choose the ISO, choose the stick, write. Nothing else to configure.
3. Install¶
Plug the stick and the Ethernet cable into the mini PC and switch it on. Open the boot menu — usually F12, F11, F8 or Esc depending on the make — and choose the USB stick.
One entry appears: Install Stackmill server — ERASES THE WHOLE DISK. It starts on its own after ten seconds.
The installation runs unattended for about ten minutes, then the machine reboots. Remove the stick when it does.
4. First start¶
The machine sets itself up: it encrypts the disk, ties the key to its own TPM chip, and starts Stackmill. Give it two or three minutes.
The screen then shows the version, the address to open, and not activated.
5. Activate¶
From the laptop, open http://stackmill.local. If that name does not resolve, use the address shown on the mini PC's screen.
Stackmill opens with a licence panel. Paste the server licence key and confirm. The machine binds itself to its TPM chip, and the screen on the mini PC now reads activated.
That is the whole installation. Internet is no longer needed: the licence works offline permanently. Only updates use the network again.
If something goes wrong¶
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| The licence is refused for a missing TPM | TPM 2.0 is off in the BIOS. Turn it on, restart, activate again. Nothing is lost. |
| No address on the screen | The network handed out none. Check the cable, then the network's address server. |
stackmill.local does not open |
Some Windows machines cannot resolve it. Use the address printed on the screen. |
| Two Stackmill servers on one network | The second answers to stackmill-2.local. Use the addresses instead. |
| The licence is refused for a virtual machine | Stackmill only runs on real hardware. |
Notes for the site's IT¶
- The server uses port 80 for the interface and ports 22222, 29750, 33500, 38890, 41800, 42400 for the connection between the interface and the robot cell. All of them on the local network only.
- Give the machine a fixed address by reserving one for it in the network's address server. The server does not need to be reconfigured.
- Nothing accepts a connection from outside the local network. Remote support opens on the customer's consent, from the machine outward, and the customer ends it whenever they want.
- Updates are never automatic. Someone decides, from the interface or by a command.