Is anyone running FlightAware on a virtualised Linux box ?
I have always used RPi’s for it but I have a spare PC right now that could eliminate a dust magnet RPi if this is doable.
Thanks in advance
Yes, I do it.
Debian 13 trixie in Oracle Virtual Machine on Windows 11.
Click on Screenshot to See Larger Size
Hi Dave,
It is definitely possible, but don’t overlook the very likely increased cost with electricity usage.
A Pi will be perfectly reliable and sip power at probably less than 10 watts. A “spare PC”, especially a desktop with a dedicated graphics card could easily use 100+ watts, or several hundred depending on the specifics. A spare older laptop might be fine with the monitor off, but be careful with older high spec systems. Older ChromeOS netbooks are also great for this with a full Linux install.
If you just want to experiment, you can always run a virtual Linux box in your primary PC. I use VirtualBox running Ubuntu Server on my primary Windows 10 desktop system here during internet outages to keep FA and a couple other Pi/Linux feeders alive. My router does not have dual WAN, and it is easier to simply connect the Win 10 desktop to a mobile hotspot during outages without reconfiguring my home network. The Win 10 system is then also on the normal ethernet connection to talk to all the other receivers here.
I have only worked with VirtualBox here, but something like Ubuntu Server runs perfectly well with just allocating one CPU core and just 1 GB of RAM. User abcd567 has several automated scripts that make it easy to compile FA on those systems. I have done it both the manual way, and by using his scripts.
If your “space PC” is going to be running other Windows projects or Linux projects at the same time, then that might justify the cost.
Regards,
-Dan
On an old PC or Laptop, which is not used for anything else, it is better to completely remove Windows, and on the freed hard disk, install Linux (Debian or Ubuntu). This way only one (Linux), and not three (Windows+Virtual Box+Linux) will be running. This will put much less load on system, and likely lesser power consumtion.
The Server version is lighter, does not require good quality graphic hardware, and puts much less load on system. Even in Virtual Machine, I use Server - no Denian desktop environment and no Gnome. Just CLI.
Don’t laugh, but I have a Virtual Private Server (VPS) through Ionos.com here in the US just for fun and testing.
The total monthly cost = $ 2 US dollars. There is no additional tax. That is the entire cost.
Specs:
1 vCore CPU
1 GB RAM
10 GB NVMe
You would be amazed what can be done with such a simple system. I mainly use it for fun and to learn new things. My primary access is through SSH, but I also port tunnel through SSH when needed for other things. Many of the things I have learned by using a remote system have also helped me with my local systems. Examples are TMUX (or screen) and SSH private/public keys for login.
Regards,
-Dan
Great, but how to connect DVB-T to remote server if one wants to run dump1090-fa on it?
I was running it for a while testing it on a Proxmox virtual machine. But my device is now outside and the server which is running Proxmox was a little to expensive to expose it to the rough outdoor environment 
I only needed to make sure that the stick was bound via USB pass-through and no other machine tried to access it.
I think that won’t work unless you have the stick connected to a local device and run dump1090 in network mode to pass the data to the instance on the Ionos server.
I was just using that as an example of how little resources a Linux server OS requires. I was not suggesting that remote VPS as a system for running dump1090-fa. Sorry if that was not clear.
Regards,
-Dan
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Thank you.
Your statement supports my view that if old Laptop has no use other than adsb, then best is to completely remove Windows OS and install Linux Server directly on its Hard Drive.
Almost every old computer/laptop has usually a higher performance than a raspberry zero where ADSB-Feeding is possible. And you do not need a Linux server. Any light-weight linux distribution works flawless.
Damn Small Linux or Tiny Core Linux run even on a 486dx device.
Never tried it, but it might be that you can even run it on a router with OpenWRT.
But normally these devices are using more electrical power than a raspberry. So is it really worth? Everyone need to decide by her/himself
I dont think all of these light-weight OS provide all of the large number of dependencies required by piaware and dump1090-fa. Have you ever tried to install piaware and dump1090-fa on “Damn Small Linux” or “TIny Core”?
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It works on Damn Small Linux, all required dependencies are installed during setup. It was at least a few years ago the case.
For Tiny Core, i don’t know…
At the end it’s all Linux. As long as you are not using a crippled distro, everything is possible. All a question of efforts.
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