Getting Started
| This page was written by Pluto and imported with their permission when LinuxMCE branched off in February, 2007. In general any information should apply to LinuxMCE. However, this page should be edited to reflect changes to LinuxMCE and remove old references to Pluto. |
Equipment
1. Most important, is the "core". This is the main Pluto server that runs all the applications. The commercial version uses a high-end server with RAID-5 storage. You'll probably get by with a good Pentium 4 and at least 80 GB of storage.
Spend a few bucks and get a second LAN card. Gigabit Ethernet would be ideal. (You'll be streaming music and video across your network to multiple locations simultaneously, so don't be cheap!) You'll want your GB lan card to be part of your internal network. If the other LAN card is slower, you'll want that to be your WAN (or external/Internet facing) port.
It would be best to use a dedicated core, which means you'll end up putting this computer somewhere out of the way and not connecting a monitor to it. If you are using only one computer for your system, then you've chosen the "hybrid" system, which means that your core will also be your media player. You'll definitely need a monitor or TV for this system!
2. An alternative to having a lot of memory in the core is to have a small hard drive for the core and store all your files on a network attached storage server. The Buffalo TeraStation is 1.0 TeraByte RAID-5 and under $1K(US). This is probably a good idea because you may need to -uhm- "tweak" your core a few times. Having a NAS will allow you to not lose your precious media files. You'll likely want the larger storage for your collection of music and videos. Keep in mind that your Pluto system can also record TV shows (using MythTV) and video from your security cameras (using Motion).
3. A network switch. Ok, so you don't need it if you are using a hybrid system. Otherwise, you do. Get yourself a nice Gigabit switch. Or go cheap. I don't care. The point is that you'll need a switch to connect all the different devices to your Pluto core.
4. Optionally, you may want the aformentioned home automation devices for controlling your lights. Also, optionally, you may want security cameras, plasma screen TV, a streaming media music player such as the Squeezebox, an alarm system with a serial interface...well, you get the point. Some of these devices need another device called a gc100. This allows devices that communicate using a serial port (good alarm panels) or infrared (like your TV) to connect to the network and talk with your Pluto core.
Pre-Installation Setup
Prior to installing Pluto, it's a good idea to have a few things ready.
1. A map of your home. This is actually a very important step because Pluto seems to need the map to properly finish the installation of some devices. It is easy to create a map using any drawing software or just draw one by hand and scan it. You don't need anything fancy, just some squares representing your different rooms. If the file is too big, Pluto will scale it to fit. You can always upload a new map later on when you feel like being more creative. You can also make multiple maps, say, one for each floor or section of your house. This will all make more sense later when you get into configuring the devices.
Installation
Download the Kickstart CD from Pluto Home and burn it onto a CDROM or DVD. Follow the steps given here to install. It is very straight forward.
Note: During the installation, you may have some difficulties that can be avoided by following the advise below:
1. Make sure you have an Internet connection prior to starting! After Pluto installs from the disk, it will need to access the Internet and download the latest patches. (More often than not, you want this!)
2. Confused about which ethernet adapter should be your "main" when that option is given to you during the install? Just click on one. You have a 50/50 chance of getting it right. You can easily change it later in the pluto-admin pages by selecting "Advanced -> Network -> Network Settings" from the drop-down and clicking "Swap Interfaces".
3. Use the core's DHCP server to give machines on your network a dynamic IP address. Turn off the DHCP server on any other devices you may have on your network! This is very important! You probably already have your home router giving out addresses. Check the configuration and turn that feature off. Pluto uses the DHCP requests from machines that come online to figure out what they are and what to do with them.
Configuration
By now, you should have booted up your shiny new Pluto system. In this section, we'll go over how to configure Pluto using the Wizard. Many of the parameters and options are NOT self-explanatory, so follow along.
