Open Media Vault

January 25th 2021
613 words, about 4 minutes

Openmediavault or OMV for short, is a Linux Debian based OS/Application. The recommended method to install and use OMV is through the installation images found here. The latest version and updates to OMV can be found here. Its highly recommended to install OMV onto its own computer or Virtual Machine. Installing OMV will erase the main local drive on the computer or VM. The device you’re installing to has to have internet access, during the installation process OMV will try to update the apt packages but in general will not update anything unless its important.

Prepare

The easiest way to install OMV is by getting an image from the OMV sourceforge repository. Look for the latest modified folder that has a version number close to the latest update on the OMV blog. Download the .iso file and store it somewhere memorable.

Get a USB drive that is at least 2GB and in working condition. Use a tool like balenaEtcher or Rufus to put the ISO image from earlier onto the USB drive. This will erase all the data on the USB drive!

OMV has a bespoke installer that will load up once the computer has booted. In general and for the least complicated path follow the instructions and go with the recommended defaults through the installation wizard.

omv-install

Install

  1. Leave the username as openmediavault, though you can change it if you’d like for extra security.
    omv-install-user
  2. A domain name can help if you have one established on your network, but localhost is a perfectly acceptable option.
    omv-install-domain
  3. Set a strong but memorable root password.
    omv-install-password
  4. Select time zone appropriate to your location.
    omv-install-timezone
  5. If there are partitions on the drive OMV is being installed to, you will see the screen below reminding you that all the data on the drive will be lost.
    omv-install-partition-disk
  6. The next few steps will setup the package manager, use the default options. Internet access is needed to update during the install.
    omv-install-package-manager
  7. If you have a proxy enter the info for that here, if you’re not sure then leave this blank and continue
    omv-install-proxy
  8. After you’re done, OMV will try to reboot. If everything went well you will see a console similar to the one below. If the IP address doesn’t look right, login using the admin username and password. The default OMV username is admin and the default OMV password is openmediavault. You should change these ASAP!
    omv-install-finish-cli
  9. On a different system that is on the same network as the OMV machine, go to the IP address shown on the CLI in a modern browser such as Chrome or Firefox.
  10. Login with the default username and password for OMV if you haven’t changed it through CLI.
    omv-web-login
  11. In the left menu, under the System section, go to General Settings.
    omv-web-system-general
  12. Go to the Web Administrator Password tab and change this to a more secure password. Click Save to apply your changes. Note this is different from the root password you set when installing OMV. The root password is for the OS and should not be the same as your web admin password! The username for the web admin is admin.
    omv-web-change-admin-password
This post is written by Gouthaman Raveendran, licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.