Hi I'm looking at buying a Mac Mini (haven't decided on what model yet but most likely an Intel version) to install Ubuntu server on in order to create a LAMP stack for web development testing. What I'm wondering is if it would be a good idea to install Ubuntu through bootcamp or if I could (or should) just install Ubuntu as the sole OS. Thanks in advance.
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Mac Mini with Ubuntu Server
- Thread starter Tony5787
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Why waste a mac mini for a test environment, unless you will use the mac mini in the end.
Just get an old PC, install Ubuntu and LAMP. Test what you need there, then decide what type pf hardware you will need in the end.
I'd recommend installing as the sole OS, unless you need something from OS X too. I've only used Win7 as a bootcamp so, I'm not even sure you could bootcamp Ubuntu.
Ok yeah the only reasons I was looking at a Mac Mini is because they use low power and have such a small form factor that I can just leave it next to my router and modem and be done with it. Plus they don't really sell for that much used anymore depending on the model.
Mac Mini is perfect for that. Definitely get an Intel model. The G4 models were outdated even when they were new. Also the Intel Core Solo models are a bit pokey today. I'd get a Core 2 Duo or newer.
AFAIK Bootcamp is for Windows only. Bootcamp is two things: (1) Bootcamp Assistant which partitions the drive and sets it up for Windows installation, and (2) a collection of Windows drivers for the Apple hardware.
You can certainly dual boot if you like, but I don't see Bootcamp as very useful for an Ubuntu install.
AFAIK Bootcamp is for Windows only. Bootcamp is two things: (1) Bootcamp Assistant which partitions the drive and sets it up for Windows installation, and (2) a collection of Windows drivers for the Apple hardware.
You can certainly dual boot if you like, but I don't see Bootcamp as very useful for an Ubuntu install.
Thanks for the info! I had read this article:
http://phildawson.tumblr.com/post/778134747/install-ubuntu-server-on-mac-mini
and mistakenly thought he had used Bootcamp to partition the drive but now I see he just partitioned it with Disk Utility. I've never used Bootcamp before so I wasn't aware that it was only for Windows. I'll definitely look for one with the specs you mentioned. Thanks again!
http://phildawson.tumblr.com/post/778134747/install-ubuntu-server-on-mac-mini
and mistakenly thought he had used Bootcamp to partition the drive but now I see he just partitioned it with Disk Utility. I've never used Bootcamp before so I wasn't aware that it was only for Windows. I'll definitely look for one with the specs you mentioned. Thanks again!
Consider a Synology NAS instead. It's a really good LAMP server, low power consumption too. Also handles 3.5" HDDs.
I have a 2012 Mac Mini i7 with 16GB of memory for my lab machine using VMware fusion. You can snap backup the configuration for rev changes. You can also download prebuilt images from VMware. Here is a list of the my collection of images. I use 1 to 4GB for each image the performance is incredible with the ---1TB fusion drive it is like a bare metal install. Please give it a try before using bootcamp.
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