Installing The NuNet Appliance

Prerequisites

Before installing the NuNet Appliance, ensure your system meets these requirements.

System Requirements

System requirements vary depending on your intended role in the NuNet network. See the Capabilities section for detailed explanations of each role.

Compute Provider Requirements

If you plan to provide compute resources to the network:

Component	Minimum	Recommended
CPU	2 cores	4+ cores
RAM	8 GB	16 GB
Disk Space	100 GB	200 GB+
Internet	Stable broadband	High-speed broadband

Note: Compute providers need sufficient resources to run workloads allocated by the network. Higher specifications enable more concurrent allocations and better performance.

It is also recommended to enable UPnP on your router to allow for easy port forwarding setup from the Appliance web UI.

Orchestrator or Compute Consumer Requirements

If you plan to use the compute resources from the network:

Component	Minimum	Recommended
CPU	2 cores	4 cores
RAM	4 GB	8 GB
Disk Space	20 GB	40 GB
Internet	Stable broadband	High-speed broadband

Software Requirements

• VirtualBox
• NuNet Appliance image (available through the Closed Beta program. Sign up and register your interest here)
• Stable internet connection for DMS setup and updates

Note: VirtualBox is not required if you are going for bare metal installation

Supported Platforms

• Linux (Ubuntu, Debian)
• macOS (Apple Silicon via VM)
• Windows (VirtualBox; WSL with GPU support Coming Soon)

MacOS Local Network Permission

MacOS Sonoma and newer macOS versions restrict each app’s ability to contact devices on the local network. If you plan to open the NuNet Appliance UI from Safari, Chrome, or another browser on macOS, go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network and toggle access on for that browser. Without this permission macOS blocks the browser from reaching https://192.168.x.x, so the appliance page will fail to load even though the VM is running.

Steps Overview

Below are the steps to be followed if you are using the Appliance through Virtuabox. For bare metal step see Bare Metal Installation

1. Download and install VirtualBox based on your machine type
2. Import the NuNet Appliance image and adjust system resources based on your role
3. Configure network settings to use Bridged Adapter mode
4. Start the Appliance
5. Launch the Appliance to verify it's running correctly

Installation Instructions

Getting Access

The NuNet Appliance is currently available through our Closed Beta program. To get access to the appliance image and join the beta testing community, please sign up for the Closed Beta.

Installation Steps using VirtualBox

Follow these steps to install and run the NuNet Appliance using VirtualBox:

1. Download the Appliance Image after downloading and installing VirtualBox

• AMD64 (Windows & Linux): Download here
• ARM64 (MacOS): Download here

2. Import into VirtualBox

• Open VirtualBox.
• Double-click the downloaded .ova file or on VirtualBox select File → Import Appliance, then select the downloaded appliance.
• Adjust resources based on your role:
  • Compute Provider: 4+ CPUs, 8GB+ RAM, 100GB+ disk
  • Compute Consumer: 2+ CPUs, 4GB+ RAM, 20GB+ disk

3. Configure Network Settings

• In VirtualBox, select your NuNet Appliance instance and click Settings.
• Navigate to Network settings.
• Change the Attached to dropdown from NAT to Bridged Adapter.
• Select your network adapter from the Name dropdown.
• Click OK to save the settings.

Note: Bridged adapter mode allows the appliance to receive its own IP address on your local network, which is required for proper network connectivity.

4. Start the Appliance

• The NuNet appliance launches automatically on boot.
• Wait for initialization and verify you see a QR code at the end of the boot process.

⚠️ Security Reminder:
Only download official appliance images from NuNet sources

Installation Steps for Bare Metal Setup

Overview of the steps

1. Download the Appliance Image

• Bare Metal ISO (Intel & AMD): Download here

⚠️ IMPORTANT DATA LOSS WARNING This image is configured to auto-boot and automatically erase the entire internal hard disk of the computer it is started on.

2. Create a bootable USB stick using the image

Note: You will need admin privileges.

Minimum 8GB space is needed. Note that any existing data on it will be erased

We recommend that you use balenaEtcher to do this.

3. Use the USB stick to install and boot the Nunet Appliance on your device

Do not insert this USB into a computer you do not intend to erase

⚠️ Security Reminder:
Only download official appliance images from NuNet sources

Next Steps

After installation, proceed to Launching the Appliance to start the appliance and verify it's running correctly.

Resource Adjustment

You can adjust the number of CPUs, RAM, and disk space allocated to your NuNet appliance instance by adjusting the resources in VirtualBox.

Note: Remember to configure the network adapter to Bridged Adapter mode as shown in the Network Settings step above.