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Setup TV Box into the Home Server Mini (ArmbianOS)

Setup TV Box into the Home Server Mini (ArmbianOS)

Overview

ArmbianOS  is a lightweight Linux distribution optimized for ARM-based devices, offering better performance and flexibility compared to the default firmware.

This guide provides step-by-step instructions to install and configure ArmbianOS on a TV Box device to function as a Home Server Mini.

Prerequisites

Initial Configuration

  • Power on the TV Box and access it via SSH or terminal.
  • Login with the root user.
  • Update the package lists and upgrade existing packages: 
    sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Install Docker via armbian-software

  • Use the built-in armbian-software tool to install Docker: 
    armbian-software
  • Find the correct ID Docker option in the menu and follow the prompts to install it.
  • After installation, verify Docker is running: 
    sudo systemctl status docker

Install Arcane via Docker

Arcane  is a web interface for managing Docker containers.

  • Create a directory for Arcane data:

    mkdir -p ~/arcane
cd ~/arcane

  • Create a docker-compose.yml file with the following content:

services:
  arcane:
    image: ghcr.io/getarcaneapp/arcane:latest
    container_name: arcane
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - 3552:3552
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
      - arcane-data:/app/data
    environment:
      - APP_URL=http://localhost:3552
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - ENCRYPTION_KEY=7bbf32cffc1be11ef5387363cdf3323bcb0660252a329db3b8dcb64cff5d18c3
      - JWT_SECRET=a71054d5129105d7ee1536b8e7dd7b2612a00526be71824af2947b7fba89f9ba
      - LOG_LEVEL=info
      - LOG_JSON=false
      - OIDC_ENABLED=false
      - DATABASE_URL=file:data/arcane.db?_pragma=journal_mode(WAL)&_pragma=busy_timeout(2500)&_txlock=immediate
 
volumes:
  arcane-data:
    driver: local

  • Start the Arcane container:

    docker-compose up -d

  • Access the Arcane web interface via port 3552 at http://<TV_BOX_IP>:3552 and complete the initial setup.

    • Default credentials are:
      • Username: arcane
      • Password: arcane-admin
    • Change the password upon first login.
    • Create new user profile, and remove default user for security.

Install ADGuard Home via Docker

  • Remove the systemd-resolved in port 53 to avoid conflict with ADGuard Home:
sudo mkdir -p /etc/systemd/resolved.conf.d/
sudo vim /etc/systemd/resolved.conf.d/adguardhome.conf
  • Add the following content to the file:
[Resolve]
DNS=127.0.0.1
DNSStubListener=no
  • Restart systemd-resolved:
sudo mv /etc/resolv.conf /etc/resolv.conf.backup
sudo ln -s /run/systemd/resolve/resolv.conf /etc/resolv.conf
sudo systemctl restart systemd-resolved
  • Check the status of port 53:
sudo lsof -i :53

If no process is using port 53, proceed to install ADGuard Home.

  • Create new project in the Arcane interface for ADGuard Home.
  • Rename the default name My New Project to adguardhome.
  • Use the following Docker Compose configuration for ADGuard Home:
services:
  adguardhome:
    image: adguard/adguardhome:latest
    container_name: adguardhome
    ports:
      - 53:53/tcp # DNS TCP
      - 53:53/udp # DNS UDP
      - 8080:80/tcp # Web UI HTTP
      - 3131:3000/tcp # Port Setup Ban Dau
    volumes:
      - ./workdir:/opt/adguardhome/work
      - ./confdir:/opt/adguardhome/conf
    restart: unless-stopped

  • Remove all content in tab Environment (.env).

  • Start the ADGuard Home container via Arcane.

  • Access the Arcane web interface via port 3131 at http://<TV_BOX_IP>:3131 and complete the initial setup.

    • Keep all default settings in step 2/5
    • Create new admin user in step 3/5
    • Keep all default settings in step 4/5
    • Finish setup in step 5/5

  • Access the ADGuard Home dashboard via port 8080 at http://<TV_BOX_IP>:8080.

  • Settings your ADGuard Home: Settings > DNS Settings

    • Upstream DNS servers

      https://dns10.quad9.net/dns-query
https://dns.cloudflare.com/dns-query
tls://one.one.one.one
https://dns.google/dns-query
tls://dns.google
[/google.com/googleusercontent.com/googlevideo.com/youtube.com/youtu.be/googleapis.com/ytimg.com/gstatic.com/gvt1.com/gvt2.com/]tls://dns.google
[/facebook.com/fbcdn.net/fbsbx.com/messenger.com/instagram.com/cdninstagram.com/]tls://dns.google
[/tiktok.com/tiktokv.com/tiktokcdn.com/byteoversea.com/ibyteimg.com/]tls://dns.google
[/apple.com/icloud.com/mzstatic.com/aaplimg.com/]tls://dns.google
[/microsoft.com/windowsupdate.com/azure.com/office.com/live.com/]tls://dns.google
[/shopee.vn/shopeemobile.com/lazada.vn/alicdn.com/tiki.vn/]tls://dns.google

    • Parallel Requests

    • Fallback DNS servers:

      https://lightnode-sgn-1.edge.nextdns.io
https://greencloud-sgn-1.edge.nextdns.io

    • Bootstrap DNS servers

      1.1.1.1
8.8.8.8

    • Upstream timeout: 3s

    • Click “Test upsteams” to verify and click Apply.

    • DNS server configuration

      • Rate limit: 30
      • Blocking mode: Null IP
      • Blocked response TTL: 10 (seconds)
      • Click Save

    • DNS cache configuration:

      • Enable DNS cache
      • Max cache size: 41943040 (40MB)
      • Override Min TTL: 60 (1min)
      • Orveride Max TTL: 300 (5mins)
      • Optimistic caching: enabled
      • Click Save

  • Setting Filters DNS Blocklists

    • Go to Filters > DNS Blocklists
    • Add the following blocklists:
      • AdGuard DNS filter
      • VNM: ABPVN List
      • AdGuard Tracking Protection filter: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/AdguardTeam/FiltersRegistry/master/filters/filter_3_Spyware/filter.txt
      • Social media filter: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/AdguardTeam/FiltersRegistry/master/filters/filter_4_Social/filter.txt
      • base filters: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/AdguardTeam/FiltersRegistry/master/filters/filter_2_Base/filter.txt
      • Malicious URL Blocklist: https://malware-filter.gitlab.io/malware-filter/urlhaus-filter-agh-online.txt

  • Setting Filter DNS Allowlist

    • Go to Filters > DNS Allowlist
    • Add the following allowlists:
      • name: custom allowlist
      • URLs: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/8technologia/adguardhome/refs/heads/main/allowlists.txt

  • The last one is to setting your router to use the TV Box IP as the primary DNS server for all connected devices.

    • Access your router admin page.
    • Find the Local Network > LAN > DHCP server settings.
    • Set the primary DNS server to the TV Box IP address.
    • Set the secondary DNS server to the TV BOx IP address.
    • Save the settings and restart your router if necessary.

Install Uptime Kuma via Docker

  • Create new project in the Arcane interface for Uptime Kuma.
  • Rename the default name My New Project to uptimekuma.
  • Use the following Docker Compose configuration for Uptime Kuma:
services:
  uptime-kuma:
    image: louislam/uptime-kuma:2
    container_name: uptime-kuma
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "3001:3001"
    volumes:
      - ./data:/app/data
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
    environment:
      - TZ=Asia/Ho_Chi_Minh
    logging:
      driver: "json-file"
      options:
        max-size: "10m"
        max-file: "3"
  • Access the Uptime Kuma web interface via port 3001 at http://<TV_BOX_IP>:3001 and complete the initial setup.
    • Create new admin user upon first login.
    • Set up notification with Telegram Bot.
      • Create new bot via BotFather  on Telegram.
      • Get your chat ID via userinfobot .
      • In Uptime Kuma, go to Settings > Notification > Add New Notification.
      • Select Telegram as the type.
      • Fill in the Bot Token and Chat ID.
      • Test the notification to ensure it’s working.

Setup Tailscale VPN on ArmbianOS

Tailscale  is a VPN service that makes it easy to connect your devices securely over the internet.

  • Install Tailscale on ArmbianOS:

    curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh

  • Start and enable Tailscale service:

    sudo tailscale up

  • In your mobile device or computer, install Tailscale app and login with the same account.

  • Your TV Box should appear in the Tailscale network, allowing you to access it securely from anywhere.

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