Running Ubuntu Core on a Computer

I am trying to run ubuntu core 20 in kiosk mode on my computer running intel with less than 8 cores and less than 32GB ram.

Which image should I download? https://ubuntu.com/core/docs/supported-platforms

It does not seem like these supported platforms will work on my computer. Do I need to run KVM?

for a standard intel machine you most likely want the ubuntu-core-20-amd64.img.xz image from:

Thank you so much for your help, I really appreciate!

Does ubuntu-core-20-amd64.img.xz, create a virtual machine version of Ubuntu Core? In other words, do I need to run Ubuntu 20.04 LTS first then run Ubuntu core each time I boot up the machine?

Thank you again!!

you can write the image directly to a USB drive with dd (on command line) or with a graphical tool like balena etcher or even the gnome disks utiliity … and then boot form that USB stick …

to write it to the internal disk you can boot from a live CD/Image and use either of the above tools to write the Ubuntu Core image to the internal disk …

When attempting to install ubuntu core to my computer it does not recognize the image. Can you please see the following steps I am doing to see what I am doing wrong?

(1) I downloaded from ubuntu-core-20-amd64.img.xz from http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-core/20/stable/current/ .

(2) I downloaded balena etcher on mac os

(3) I dragged the file to the balena application and waited for the flash to complete. I also reattempted by clicking on .xz file and turning it into .img.

(4) I accessed the BIOS section of the computer and attempted to boot from flash drive.

Thanks again for your help!

I have no experience using Mac OS, so I can’t comment on that.

Maybe this explanation will help you to understand the process further:

Ubuntu Core does not come with a traditional installer like Ubuntu Desktop. For the desktop version, you flash an installer or live image to another temporary medium like a USB drive, boot from it and install the OS to another drive like an internal SSD. With Ubuntu Core, however, there is no installer or live image. You have to flash the Ubuntu Core image to the final drive directly.

The instructions at [1] seem very similar. By just skimming through, I think they can also be applied to the ubuntu-core-20-amd64.img.xz image with only little modifications. The instructions use Ubuntu Desktop as an intermediate.

[1] https://assets.ubuntu.com/v1/87e46aa7-Installation+Instructions+Core+Image+Intel+IoTG+Platforms.pdf

Thank you Lorenz, do you know if this is new for 11th gen processors? Can this be done on earlier processors as well.

Thank you!

As described by Oliver and the supported platforms page you have linked to, you probably need the ubuntu-core-[version]-amd64.img.xz file.

The ubuntu-core-[version]-amd64.img.xz files should run on almost any computer and board with an amd64 architecture. This should also include most Intel desktop CPUs.

Starting with Ubuntu Core 20 your system has to have UEFI support, only versions before support BIOS. At least this is my personal experience; maybe someone from Canonical can confirm this and link to somewhere this is documented. This could also have been the issue when you had problems starting from your flashed USB drive.

The PDF I linked to in my previous post was only meant as a general guide as to how to flash an Ubuntu Core image. The PDF specifically targets Intel IoT platforms and therefore, uses the ubuntu-core-[version]-amd64+intel-iot.img.xz file, which as stated inside the PDF seems to require Intel Elkhart Lake or Tiger Lake platforms. I do not know the difference between the generic amd64 image file and the amd64+intel-iot image file.

Please also note that there are many more ways to flash Ubuntu Core depending on the desired setup.

Thank you! Do you know of a way to display battery status, date/time and wifi status on Ubuntu Core? The snap application takes up the full screen.

Thanks again!

It sounds like you are successfully running Ubuntu Core. Great job! :partying_face:

The snap application takes up the full screen.

This is intended. Ubuntu Core does not include a full desktop environment like GNOME, which would display system information like battery status, the current date and time, and information about network connectivity.

With Ubuntu Core, the installed snaps define what output is displayed on your monitor. As the OS primarily aims at embedded IoT devices, most snaps only target one specific use case, like a full-screen browser kiosk. If there is no snap available that fits your specific use case, create one :wink: