Server Migration

Mini PC migration — WSL 2 + Docker Engine

When migrating from an M1 Mac to a Mini PC running Windows + WSL 2, the identical docker-compose.yml works without edits.

1. Enable WSL 2

# Run PowerShell as Administrator
wsl --install -d Ubuntu-24.04
# Reboot, then set your Linux username/password

2. Configure WSL 2 memory

Create C:\Users\<you>\.wslconfig:

[wsl2]
memory=12GB          # adjust for your Mini PC RAM
swap=4GB
processors=4
localhostForwarding=true

wsl --shutdown       # apply changes

3. Install Docker Engine (not Docker Desktop)

# Inside WSL 2 Ubuntu shell:
# Remove old packages
for pkg in docker.io docker-doc docker-compose podman-docker containerd runc; do
  sudo apt-get remove -y $pkg 2>/dev/null
done

# Add Docker's official GPG key + repo
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y ca-certificates curl
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
sudo curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc] \
  https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(. /etc/os-release && echo $VERSION_CODENAME) stable" | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

# Install Docker Engine + Compose plugin
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

# Add your user to the docker group (no sudo needed for docker commands)
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
newgrp docker

# Verify
docker --version          # 27+
docker compose version    # v2.30+

4. Auto-start Docker on WSL boot

# Docker starts automatically with systemd in WSL 2 (Ubuntu 24.04+)
sudo systemctl enable docker

# Verify it's running
sudo systemctl status docker

5. Migrate your homelab

# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/nichehemanth/h5h.git ~/h5h
cd ~/h5h/code

# Copy data/ from Mac (or external drive)
# Option A: rsync over Tailscale
rsync -avzP hemanth@<mac-tailscale-ip>:~/Desktop/hemanth/h5h/data/ ~/h5h/data/

# Option B: external drive (mounted at /mnt/d/ in WSL)
cp -r /mnt/d/h5h-backup/data/ ~/h5h/data/

# Setup and start
make init
make up    # starts ALL 26 containers

Key differences: OrbStack (Mac) vs WSL 2 (Mini PC)

Feature	OrbStack (Mac)	WSL 2 (Mini PC)
Docker Engine	OrbStack VM	Native Linux kernel
/proc, /sys	VM-level (limited)	Real host (full Node Exporter)
Kernel modules	Not available	Available (WireGuard native)
RAM sharing	Dynamic	Fixed .wslconfig limit
Performance	Good (VirtIO)	Near-native
make up	Partial (8 GB limit)	Full stack (16+ GB)

No changes to docker-compose.yml needed. The same file runs on OrbStack today and WSL 2 tomorrow.