Atlas Experience OS

The Atlas Experience OS is a set of configuration options for Debian Linux arm64 and x86 architectures providing a minimal base image connected to the Experience Manager.

Atlas OS is intended as a minimal host for the Experience Agent acting as a Control Gateway Node, or Control Gateway Panel.

Additionally it's well suited to running web applications using the Atlas Core Web Wrapper or simple looping videos using VLC.

When configured with an attached display, a X11/openbox based root window provides a locked down psudo-desktop environment for running applications without user access to core OS functions.

Experience OS Considerations

When considering Atlas OS, consider the following:

1. Dante: Audinate does not provide Dante Virtual Soundcard for Linux, if Dante audio is required, a Dante dongle will be required and typically only supports 2-channels of audio.
2. Dependencies: Some applications compiled for Linux rely on installed dependencies, as a minimal Linux installation, you may need to manually install dependencies to support your application. Attempts have been made to at-minimum support Electron and VLC based applications.
3. Unsupprted Windows 11 Replacement: Atlas OS may be used to extend the life of PC's that do not support Windows 11.

Choose Your Base OS

The Atlas Experience OS (XOS) is installed over a fresh Debian based Linux installation – ideally the latest Debian image at time of installation. To install the XOS, you will first install Debian and then run a set of configuration scripts to install the Experience OS.

Atlas Experience OS supports Debain based aarm64 and amd64/x64 architectures providing wide hardware support from PC's, Raspberry Pi’s and embedded systems.

In most instances, the latest Debian version is recommended.

• Debian – Recommended for most aarm64 and amd64/x64 PC's and embedded devices
• Raspberry Pi OS Lite – Debian optimized for Raspberry Pi’s

INFO

Atlas Experience OS is supported by any Debian based variant, but it is recommended to use a minimal base installation, without a Desktop Environment installed.

Install Base OS

Once you have selected your Base OS above, install the OS on your device.

INFO

For maximum compatibility, it is recommended that you perform a fresh installation OS installation, even if you device comes with Debian pre-installed.

WARNING

The instructions below are abridged and for quick reference only.

Download the .iso of the Base OS you are going to install.

Prepare your installation media:

1. Download balenaEtcher and Install
2. Insert a freshly formatted USB stick or SD Card
3. Open balenaEtcher
4. Select the Flash from file and select the .iso of the Base OS you want to install
5. Select Select target and select your USB stick or SD Card
6. Select Flash

This will provide you with installation media to install your OS.

1. Attach the USB stick to the device you want to install the Base OS on
2. Power on the device
3. Use the Boot Menu to select the USB stick as the boot device
4. Follow the on-screen prompts to install the OS on your device

WARNING

It is critical that you record your root user password for this device. This will be necessary for installing the Experience OS environment and for future device management.

Install Prerequisites

In minimal Debian installations, sudo, curl and zip are not typically installed. To ready the system for bootstrapping, we'll install dependencies as the root user.

Switch to the root user account and install bootstrapping dependencies:

su
apt update
apt install curl zip

Install Experience OS

Atlas Experience OS is installed using Shell scripts provided by your Experience Manager instance. Scripts are provided with easy to type tokens to simplify installation on new systems without tools like SSH.

The Experience OS comes in two flavors, Headless for Nodes such as Control Gateway’s and Kiosk for Nodes running with an attached display. The installer will walk you though configuring the Node based on its intended role.

Run the installer:

1. Login to your Experience Manager instance
2. Navigate to Nodes and select Install Agent
3. Select Debian Linux (arm64) or Debian Linux (x64) depeding on the devices architecture
4. Installation begins at the Install Experience OS section

The Experience Manager provides a Bash script containing a rotating one time password to run from your freshly installed Debian instance. From the command line, enter the URL which will appear similar to:

bash <(curl -fsSL https://xm.upswell.cloud/get/bootstrap/<arch>/<token>/)

During the installation process, you will be prompted to:

1. Create an Admin user that will receive sudo access, by default this user is admin
2. Install and enable ssh for the Admin user
3. Install the Desktop environment (optional)
4. Create a regular Kiosk user that will autologin, by default this user is kiosk

What gets installed?

Atlas Experience OS is built using installers rather than pre-packaged images to provide transparency into what is being installed and where so that Operators and IT teams may manage Nodes long-term.

You may view the entire contents of the installer by viewing the boostrap URL provided by your Experience Manager directly (i.e. https://xm.upswell.cloud/get/bootstrap/<arch>/<token>/).

In summary, for Headless and Kiosk modes, the installer:

1. Installs dependent packages such as curl and zip
2. Customizes system messages such as /etc/issue and /etc/motd
3. Creates an Admin user of your choosing with sudo privileges
4. Optionally install openssh-server adding the Admin user as an SSH user

When the Desktop Environment is installed:

1. Creates an Kiosk user of your choosing without elevated sudo privileges and autologin
2. Installs packages for:
   • Electron dependencies
   • VLC Player
   • Desktop Environment: X11, Openbox + Plymouth
3. Configures Getty and TTY Permissions for Kiosk user
4. Configures GRUB to silence startup messages and boot menu
5. Configures Plymouth to provide loading screen
6. Configures OpenBox with locked down psudo desktop environment