Newbie questions

[Malmgren]

Hi all.
I've been looking at buying an Odroid XU4 for having as home server (little bit of openHAB, little bit of Owncloud, maybe other stuff) and just today found the ROCK64 which seems like a very nice alternative. I got some initial questions though that I can't seem to find any obvious answers to.

I want to run this headless. I want a Debian Stretch image which least possible footprint, just so that I can SSH into it and install whatever I need. Obviously I'm going for the eMMC alternative. Is it just a question of downloading the Strech minimal image from http://wiki.pine64.org/index.php/ROCK64_...re_Release, flashing it to the card (using USB-eMMC adapter), booting up and SSH:ing in? Kinda confusing that some images on the wiki says "microSD Boot" and some says "microSD to eMMC", is there really any difference or do they all work on eMMC as well?

Also, since the form factor looks almost identical to rPI3, does it mean that it fits in rPI3 cases? Or do I need to buy the (bulky looking) "acrylic open enclosure"? The cases at c4labs.net looks really great but it's supposed to be in a closet out of way so I'd rather buy something that just cheap and effective :-)

/Daniel

[Luke]

Hi all.
I've been looking at buying an Odroid XU4 for having as home server (little bit of openHAB, little bit of Owncloud, maybe other stuff) and just today found the ROCK64 which seems like a very nice alternative. I got some initial questions though that I can't seem to find any obvious answers to.

I want to run this headless. I want a Debian Stretch image which least possible footprint, just so that I can SSH into it and install whatever I need. Obviously I'm going for the eMMC alternative. Is it just a question of downloading the Strech minimal image from http://wiki.pine64.org/index.php/ROCK64_...re_Release, flashing it to the card (using USB-eMMC adapter), booting up and SSH:ing in? Kinda confusing that some images on the wiki says "microSD Boot" and some says "microSD to eMMC", is there really any difference or do they all work on eMMC as well?

Also, since the form factor looks almost identical to rPI3, does it mean that it fits in rPI3 cases? Or do I need to buy the (bulky looking) "acrylic open enclosure"? The cases at c4labs.net looks really great but it's supposed to be in a closet out of way so I'd rather buy something that just cheap and effective :-)

/Daniel

Hi, 

Here you can find most available images. As you can see Stretch is available and so is Jessie (and OMV on Jessie). There are other alternatives available too - e.g. notably Armbian and Dietpi.

As for flashing Linux images to eMMC, I suggest you make your life a bit easier and just get the USB -> eMMC adaptor - it saves you from all the hurdles related to setting the pin, waiting a few seconds, etc., You just flash the image to the eMMC the way you'd flash a SD card, end of story. If you choose not to, then do read this thread and Wiki instructions (pasting them below, at the end of my response for your convenience) . 

Some RPI cases will work. Some may need you to drill a little hole to allow for the power-jack. 

I trust this helps.

micro SD -> eMMC instructions: 

• • Shorting the eMMC PIN with a jumper as shown on the 1st image of Guide to install stock Android build to eMMC module. After power ON the box for 2-3 second, quickly remove the jumper. After boot, it will prompt for confirmation 'Y' to start writing the new image to the eMMC. Then follow the instructions on the screen