02. Installing Ubuntu Server

We're going to start on our main computer (not the Pi)

First you'll need to download Ubuntu Server. To do this I prefer to use the rpi-imager tool. Install this by typing: sudo snap install rpi-imager

Once installed, click: Choose OS > Other general purpose OS > Ubuntu > Ubuntu Server 20.04.3 LTS

Insert your SD card in your computer/hub/whatever and click Choose Storage and select the card.

Click Write and rpi-imager will download the OS and flash it to the SD card.

Super easy, cool.

1. Make sure you have a keyboard/monitor plugged in to your Raspberry Pi.

2. Insert the SD card in to the Pi and connect the power.

From ubuntu.com:

Warning During your first boot a tool called cloud-init is doing configuration. WAIT for it to finish before trying to log in. It typically takes less than 2 minutes but there is a break between the log-in prompt and cloud-init completing. If you interrupt the process you have to start again. You’ll know it’s done when it outputs some more lines after the log-in prompt has appeared.

1. Once all that is taken care of, login with the username ubuntu and password ubuntu

2. You will be asked to update the password for the ubuntu user. Do that.

3. If your Pi is connected to the internet with an ethernet cable and the internet isn't working, try typing sudo dhclient eth0

4. If you're going to use wifi we need to make an edit to a file on the system

sudo nano /etc/netplan/50-cloud-init.yaml

make this file look like this with the exact indenting (4 spaces)

network:
    ethernets:
        eth0:
            dhcp4: true
            optional: true
    version: 2
    wifis:
        wlan0:
            dhcp4: true
            optional: true
            access-points:
                "SSID_name":
                    password: "WiFi_password"

Then save and exit Ctrl + O, Enter Ctrl + X

1. Generate some stuff with sudo netplan generate

2. Apply that stuff sudo netplan apply

3. Reboot the Raspberry Pi: reboot

4. Once it starts up again, check to see if you're connected to the internet ip a and in the section wlan0 you should see your local ip address, something like 192.168.X.XXX

5. Update everything: sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

If that last command gave you an error:

1. Try running sudo apt update and then when it's done run sudo apt upgrade

2. Reboot: reboot and try the commands again.