Convert A Cheap Barracuda Networks Device Into A Docker Host

The Hardware

The device I used in this video is a Barracuda Networks BFS200a I picked up used for about $25. It sports a 2 core/4 thread Intel Atom D525 @ 1.80 GHz. I upgraded the 1GB of DDR3 to 4GB and replaced the 250 GB HDD with a 32GB SATA SSD.

Things You Will Need

A USB flash drive, at least 8 GB https://amzn.to/3wkR5ju | https://amzn.to/3qkrJ1p | https://amzn.to/3Nhu9b9

Preparing the Installation Media

Download the Debian .iso file Download
Download the Ventoy installer Download
Extract the downloaded .zip file
Run Ventoy2Disk.exe
Plug in a USB flash drive at least 4 GB in size
Click the refresh icon
Select the flash drive from the device dropdown
Click the Install button
After the installation completes, copy the downloaded Debian .iso to the Ventoy partition
Safely remove the USB flash drive
Plug the flash drive into the target Barracuda Networks device

Installation and Setup

Power on the Barracuda Networks device and start pressing Delete
When prompted, enter BCNDK1 as the BIOS password
In the BIOS, reset the settings to defaults > Save and exit
Boot to the flash drive
When the install dialog displays press Enter to select Graphical Install
Select a language > Click Continue
Select a Location > Click Continue
Select a keyboard layout > Click Continue
Enter a hostname for the VM > Click Continue
Enter a Domain name or leave it empty > Click Continue
Enter and confirm a root password > Click Continue
Enter the full name for the new user > Click Continue
Enter the username for the new user > Click Continue
Enter and confirm a password for the new user > Click Continue
Select a timezone > Click Continue
Select Guided - user entire disk > Click Continue
Select the target disk > Click Continue
Select All files in one partition > Click Continue
Select Finish partitioning and write changes to disk > Click Continue
Select Yes to confirm writing the changes > Click Continue
Wait for Debian to copy and install files
When prompted, select Yes to enable a network apt mirror > Click Continue
Select a country to use for the apt mirror > Click Continue
Select a mirror from the list > Click Continue
Setup a HTTP proxy if necessary > Click Continue
Select No to participating in package survey > Click Continue
Select the software to install > Click Continue
Select Yes to install GRUB > Click Continue
Select /dev/sda for the boot loader location > Click Continue
After the bootloader is installed select reboot to finish the installation
Welcome to Debian 11

Installing Docker

Run the following commands in the terminal
# install prerequisites
sudo apt install apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl software-properties-common gnupg-agent -y
# add docker gpg key
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/$(awk -F'=' '/^ID=/{ print $NF }' /etc/os-release)/gpg | sudo apt-key add -
# add docker software repository
sudo add-apt-repository "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture)] https://download.docker.com/linux/$(awk -F'=' '/^ID=/{ print $NF }' /etc/os-release) $(lsb_release -cs) stable"
# install docker
sudo apt install docker-ce docker-compose containerd.io -y
# enable and start docker service
sudo systemctl enable docker && sudo systemctl start docker
# add the current user to the docker group
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
# reauthenticate for the new group membership to take effect
su - $USER

Running Portainer