General discussion • Re: Can I run two OS simultaneously on my Pi 5 16GB RAM with multiple SSD?

Hello!

I’m new to the Rasoberry Pi forums so I hope this is in the right section. I would like to run two operating systems simultaneously on my Raspberry Pi 5, which has 16 GB of RAM. My goal is to have the Pi running both Home Assistant and a NAS (possibly using OVM) at the same time since both need to be operational at all times. I want to set this up before transferring Home Assistant from the SD card to an SSD to avoid any potential data loss.

I understand that I could easily run Home Assistant in a container on the NAS, but I prefer to run the full Home Assistant OS for full functionality. I plan to use 2-4 SSDs for the NAS and a separate SSD for Home Assistant. I’ve been exploring PINN and Berryboot, but so far, the YouTube videos I've watched and the threads I've seen only demonstrate booting one operating system at a time.

Here is my hardware setup: I plan to use a GeeekPi Quad FPC PCIe HAT B14, a GeeekPi N16 Quad M.2 M-Key NVMe SSD HAT, or a Waveshare PCIe to 2-CH M.2 HAT. I'll be using either Samsung EVO Plus SSDs or TEAMGROUP MP44 4TB SSDs (if anyone has advice on which is better, please share). I also have an Official Raspberry Pi M.2 Hat+ 512 GB SSD and might add a UPS and a 4G/3G HAT.

I intend to use my SBC shelf on my DeskPi mini server rack, so I’m not planning to use a case, just an active cooler, but may add an additional fan to the rack. I want to see what I can do, but I hope someone with more experience can help me figure out the best way to proceed.

Thanks!

Statistics: Posted by ejolson — Fri Mar 07, 2025 4:58 am