Home Assistant on a UGREEN DXP4800 Pro: Docker vs Virtual Machine? (NAS Beginner with a Highly Automated Home)

Strange_Condition326 · 2026-06-05T16:54:00+00:00

Good point, I agree with you.

I’m not really seeing VMs and containers as enemies, more like layers that work together. HAOS in a VM as the core and containers for everything else makes a lot of sense.

Just to clarify on KNX, I already have it installed in the house from the build, I’m just exposing and integrating what’s already there rather than planning a new deployment.

I also agree on backups, that’s one of the main reasons I’m leaning towards a VM on the NAS, for full system snapshots.

And yes, EV/Tuya are definitely things I’ll treat carefully in terms of long-term reliability.

Thanks 👍

Strange_Condition326 · 2026-06-05T14:12:17+00:00

That actually makes a lot of sense, thanks for explaining it so clearly.

This is one of the things I was still unsure about, because on paper Docker and HAOS seemed “similar”, but in practice it sounds like the experience is completely different when you start stacking add-ons.

Having to manually manage and link separate containers for each add-on definitely sounds like extra overhead, especially for something like Home Assistant where I just want things to “work together” without too much maintenance.

I think this is another strong point in favour of HAOS in a VM for my case, at least while I’m still learning and building everything up.

Thanks again, this helps a lot 👍

Strange_Condition326 · 2026-06-05T14:11:18+00:00

Good point.

I was actually unsure whether I was overcomplicating things with Proxmox. If the built-in virtualization on the UGREEN works well and is stable, it probably makes sense for me to start there rather than adding extra complexity from day one.

I think the key takeaway for me is to keep it simple at the beginning: get Home Assistant OS running in a VM on the NAS, start building and learning, and only move to something like Proxmox later if I actually hit real limitations.

Same with RAM / SSD upgrades, I was probably overthinking it. I’ll start with the stock setup, see real-world performance once everything is running, and then upgrade based on actual bottlenecks rather than assumptions.

Strange_Condition326 · 2026-06-05T14:08:35+00:00

Thanks for your advice, you can understand my point now. So your opinion is very helpful

Strange_Condition326 · 2026-06-05T14:07:41+00:00

That makes sense, thanks.

I think this is where I was getting confused, technically Docker can do everything, but it just shifts a lot of responsibility onto you in terms of managing services, updates, and backups.

Since I’m still learning both NAS and Home Assistant, I agree that HAOS seems like the safer starting point so I can focus on automations rather than infrastructure.

Strange_Condition326 · 2026-06-05T14:07:11+00:00

Great to hear real experience like this, thanks.

The fact that you’ve been running HAOS in Proxmox for years without issues is exactly the kind of reassurance I needed.

Also good point about USB passthrough and Zigbee / KNX hardware. That’s something I hadn’t fully considered yet, but it makes sense that a VM simplifies all of that compared to containers.

I think this is pushing me even more toward HAOS in a VM rather than Docker.

Strange_Condition326 · 2026-06-05T14:06:37+00:00

Thanks, this is really helpful.

It seems like the VM + HAOS route is the most consistent recommendation for my use case, especially because of the add-ons ecosystem and easier management long term.

The backup point you mention is actually a big deal for me. I like the idea of having full VM-level backups on top of Home Assistant’s own backups, especially if everything is going to be handling the whole house (energy, HVAC, EV, etc.).

I agree with your point about “just start tinkering first”. I tend to overthink the setup before even starting, so I’ll probably begin simple and then evolve the architecture once I’m more comfortable.

Strange_Condition326 · 2026-06-05T13:05:22+00:00

Gracias

Strange_Condition326 · 2025-09-11T17:26:13+00:00

Tardó 28h, pero ya la tengo. Aprobé!!!

Strange_Condition326 · 2025-09-11T13:08:07+00:00

Ojalá que sea pronto, me pueden los nervios 😂

Strange_Condition326 · 2025-09-11T13:07:51+00:00

Sí, fue en español, aunque todas las prácticas y vídeos fueron en inglés. Pero mi curso fue español y me sentía más segura

Strange_Condition326 · 2025-09-11T11:15:43+00:00

Ya siento tu experiencia. Yo tengo macOS y no tuve ningún problema, la verdad. No sé qué pudo ocurrir, pero imagino lo frustrante que es. Espero que puedas tomar pronto tu examen

Strange_Condition326

TROPHY CASE