If you are running headless you generally need to run with the http console (or log in with ssh) because bad things happen if you try to start op25 at boot time configured for curses with no actual terminal available. All my streaming servers run headless this way, and it is a simple matter to pop up a browser, punch in the ip address and check the console/plots for anything untoward.
One thing to be careful of: DO NOT feel tempted to port forward the http terminal through a firewall without adding your own security via SSH tunneling or similar. The httpd server is completely insecure and likely to be susceptible to all sorts of exploits.