Script to convert a Debian installation on DigitalOcean to Arch Linux
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Les De Ridder 8195d0abe0 Make sure busybox is installed 2016-04-28 16:13:17 +02:00
.gitignore initial commit for debian 8 script 2015-06-16 20:27:21 -07:00
README.md Add an option to disable DigitalOcean-specific parts of the script 2016-04-28 16:08:54 +02:00
install.sh Make sure busybox is installed 2016-04-28 16:13:17 +02:00

README.md

DigitalOcean Debian to Arch

DigitalOcean deprecated Arch Linux a while back because it was relatively difficult to support due to the rolling updates. I wrote this script to bring it back! This script downloads a bootstrap Arch Linux image, updates it to the latest version, then overwrites the host operating system with it. Unlike Debian 7.x, Debian 8.x on DigitalOcean boots traditionally (through the MBR and Grub), so no dirty kexec magic is needed.

Warning / Disclaimer

ALL DATA ON THE DROPLET WILL BE UNCONDITIONALLY DESTROYED.

This script may cause your VPS to become unbootable. I only recommend running this script on newly created droplets with no important data.

Installation

  1. Create a new Debian 8.x droplet (either 32-bit or 64-bit is fine).

  2. Run the script in the droplet as root:

    2.1. The safe way:

    wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lesderid/digitalocean-debian-to-arch/debian8/install.sh
    less install.sh # Inspect the file to see if it downloaded correctly and doesn't contain malicious code  
    bash install.sh
    

    2.2. The unsafe, but faster way:
    curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lesderid/digitalocean-debian-to-arch/debian8/install.sh | bash -

  3. Follow the instructions when prompted.

  4. Sit back and relax! The system will automatically reboot once complete, and you should have a fully updated Arch Linux system in within minutes.

Advanced Configuration

This script supports several flags, all of which are optional.

  • --archlinux_mirror
    The Arch Linux mirror from which the bootstrap image and packages should be downloaded. Defaults to http://mirrors.kernel.org/archlinux
  • --kernel_package
    The kernel package to install. Defaults to the vanilla linux package. Other options include linux-lts for long term support and linux-grsec for a kernel with grsecurity/PaX patches.
  • --target_architecture
    The architecture of the new Arch Linux installation. Defaults to the architecture of the original Debian image as provided by uname -m. A 64-bit Debian image may convert to either x86_64 or i686. A 32-bit Debian image may only convert to i686.
  • --target_disklabel
    The type of partition table to use. Defaults to gpt (GUID partition table as used by EFI). The alternative is dos (traditional MBR).
  • --target_filesystem
    The filesystem on which the Arch Linux installation should be installed. Defaults to btrfs. The alternative is ext4.
  • --no_digitalocean
    Disables the parts of the script specific to DigitalOcean.

How it Works

  1. A sparse disk image is created with the same size of the droplet's disk.
  2. Three partitions are made and formatted.
    • DORoot: A "dummy" partition to keep DigitalOcean happy. When snapshots are restored, new passwords are written here.
    • BIOSBoot: The virtual machine BIOS cannot boot from GPT partitions directly, so a small partition is placed here for bootloader code.
    • ArchRoot: The main root filesystem for Arch Linux.
  3. The Arch Linux bootstrap image is downloaded and unpacked onto ArchRoot.
  4. pacman -Syu is called inside the image to pull in all the base packages along with OpenSSH.
  5. The root password and SSH host keys are copied into the image.
  6. A special script called digitalocean-synchronize is installed into the image. This script is run at every startup to autodetect the network settings from the metadata service. It also detects if the droplet was just restored, and if so, it resets the root password and regenerates the host SSH keys.
  7. The image is now ready. The script then generates a "blockplan". It is essentially a list of instructions to image the virtual disk with the sparse disk image without requiring any extra space.
  8. A minimal root filesystem is generated on RAM so that the disk can be unmounted.
  9. The script calls systemctl switch-root to enter the minimal root filesystem.
  10. The disk is unmounted.
  11. The blockplan is executed.
  12. The bootloader (Grub) is installed.
  13. Reboot!
  14. Done!