Arch Linux on a VPS

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Server
From
Wikipedia:Virtual private server
:
Virtual private server (VPS) is a term used by Internet hosting services to refer to a virtual machine. The term is used for emphasizing that the virtual machine, although running in software on the same physical computer as other customers' virtual machines, is in many respects functionally equivalent to a separate physical computer, is dedicated to the individual customer's needs, has the privacy of a separate physical computer, and can be configured to run server software.
This article discusses the use of Arch Linux on Virtual Private Servers, and includes some fixes and installation instructions specific to VPSes.
Official Arch Linux cloud image
Arch Linux provides an official cloud image as part of the
arch-boxes project
. The image comes with
Cloud-init
preinstalled and should work with most cloud providers.
The image can be downloaded from the mirrors under the
images
directory. Instructions for tested providers is listed below.
DigitalOcean
Website:
Digital Ocean
Locations: Global
Steps to create an Arch Linux virtual machine:
Find the cloud image on a mirror, e.g.:
https://fastly.mirror.pkgbuild.com/images/latest/Arch-Linux-x86_64-cloudimg.qcow2
Add the image as a custom image by
importing it
Create a new virtual machine from the custom image
SSH to the virtual machine:
ssh root@
ip
Hetzner Cloud
Website:
Hetzner Cloud
Locations: Nuremberg (Germany), Falkenstein (Germany), Helsinki (Finland), Singapur, Hillsboro (US West), Ashburn (US East)
Steps to create an Arch Linux virtual machine:
Create a new virtual machine with this user data:
#cloud-config
vendor_data: {'enabled': false}
The
vendor_data
from Hetzner overrides the
distro
and sets the default user to
root
without setting
disable_root: false
, meaning you cannot login.
Boot the virtual machine in rescue mode
SSH to the virtual machine and download the cloud image from a mirror, e.g.:
curl -O https://fastly.mirror.pkgbuild.com/images/latest/Arch-Linux-x86_64-cloudimg.qcow2
Write the image to the disk:
qemu-img convert -f qcow2 -O raw Arch-Linux-x86_64-cloudimg.qcow2 /dev/sda
Reboot the virtual machine
SSH to the virtual machine:
ssh arch@
ip
Linode
Website:
Linode
Locations:
Multiple international locations
Steps to create an Arch Linux virtual machine:
Create a new virtual machine and select Arch as the distribution (to use the Linode-provided image, stop here; otherwise proceed with the rest of the steps)
Boot the virtual machine in rescue mode
Connect to the virtual machine via the Lish console and download the basic image from a mirror, e.g.:
curl -O https://fastly.mirror.pkgbuild.com/images/latest/Arch-Linux-x86_64-basic.qcow2
Install the qemu-utils package:
apt update && apt install qemu-utils
Write the image to the disk:
qemu-img convert -f qcow2 -O raw Arch-Linux-x86_64-basic.qcow2 /dev/sda
In the Linode manager, go to the virtual machine's configurations menu and edit the configuration to change the kernel option to "Direct Disk"
Reboot the virtual machine
SSH to the virtual machine:
ssh arch@
ip
OVH Eco
Website:
Kimsufi
OVH Eco
Locations: Canada, France
Steps to create an Arch Linux virtual machine, paraphrasing the
official documentation
:
Navigate to the
Dedicated Servers
section in your OVH management panel, then select the server you want to deploy Arch Linux to.
Click the ... button next to "Last operating system (OS) installed by OVHcloud" and choose "Install"
Select "Bring Your Own Image (64bits)"
Enter your "Server host name" and your public "SSH key"
For "Image URL" put
https://fastly.mirror.pkgbuild.com/images/latest/Arch-Linux-x86_64-cloudimg.qcow2
For "Image type" select
qcow2
For "Checksum type" select
sha256
For "Image checksum" put the fingerprint value from
https://fastly.mirror.pkgbuild.com/images/latest/Arch-Linux-x86_64-cloudimg.qcow2.SHA256
For "Path of the EFI bootloader" put
\\efi\\boot\\bootx64.efi
Optional: You can also add
Cloud-init
Instructions under section "Config Drive UserData". This is also useful to change the user passwords or to disable password logins via SSH for security reasons and use
SSH Keys
instead.
Click "Install the system"
Wait (it takes a while) for an email from OVH titled "Installation of your image", it will say "Congratulations! Your dedicated server has just been installed! Connect to your server with ssh key provided during your installation."
Use
ssh arch@
ip
to log in.
Proxmox
Website:
Proxmox
Locations: N/A
Steps to create an Arch Linux virtual machine:
Create a new virtual machine.
Select "Do not use any media" in OS section.
Remove the created hard disk from your virtual machine after the virtual machine creation completes.
Add the downloaded image to your virtual machine using
qm disk import
, e.g.:
qm disk import 100 Arch-Linux-x86_64-cloudimg.qcow2 local
.
Under
Options
, edit the boot order and add the newly-created disk.
Add a cloudinit drive and make your configurations in Cloud-Init section.
Start the virtual machine!