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diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000000..3b3172054a47 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,79 @@ +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 +-------------------- +<h3>ALL DATA ON THE DROPLET WILL BE UNCONDITIONALLY DESTROYED.</h3> +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. In the droplet, run the following as root: + `wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gh2o/digitalocean-debian-to-arch/debian8/install.sh && bash install.sh` +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 the DigitalOcean mirror at + http://mirrors.digitalocean.com/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 `ext4`. The alternative is `btrfs`. + +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! |