Update Alpine Linux installation procedure for Raspberry PI

Servers/Alpine.md

@@ -4,45 +4,49 @@
 <https://wiki.alpinelinux.org/wiki/Raspberry_Pi#Persistent_storage>  
 <https://wiki.alpinelinux.org/wiki/Classic_install_or_sys_mode_on_Raspberry_Pi>
 
-Alpine is meant to run from RAM when running on a Raspberry Pi (meaning that you have to run `lbu commit -d` each time you make a change to the system, otherwise said changes are lost after rebooting).  
-I personally want a regular/sys install on my Raspberry Pi, which can be done somewhat manually as described in this procedure.
+I run Alpine on my Raspberry Pi servers.
+
+Alpine is meant to run from RAM when running on a Raspberry Pi (meaning that you have to run `lbu commit -d` each time you make a change to the system for said change to be persistent).  
+I personally prefer running a regular / sys install on my Raspberry Pi, which can be done somewhat manually as described in this procedure.
 
 ## Prepare the SD card
 
 Create the following partition on the SD Card via `fdisk`:
 
-- Boot  --> /dev/mmcblk0p1, 550M, type c (FAT32 LBA)
-- Root  --> /dev/mmcblk0p2, 11G, type 83 (linux)
-- Swap  --> /dev/mmcblk0p3, 4G, type 82 (swap)
+- Boot  --> /dev/mmcblk0p1, 1G, type c (FAT32 LBA)
+- Root  --> /dev/mmcblk0p2, 30G, type 83 (linux)
+- Data  --> /dev/mmcblk0p3, all free space remaining, type 83 (linux) # If needed
+
+(Swap is done as a swapfile later)
 
 Create the filesystems:
 
 ```bash
-mkfs.vfat /dev/mmcblk0p1
-mkfs.ext4 /dev/mmcblk0p2
-mkswap /dev/mmcblk0p3
+sudo mkfs.vfat /dev/mmcblk0p1
+sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/mmcblk0p2
+sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/mmcblk0p3
 ```
 
 Download the RPI aarch64 image at <https://alpinelinux.org/downloads/> and extract it into the boot partition:
 
 ```bash
-mount /dev/mmcblk0p1 /mnt
-mv alpine-rpi-3.20.0-aarch64.tar.gz /mnt
+sudo mount /dev/mmcblk0p1 /mnt
+sudo mv ~/Downloads/alpine-rpi-3.23.4-aarch64.tar.gz /mnt
 cd /mnt
-tar -xzvf alpine-rpi-3.20.0-aarch64.tar.gz
-rm alpine-rpi-3.20.0-aarch64.tar.gz
+sudo tar -xzvf alpine-rpi-3.23.4-aarch64.tar.gz
+sudo rm alpine-rpi-3.23.4-aarch64.tar.gz
 ```
 
-Un-mount the boot partition, insert the SD card into the Raspberry Pi and start it:
+Umount the boot partition, insert the SD card into the Raspberry Pi and start it:
 
 ```bash
 cd
-umount /mnt
+sudo umount /mnt
 ```
 
 ## Configure Alpine
 
-Once booted on Alpine live environment, use the `setup-alpine` script to configure your system and commit changes once done:
+Once booted in the Alpine live environment, use the `setup-alpine` script to configure your system and commit changes once done:
 
 ```bash
 setup-alpine
@@ -60,41 +64,69 @@ export FORCE_BOOTFS=1
 setup-disk -o /media/mmcblk0p1/MYHOSTNAME.apkovl.tar.gz /stage
 ```
 
-Add the boot and swap partitions to the fstab:
+Add the boot partition to the fstab:
 
 ```bash
 apk add vim
+blkid # To note /dev/mmcblk0p1 UUID
 vim /stage/etc/fstab
 ```
 
 > [...]  
-> /dev/mmcblk0p1 /media/mmcblk0p1 vfat defaults 0 0  
-> /dev/mmcblk0p3 none swap defaults 0 0
+> UUID=XXXX-XXXX    /boot    defaults    0 0
 
 **Also delete the `cdrom` related line from the fstab** (as well as the `usbdisk` one if you do not intend to use usb drives on your Raspberry Pi).
 
+Add the data partition to the fstab (if needed):
+
+```bash
+mkdir /stage/data
+blkid # To note /dev/mmcblk0p3 UUID
+vim /stage/etc/fstab
+```
+
+> [...]  
+> UUID=XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX    /data    rw,relatime    0 1
+
+Create swapfile and add it to the fstab:
+
+```bash
+fallocate -l 4G /stage/swapfile
+chmod 600 /stage/swapfile
+mkswap /stage/swapfile
+swapon /stage/swapfile
+vim /stage/etc/fstab
+```
+
+> [...]  
+> /swapfile    none    swap    defaults    0 0
+
 Add the root partition to the boot parameter:
 
 ```bash
 mount -o remount,rw /media/mmcblk0p1
-sed -i '$ s/$/ root=\/dev\/mmcblk0p2/' /media/mmcblk0p1/cmdline.txt
+vim /media/mmcblk0p1/cmdline.txt
 ```
 
-Update boot partition:
+> [...] root=UUID=xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx rw # Append at the end of the existing line, UUID is the one of the root partition
+
+## Reboot and post-install configuration step
+
+The disk installation / configuration is now over.  
+You can umount the "stage" directory and `reboot` into the installed system:
 
 ```bash
-rm -f /media/mmcblk0p1/boot/*
-cd /stage
-rm boot/boot
-mv boot/* /media/mmcblk0p1/boot/  
-rm -Rf boot
-mkdir media/mmcblk0p1
-ln -s media/mmcblk0p1/boot boot # You can safely ignore errors here
+umount -l /stage
+reboot
 ```
 
-The initial configuration is over! You can now `reboot`, activate swap at boot and proceed with the [post-installation](https://github.com/Antiz96/Linux-Server/blob/main/VMs/Alpine-Linux_Server_Template.md):
+Once the system is booted, activate swap at boot and remove the (now useless) `/media/mmcblk0p1/apks` reference in `/etc/apk/repositories` file to avoid related warning when using `apk`:
 
 ```bash
-reboot
 rc-update add swap boot
+vi /etc/apk/repositories
 ```
+
+> /media/mmcblk0p1/apks # Delete this line
+
+You can now proceed with the [post-installation](https://github.com/Antiz96/Linux-Server/blob/main/VMs/Alpine-Linux_Server_Template.md):

Servers/Arch.md

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 <https://archlinux.org>
 
-I am now running a lightweight Arch Linux installation on my physical servers.  
-My services are now either running in *rootless / unprivileged* Podman containers or *rootless / unprivileged* LXC containers on said Arch Linux installation.
+I am running a lightweight Arch Linux installation on my physical servers.  
+My services are running in rootless / unprivileged Podman or LXC containers (depending on the case) on said Arch Linux installation via a dedicated (and unprivileged as well) user.
 
 The Arch Linux installation itself is pretty much the same as my [Arch Linux VM Template installation](https://github.com/Antiz96/Linux-Server/blob/main/VMs/Arch-Linux_Server_Template.md).

VMs/Alpine-Linux_Server_Template.md

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ It aims to be turned as a Template.
 
 I basically follow the classic installation steps via `setup-alpine` with the following exceptions:
 
-- I do not create a regular user for my personal use during the install. Indeed, this will be handled by an ansible playbook. I do create an "ansible" user for that purpose afterward instead (see [Create and configure the ansible user](https://github.com/Antiz96/Linux-Server/blob/main/VMs/Alpine-Linux_Server_Template.md#create-and-configure-the-ansible-user)).
+- I do not create a regular user during the install. Indeed creation / management, is handled post-install by an ansible playbook. I do create an "ansible" user for that purpose afterward instead (see [Create and configure the ansible user](https://github.com/Antiz96/Linux-Server/blob/main/VMs/Alpine-Linux_Server_Template.md#create-and-configure-the-ansible-user)).
 
 ### Switch to https repositories
 
@@ -17,8 +17,8 @@ sed -i "s/http/https/g" /etc/apk/repositories
 
 ### Optional - Switch to the edge branch and enable testing repo
 
-I personally depends on a few packages that are still currently in the testing repositories.  
-As such, I currently switch to the edge branch of the repositories (which basically turns Alpine into a rolling release) and I activate the testing repositories.
+I personally need a few packages that were only available in the testing repository (not the case anymore).  
+If needed, here's how to switch to the edge branch of the repositories (which basically turns Alpine into a rolling release) and enable the testing repository.
 
 ```bash
 vi /etc/apk/repositories
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ aa-status # Check the list of profile and their status
 ### Install useful packages
 
 ```bash
-apk add vim vimdiff man-db sudo bash bash-completion openssh openssh-server-pam socat bind-tools wget traceroute rsync diffutils plocate htop curl logrotate fail2ban fstrim chrony firewalld shadow py3-passlib fastfetch acl
+apk add vim vimdiff man-db sudo bash bash-completion openssh openssh-server-pam socat bind-tools wget traceroute rsync diffutils plocate htop curl logrotate fail2ban fstrim firewalld shadow py3-passlib fastfetch acl
 ```
 
 ### Configure various things
@@ -175,8 +175,6 @@ visudo
 ```bash
 rc-update add sshd
 rc-service sshd start
-rc-update add chronyd
-rc-service chronyd start
 rc-update add firewalld
 rc-service firewalld start
 ```

VMs/Arch-Linux_Server_Template.md

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ I basically follow my [Arch-Linux base installation guide](https://github.com/An
 - I use the `linux-lts` kernel (instead of the `linux` one).
 - I use `systemd-networkd` rather than `network-manager` (see [Setup Networking](#setup-networking)).
 - I use a different list of "useful packages to install", more suited for servers (see [Install useful packages](#install-useful-packages)).
-- I do not create a regular user for my personal use during the install. Indeed, this will be handled by an ansible playbook. I do create an "ansible" user for that purpose afterward instead (see [Create and configure the ansible user](#create-and-configure-the-ansible-user)).
+- I do not create a regular user during the install. Indeed creation / management, is handled post-install by an ansible playbook. I do create an "ansible" user for that purpose afterward instead (see [Create and configure the ansible user](#create-and-configure-the-ansible-user)).
 
 **Remember to set a password for the root account during the installation process, otherwise you won't be able to log in to the server after reboot!**
 

VMs/Debian_Server_Template.md

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ It aims to be turned as a template.
 I basically follow the classic installation steps from the installer with the following exceptions:
 
 - I don't check anything during the **Software selection** step so I get a minimal installation. I install useful packages after the installation instead (see [Install useful packages](https://github.com/Antiz96/Linux-Server/blob/main/VMs/Debian_Server_Template.md#install-useful-packages))
-- I don't create any user for me during the installation process. Indeed, this will be handled by an ansible playbook. I do create an "ansible" user for that purpose afterward instead. However, as Debian doesn't allow to perform an installation without creating a regular user, I create a temporary user (temp:temp) that I delete afterward (see [Create and configure the ansible user](https://github.com/Antiz96/Linux-Server/blob/main/VMs/Debian_Server_Template.md#create-and-configure-the-ansible-user)).
+- I do not create a regular user during the install. Indeed creation / management, is handled post-install by an ansible playbook. I do create an "ansible" user for that purpose afterward instead. However, as Debian doesn't allow to perform an installation without creating a regular user, I create a temporary user (temp:temp) that I delete afterward (see [Create and configure the ansible user](https://github.com/Antiz96/Linux-Server/blob/main/VMs/Debian_Server_Template.md#create-and-configure-the-ansible-user)).
 
 **Remember to set a password for the root account during the installation process, otherwise you won't be able to log in to the server after reboot!**
 

VMs/RHEL_Server_Template.md

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ It aims to be turned as a template.
 I basically follow the classic installation steps from the installer with the following exceptions:
 
 - I don't check anything during the **Software selection** step so I get a minimal installation. I install useful packages after the installation instead (see [Install useful packages](https://github.com/Antiz96/Linux-Server/blob/main/VMs/RHEL_Server_Template.md#install-useful-packages))
-- I don't create any user during the installation process. Indeed, this will be handled by an ansible playbook. I do create an "ansible" user for that purpose afterward instead (see [Create and configure the ansible user](https://github.com/Antiz96/Linux-Server/blob/main/VMs/RHEL_Server_Template.md#create-and-configure-the-ansible-user)).
+- I do not create a regular user during the install. Indeed creation / management, is handled post-install by an ansible playbook. I do create an "ansible" user for that purpose afterward instead (see [Create and configure the ansible user](https://github.com/Antiz96/Linux-Server/blob/main/VMs/RHEL_Server_Template.md#create-and-configure-the-ansible-user)).
 
 **Remember to set a password for the root account during the installation process, otherwise you won't be able to log in to the server after reboot!**