Arch Linux package format

Hi Guys,
I have been playing around with pacman in the freebsd operating system. My goal is just to install a package into the freebsd system with pacman (no dependencies for now). The idea is to compile the software with the freebsd ports system, make a freebsd package and convert that to a pacman package to install it. I could not find information of the package format of pacman. However, both packages format look very similar, so I think the conversion should be straight forward.
Do you know of any documentation of the pacman package format? Are there any tools that can help me with this?
Thanks in advance,
Luis.

Ranguvar wrote:I think it'd be more work to write an auto-converter (and deal with bad PKGBUILDs it makes) than to just manually write PKGBUILDs -- they're beyond simple
I agree. Additionally many ports stop and want you fill out options which would further complicate.
I'm intrigued by the idea of having a pacman based BSD system, though in the long run it would warrant it's own BSD distro (ArchBSD if you will), and would not be that useful on top of Free/Net/Open BSD.
I would envision ArchBSD based on an ArchBSD ABS tree, and not on ports. (Although ports would be a primary reference for how to build packages).
The options for ports brings the same problems that Gentoo useflags have into the mix. How does one deal will variations of a package, and are those variations part of the dependency information? Just food for thought...

Similar Messages

  • Debtap - A script to convert .deb packages to Arch Linux packages

    I wrote this script in my free time to help people who, for any reason, want to convert a .deb to an Arch Linux package. It works in a similar way with alien (which converts .deb packages to .rpm packages and vice versa), but, unlike alien, it is focused on accuracy of conversion, trying to translate Debian/Ubuntu packages names to the correct Arch Linux packages names and store them in the dependencies fields of the .PKGINFO metadata in the final package. In other words, it won't only create an Arch package with the data of the original .deb package, but also it will try to create a valid and as accurate as possible .PKGINFO metadata file in the converted package. It uses pkgfile and pacman utilities to achieve this accuracy. The final package can be installed like any local Arch Linux package. Debtap is now available on AUR!
    FAQ
    Q: What "debtap" stands for?
    A: DEB To Arch (Linux) Package
    Q: Isn't better to download an official package or write a PKGBUILD in case I need to compile a package or convert a .deb package to an Arch Linux package?
    A: Sure it is, and I truely encourage you to do so. Debtap was written to create packages that either cannot be compiled (closed source packages) or cannot be built from AUR for various reasons (error during compiling or unavailable files), as a quick 'n' dirty solution and an extra option for creating Arch Linux packages for Arch Linux users.
    Q: So debtap will help me only in case I need to convert specific .deb packages to Arch Linux packages?
    A: No. In case you need to write a new PKGBUILD for a package that already exists in the Debian/Ubuntu distributions, by converting its .deb package to Arch package with debtap, thanks to the packages names translator function inside the script, it can help you determine which dependencies are needed for the package you write the PKGBUILD for and complete the necessary fields.
    Q: What are the minimum requirements to run this script?
    A: You need to have installed these dependencies: bash, binutils (provides ar utility for extracting .deb package), pkgfile, and fakeroot. You must run at least once (preferably recently) "debtap -u" to create/update pkgfile and debtap database (you do this with root privileges).
    Q: Debtap needs a lot of time to convert a package. So, why this is happening?
    A: Like I said, debtap is focused on accuracy. It won't just unpack a .deb package and then repackage its data to an Arch Linux package, ignoring metadata. Depending on the speed of your processor and the package itself, conversion can take from a few seconds to several minutes.
    Q: During conversion I get several warning messages, why?
    A: Debtap cannot be 100% accurate for several reasons,  the main reason for this is the complexity of packages names. If you want to check the freshly generated .PKGINFO and .INSTALL (this is optional file) metadata files or even fix the untranslated packages names inside .PKGINFO, debtap offers you the option to edit these files before compressing the final package.
    Q: How do I use debtap?
    A: The syntax is quite simple actually: debtap [option] package_filename
    For example: debtap world-of-goo-demo_1.0_i386.deb
    Any recommendations or questions for debtap are welcomed!
    Last edited by helix (2015-05-21 22:54:17)

    Hi helix. I've had trouble trying to use your script with ubuntu software from The Open University
    debtap OpenUniversity-ubuntu-0.1.3.20130104.deb
    ==> Extracting package data...
    ==> Fixing possible directories structure differencies...
    ==> Generating .PKGINFO file...
    debtap OpenUniversity-ubuntu-0.1.3.20130104.deb
    ==> Extracting package data...
    ==> Fixing possible directories structure differencies...
    ==> Generating .PKGINFO file...
    :: Enter Packager name:
    NewPepper2013
    :: Enter package license (you can enter multiple licenses comma seperated):
    closed
    :: If you want to edit .PKGINFO file, press (1) For vi (2) For nano (3) For a cu                                                                                                    stom editor or any other key to continue:
    ==> Generating .MTREE file...
    ==> Creating final package...
    xz: unrecognized option '--1-any.pkg.tar'
    xz: Try `xz --help' for more information.
    mv: cannot stat ‘*.xz’: No such file or directory
    ==> Removing leftover files...
    ==> Package successfully created!
    The software is called NewPepper 2013 but i've not been able to find it online except on the ou website.

  • Arch Linux Packages RSS Feed [solved]

    Hello all.
    Excuse me, but I have no idea in which forum I have to post this.
    Since yesterday, the Arch Linux Packages RSS Feed is giving me this error:
    XML Parsing Error: not well-formed
    Location: http://www.archlinux.org/rdf_feed.php
    Line Number 75, Column 42: <description>TCP wrappers (hosts.deny & hosts.allow) access control for Apache</description>
    -----------------------------------------^
    How can I notify that to the webmaster?
    Thanks in advance.

    The RSS Feed is working properly again.
    Thanks! :-)

  • Slackware TGZ to Arch Linux Package Converter

    I have two programs that interest me (LilyPond and Battle for Wesnoth) that don't have Arch Linux packages and compiling them would involve hunting everywhere for obscure dependencies (LilyPond in particular) so I just downloaded the Slackware packages, inspected them and found that by unzipping them onto the root folder (as superuser) and running the install script (if there is one) I can get them to run with minimal fuss.
    Has the idea of making a Slackware to Arch package converter been brought up before? Is there any problems with this? (Slackware is i386-optimised if I remember correctly, but I think it's still worth it since there is more Slackware packages than Arch Linux ones out there.)

    i3839 wrote:Flames?? Where? You sure you didn't misread something?
    Probably.
    Here's what I read, admitting that it doesn't seem quite as bad the second time around...:
    Oh? All I was hearing is that Arch already has enough packages, and that the devs are overloaded and almost down.
    "you don't know which way is up, you contradict yourself while continuing to ignore the problems and aren't fixing anything".
    Also getting custom packages into Arch's official repository seems a bit hard currently, not to mention that it's totally unclear how to do that (drop it in incomming and wait a year? Lotto?).
    "The system isn't working and you haven't done anything to try to fix it. I haven't read or noticed any of the threads illustrating that this topic has been argued to death and isn't going unnoticed"
    Maintaining packages is the most work, and every distro maintains the same packages over and over again. Tell me why to not use good, working packages from another sane distro?
    "The other distros are better."
    (Personally, I don't care if anybody likes another distro better, but if so, use it instead, don't talk about it)
    Changing GCC often gives the same problem as updating to new major libraries. Simply leave the old GCC libs or make a seperate package for them. Currently it's rather impossible in Arch to install new packages with an outdated system, if that's solved then it's also easy to use Slackware packages.
    "The Arch philosophy of keeping packages stable but up to date is just plain wrong.  I don't bother to pacman -Syu before I mention problems."
    Of course if would be best if there was a nice, good binary package standard that works on all distros, so that the application makers can make and maintain the packages themselves, but that's utopia (paths are too often hardcoded for instance).
    "hey, I do have some good ideas".
    It isn't a matter of being able to do something or not, it's a matter of convenience. All programs should be relative easy to compile from source, but that doesn't mean that everyone should compile all programs themselves.
    "There aren't enough Arch binaries to go around"
    OR:
    "ABS sucks"
    OR:
    "Hold my hand, I can't compile."
    OR:
    "I use Arch cause I don't like Gentoo". :-D 
    Yeah, some of that is a little (or quite, or even very) harsh, you can blame it on me rather than taking it to heart.
    As for the slackware packages issue, I'm personally not writing a script to convert them; I've never used slackware in my life. The idea has merit, but I get tired of people discussing pros and cons and not doing anything. I think that's because I'm about as bad as anyone on that front, possibly worse.
    Dusty

  • Arch Linux package-making HOWTO with GUIDELINES

    New to making your own Arch packages? Check out the Archwiki's article on package-making here.
    Other useful links at bottom of article.
    Enjoy.

    I think you should at least mentuon the base-devel group somewhere in this article. Probably somewhere in the start of it.

  • How to upgrade a custom built kernel to the main arch linux package?

    How do you upgrade from a custom built kernel from the abs to the current release kernel from a package ? I have tried to do pacman -S linux linux-headers linux-firmware but still keep getting the old kernel i built my self.
    [root@HLA boot]# pacman -S linux linux-firmware linux-api-headers linux-headers
    warning: linux-3.14.6-1 is up to date -- reinstalling
    warning: linux-firmware-20140316.dec41bc-1 is up to date -- reinstalling
    warning: linux-api-headers-3.14.1-1 is up to date -- reinstalling
    warning: linux-headers-3.14.6-1 is up to date -- reinstalling
    resolving dependencies...
    looking for inter-conflicts...
    Packages (4): linux-3.14.6-1  linux-api-headers-3.14.1-1
                  linux-firmware-20140316.dec41bc-1  linux-headers-3.14.6-1

    It says it is reinstalling them. Doesn't it say it ? or am I missing something ? (no I'm not trying to sound sarcastic, honestly)
    warning: linux-3.14.6-1 is up to date -- reinstalling
    warning: linux-firmware-20140316.dec41bc-1 is up to date -- reinstalling
    warning: linux-api-headers-3.14.1-1 is up to date -- reinstalling
    warning: linux-headers-3.14.6-1 is up to date -- reinstalling
    Total Installed Size:   167.78 MiB
    Net Upgrade Size:       0.00 MiB
    [root@HLA boot]# pacman -S linux linux-firmware linux-api-headers linux-headers
    warning: linux-3.14.6-1 is up to date -- reinstalling
    warning: linux-firmware-20140316.dec41bc-1 is up to date -- reinstalling
    warning: linux-api-headers-3.14.1-1 is up to date -- reinstalling
    warning: linux-headers-3.14.6-1 is up to date -- reinstalling
    resolving dependencies...
    looking for inter-conflicts...
    Packages (4): linux-3.14.6-1  linux-api-headers-3.14.1-1
                  linux-firmware-20140316.dec41bc-1  linux-headers-3.14.6-1
    Total Installed Size:   167.78 MiB
    Net Upgrade Size:       0.00 MiB
    Last edited by dslink (2014-06-22 03:30:28)

  • Wocka 0.5 - checkinstall for Arch Linux

    Last updated: 17th-Feb-2007
    With Wocka you can do:
    ./configure
    make
    su
    wocka
    and you'll get the application installed, and a pacman db entry too.
    Wocka automatically figures out the package name, version and/or subversion revision, and if it can, other metadata too. It determines the build system (make, unsermake, scons, cmake, etc.). It can also create a basic PKGBUILD, with some of the fields (eg name, version) magically filled in. It can also handle upgrades and check AUR for PKGBUILDs.
    Visit the site for a Arch linux package, the source tarball, and detailed usage examples. There's also a feed you can subscribe to at the site if you want to be notified of updates.
    http://methylblue.com/wocka/
    Comments, contributions, etc. most welcome! Thanks.
    ===========
    I have discovered other programs that do a similar thing for Arch. They may be better and you may want to consider them, or at least demand I implement things they do into Wocka If you do use one of the others, I'd like to hear why, if you have the time, thanks!
    bpkg
    creapkg
    pacinstall
    versionpkg
    Last edited by mxcl (2007-02-17 03:24:12)

    Firstly, I'm really sorry I didn't see the above new replies, I subscribed to this thread, but never got the emails... Must have been my spam filter I expect.
    Gullible Jones wrote:Wait a minute, why the heck does this thing require QT? It doesn't have a GUI so why would it use the QT library? :?
    I used Qt as I have 4 years experience with it and develop fast with it. With Qt4 the library is separated into Core (CLI only) and GUI components, so as soon as Arch ships Qt4 and people have it installed en-mass, I'll switch to the CLI only library. I apologise if you think I'm crazy/stupid, you may be right
    You should have talked to Xentac. He already has an app named "Wakka" IIRC.
    Hmm sucks, I may have to rename again. I renamed the first time as pacgen is a name already used by two other projects!
    sud_crow wrote:wasnt pacman's sound waka waka waka?
    heh could be, I'm not a pacman expert. Extralife the webcomic always makes pacman say "Wocka!", but I spose I should have done more research!
    phrakture wrote:Send a PKGBUILD to AUR!
    Yeah I half did this and then couldn't figure out how to work the AUR or something. I'll try again.
    I had 0.3 ready a few weeks ago, then I started using my CRT with my new XBOX 360 and didn't boot to Linux until yesterday Now I have some new TFTs.
    The changes since 0.2:
    · Automatic upgrade/merge for new installs of subversion managed source installations
    · Better versioning detection
    · Easy automatic AUR builds via: wocka --aur appname
    · Metadata is extracted from LSM files
    · --upgrade switch
    The upgrade switch basically merges the old package with what's just installed, so you don't lose any information, I figured this was the safest route. Please correct me if you disagree. Thanks

  • Backpac: A package state snapshot and restore tool for Arch Linux

    backpac:
    A package state snapshot and restore tool for Arch Linux with config file save/restore support.
    https://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?ID=52957
    https://github.com/altercation/backpac (see readme on the github repository for more information)
    Summary & Features
    It's a common method of setting up a single system: take some notes about what packages you've installed, what files you've modified.
    Backpac creates those notes for you and helps back up important configuration files. Specifically, backpac does the following:
    maintains a list of installed groups (based on 80% of group packages being installed)
    maintains a list of packages (including official and aur packages, listed separately)
    maintains a list of files (manually created)
    backs up key config files as detailed in the files list you create
    The package, group and files lists along with the snapshot config files allows system state to be easily committed to version control such as git.
    Backpac can also use these lists to install packages and files. Essentially, then, backpac takes a snapshot of your system and can recreate that state from the files and lists it archives.
    Use Cases
    Ongoing system state backup to github
    Quick install of new system from existing backpac config
    Conform current system to given state in backpac config
    Backpac is a very, very lightweight way of saving and restoring system state.
    It's not intended for rolling out and maintaining multiple similar systems, it's designed to assist individual users in the maintainance of their own Arch Linux box.
    Status
    Alpha, release for testing among those interested. Passing all tests right now but will continue to rework and refine. Bug reports needed.
    Why?
    There are a lot of 'big-iron' solutions to maintaining, backing up and restoring system state. Setting these up for a single system or a handful of personal systems has always seemed like overkill.
    There are also some existing pacman list making utilities around, but most of them seem to list either all packages or don't separate the official and aur packages the way I wanted. Some detect group install state, some don't. I wanted all these features in backpac.
    Finally, whatever tool I use, I'd like it to be simple (c.f. the Arch Way). Lists that are produced should be human readable, human maintainable and not different from what I'm using in non-automated form. Backpac fulfills these requirements.
    Regarding files, I wanted to be able to backup arbitrary system files to a git repository. Tools like etckeeper are interesting but non /etc files in that case aren't backed up (without some link trickery) and there isn't any automatic integration with pacman, so there is no current advantage to using a tool like that. I also like making an explicit list of files to snapshot.
    Sample Output
    This is the command line report. Additionally, backpac saves this information to the backpac groups, packages and files lists and the files snapshot directory.
    $ backpac -Qf
    backpac
    (-b) Backups ON; Files will be saved in place with backup suffix.
    -f Force mode ON; No prompts presented (CAUTION).
    (-F) Full Force mode OFF; Prompt displayed before script runs.
    (-g) Suppress group check OFF; Groups will be checked for currency.
    (-h) Display option and usage summary.
    (-p) Default backpac: /home/es/.config/backpac/tau.
    -Q Simple Query ON; Report shown; no changes made to system.
    (-R) Auto-Remove OFF; Remove/Uninstall action default to NO.
    (-S) System update OFF; No system files will be updated.
    (-U) backpac config update OFF; backpac files will not be updated.
    Sourcing from backpac config directory: /home/es/.config/backpac/tau
    Initializing.................Done
    GROUPS
    ============================================================================
    /home/es/.config/backpac/tau/groups
    GROUPS UP TO DATE: group listed in backpac and >80% local install:
    base base-devel xfce4 xorg xorg-apps xorg-drivers xorg-fonts
    GROUP PACKAGES; MISSING?: group member packages not installed:
    (base: nano)
    (xfce4: thunar xfdesktop)
    PACKAGES
    ============================================================================
    /home/es/.config/backpac/tau/packages
    PACKAGES UP TO DATE: packages listed in backpac also installed on system:
    acpi acpid acpitool aif alsa-utils augeas cowsay cpufrequtils curl dialog
    firefox gamin git ifplugd iw mesa mesa-demos mutt netcfg openssh rfkill
    rsync rxvt-unicode sudo terminus-font vim wpa_actiond wpa_supplicant_gui
    xmobar xorg-server-utils xorg-twm xorg-utils xorg-xclock xorg-xinit xterm
    yacpi yajl youtube-dl zsh
    AUR UP TO DATE: aur packages listed in backpac also installed on system:
    flashplugin-beta freetype2-git-infinality git-annex haskell-json
    package-query-git packer wpa_auto xmonad-contrib-darcs xmonad-darcs
    AUR NOT IN backpac: installed aur packages not listed in backpac config:
    yaourt-git
    FILES
    ============================================================================
    /home/es/.config/backpac/tau/files
    MATCHES ON SYSTEM/CONFIG:
    /boot/grub/menu.lst
    /etc/acpi/handler.sh
    /etc/rc.conf
    /etc/rc.local

    firecat53 wrote:I think your plan for handling an AUR_HELPER is good. If AUR_HELPER is defined by the user, then either you might need a list of major AUR helpers and their command line switches so you can pick the correct switch for what needs to be done (most use some variation of -S for installing, but not all), or have the user define the correct switch(es) somehow for their chosen AUR helper.
    That's a good idea. I'll add that to my AUR refactoring todo.
    I also found directory tracking to be a weakness in other dotfile managers that I tried. I think you would definitely have to recursively list out the contents of a tracked directory and deal with each file individually. Wildcard support would be nice...I just haven't personally found a use case for it yet.
    I've been thinking that I could just add the directory and scan through it for any non-default attribute files. If those are found then they get automatically added to the files list. That's pretty close to what etckeeper does.
    Edit: I just compiled the dev version and removed my comments for already fixed things...sorry!
    The master branch should have those fixes as well, but I didn't update the version number in the package build. I'll have to do that.
    1. Still apparently didn't handle the escaped space for this item: (the file does exist on my system)
    Ok, good to know. This wildcard directory business will require some new code and refactoring so I'll also rework my filenames handling.
    2. Suggestion: you should make that awesome README into a man page!
    I was working on one (the pkgbuild has a commented out line for the man page) but I had to leave it for later. Definitely want a man page. Once this stabilizes and I'm sure there aren't any big structural changes, I'll convert it to man format.
    3. Suggestion: add the word 'dotfile' into your description somewhere on this page, the github page, and in the package description so people looking for dotfile managers will find it. You could also consider modularizing the script into a dotfile manager and the package manager, so people on other distros could take advantage of your dotfile management scheme.
    I actually have a different script for dotfile management that doesn't touch packages, but there is definitely overlap with this one. That script isn't released yet, though, and if people find this useful for dotfile management that's great. I'll add that in.
    4. Suggestion: since -Q is a read-only operation, why not just make it run with -f automatically to avoid the prompt?
    Originally, running backpac without any command line options produced the Query output. I was concerned that since it is a utility that can potentially overwrite system files, it is important to give users a clear statement prior to execution about what will be done. Since the Query output is essentially the same as the Update and System reports in format and content, I wanted to be explicit about the Query being a passive no-change operation. The current command line options aren't set in stone though. If you feel strongly about it being different, let me know.
    Long answer to a short question
    5. Another suggestion: any thought to providing some sort of 'scrub' function to remove private information from the stored files if desired? This would be cool for publishing public dotfiles to github. Perhaps a credentials file (I did this with python for my own configs). Probably detecting email addresses and passwords without a scrub file would be rather difficult because dotfiles come in so many flavors.
    Yes, absolutely. In fact, if you look at the lib/local file (pretty sure it's in both master and dev branches in this state) you'll see some references to a sanitize function. The idea there is that the user will list out bash associative arrays like this:
    SANITIZE_WPA_=(
    [FILE]='/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf'
    [CMD]='sed s/expungepattern/sanitizedoutput/g'
    Question: am I missing an obvious option to remove a file from the files.d directory if I delete it from the files list? Or do I have to delete it manually? It might be helpful to add a section to the README on how to update and delete dotfiles from being tracked, and also a more detailed description of what the -b option does (and what is actually created when it's not used).
    You are only missing the function I didn't finish. There should be either dummy code or a TODO in the backpac main script referencing garbage collection, which isn't difficult but I just haven't finished it. The idea being another loop of "hey I found these old files in your files.d, mind if I delete them?" It's on my list and I'll try to get it in asap.
    And finally, just out of curiosity, why did you choose to actually copy the files instead of symlink like so many other dotfile managers do?
    git not following symlinks, hardlinks also out for permissions issues (git wouldn't be able to read the files, change them, etc.)
    I definitely would prefer to not make an entire copy of the file, but I haven't come up with a better option. Shout with ideas, though. Also, if there is a way around the link issues I noted above, let me know. I don't see one but that doesn't mean it's not there.
    edit: I think a Seattle area Arch meetup would be cool! Perhaps coffee someplace? Bellevue? U-district? Anyone else? BYOPOL (bring your own pimped out laptop)
    A general meetup sounds good. I was also thinking it would be fun to do a mini archcon with some demos.

  • [SOLVED]How to build debian package source in Arch Linux?

    I'm porting openssl for sh4 arch.
    If I use Arch Linux PKGBUILD, it built failed. (I guess that's caused by there is no asm code for sh4 cpu).
    So, I decide use debian's source.
    But, is there any one know how to porting debian's package into Arch Linux?
    I can apt-get source openssl from other machine.  But I don't know what's the correct step to build it into Arch Linux' structure.
    Solution: refer brebs's PKGBUILD hint.
    Last edited by dlin (2013-02-26 09:44:16)

    The source is not hard to find. Look on Debian packages - each package has 2 files, the ".orig", and Debian's diff (which is sometimes not a diff, these days, thankfully because just having a simple "debian/patches" subdirectory available is a little bit easier for us).
    Edit: Here ya go, convenient links:
    http://packages.debian.org/sid/openssl
    http://ftp.de.debian.org/debian/pool/ma … ian.tar.gz
    Last edited by brebs (2013-02-26 09:42:10)

  • [SOLVED] 'sl' package in arch linux?

    Hello, I'm a former Ubuntu user. In Ubuntu I was able to install 'sl' package via
    aptitute install sl
    Now I use arch linux, and I'm unable to install sl package:
    [user@myhost ~]$ sudo pacman -S sl
    error: 'sl': could not find or read package
    [user@myhost ~]$
    Can you help pls? Thanks
    Last edited by Pontorez (2010-07-21 14:09:22)

    karol wrote:[slightly OT]
    wonder, how do you search for things like 'sl', 'ne' : via the web interface or you use some AUR helper?
    $ slurpy -i sl
    Repository : aur
    Name : sl
    Version : 3.03-4
    URL : http://www.tkl.iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~toyoda/index_e.html
    AUR Page : http://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?ID=12473
    Category : games
    Licenses : unknown
    Number of Votes : 164
    Out of Date : No
    Description : SL (Steam Locomotive) runs across your terminal when you type "sl" as you meant to type "ls".

  • Incorporating both Arch Linux and a package repository onto one DVD.

    Dear Arch Linux community,
    I would like to tell you a little background information about myself before I start to talk about my actual subject. I know that this part of my message does not belong here, but it is my own ritual to do it like this in my first message in every community. I hope I can make friends with people here and try not to harm this community in any way. Thank you for reading this.
    I am a 16-year-old male student from Finland and addicted to GNU/Linux and freeware / open source software. My previous experience with GNU/Linux is fairly large; from thin client Debian GNU/Linux administrator to kernel hacker and software developer. My delight is music, particularly writing and composing my own music tracks which vary from classic chiptunes to acid trance and dance beats. Arch Linux seems to be a great GNU/Linux operating system for me, because I am looking for a GNU/Linux distribution that does not focus on desktop, but rather on simplicity and lightweight solutions. I also do not fear "bleeding edge" software which is a positive point for Arch Linux compared to Debian GNU/Linux. As you can probably notice I have been using Debian GNU/Linux before I considered Arch Linux. However now I am here hoping for a totally new experience from Arch Linux.
    Enough with my foreword, I would like to now go back to the actual subject. Usually I use DVD media for GNU/Linux images to have both the installer for the GNU/Linux distribution and the main package repository to make installations faster and to have the possibility for an offline installation. As I see, Arch Linux provides only CD images which are approximately 160MB in size, making me to think about incorporating Arch Linux's "Core" and "Extra" package repositories to fill up the remaining 4GB on the DVD. If the "Core" package repository is already included in the Arch Linux CD image, please forgive my lack of information as this is the first time I have ever entered to the world of Arch Linux.
    My question is as follows: Is it possible to incorporate Arch Linux and a package repository onto one DVD while retaining the ability to install Arch Linux from that DVD? If positive, how should I go on to do it?
    Thank you in advance!
    Last edited by Amplify.EXE (2007-11-09 20:53:44)

    No niin, tervetuloa arch-mailmaan.
    Ok, I better stop at one sentence before someone gets mad at me :roll:.
    To answer your question, yes. It is quite possible to put something like that together, heck I think someone suggested we should distribute those some time, but we decided not to (don't quote me, I'm too lazy to read the archives right now) since in most cases pacman will get the job done will job done with less bandwidth waste, and distributing huge snapshots isn't really too conducive to the whole rolling-release thing.
    You might want to check out archiso [1], the install scripts [2], and one of my sample archiso configurations [3] that effectively creates an install CD. Now, keep in mind that archiso isn't the *current* way installers are created, but I think it's much more straightforward to work with than what we're using right now. That said, we currently use archboot to create the CDs, so that may be worth taking a look at as well. There is also a really old installer remastering wiki article [4], though not terribly relevant, you could still use a similar technique to pull apart one of our recent install iso's and remaster it with whatever packages you want. Anyhow, if you'd like help with this, I'd be more than happy to give you a hand (I need some more test-cases for archiso...), or if you look at it and go "gee, this is dumb", don't be afraid to send patches. Just get in touch with me through email, jabber, irc, or whatever.
    Good luck
    [1] http://projects.archlinux.org/git/?p=ar … a=summary)
    [2] http://projects.archlinux.org/git/?p=in … ;a=summary
    [3] http://code.neotuli.net/gitweb/?p=archi … stall-conf
    [4] http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Rem … nstall_ISO

  • System encryption using LUKS and GPG encrypted keys for arch linux

    Update: As of 2012-03-28, arch changed from gnupg 1.4 to 2.x which uses pinentry for the password dialog. The "etwo" hook described here doesn't work with gnupg 2. Either use the openssl hook below or use a statically compiled version of gnupg 1.4.
    Update: As of 2012-12-19, the mkinitcpio is not called during boot, unless the "install" file for the hook contains "add_runscript". This resulted in an unbootable system for me. Also, the method name was changed from install () to build ().
    Update: 2013-01-13: Updated the hook files using the corrections by Deth.
    Note: This guide is a bit dated now, in particular the arch installation might be different now. But essentially, the approach stays the same. Please also take a look at the posts further down, specifically the alternative hooks that use openssl.
    I always wanted to set up a fully encrypted arch linux server that uses gpg encrypted keyfiles on an external usb stick and luks for root filesystem encryption. I already did it once in gentoo using this guide. For arch, I had to play alot with initcpio hooks and after one day of experimentation, I finally got it working. I wrote a little guide for myself which I'm going to share here for anyone that might be interested. There might be better or easier ways, like I said this is just how I did it. I hope it might help someone else. Constructive feedback is always welcome
    Intro
    Using arch linux mkinitcpio's encrypt hook, one can easily use encrypted root partitions with LUKS. It's also possible to use key files stored on an external drive, like an usb stick. However, if someone steals your usb stick, he can just copy the key and potentially access the system. I wanted to have a little extra security by additionally encrypting the key file with gpg using a symmetric cipher and a passphrase.
    Since the encrypt hook doesn't support this scenario, I created a modifed hook called “etwo” (silly name I know, it was the first thing that came to my mind). It will simply look if the key file has the extension .gpg and, if yes, use gpg to decrypt it, then pipe the result into cryptsetup.
    Conventions
    In this short guide, I use the following disk/partition names:
    /dev/sda: is the hard disk that will contain an encrypted swap (/dev/sda1), /var (/dev/sda2) and root (/dev/sda3) partition.
    /dev/sdb is the usb stick that will contain the gpg encrypted luks keys, the kernel and grub. It will have one partition /dev/sdb1 formatted with ext2.
    /dev/mapper/root, /dev/mapper/swap and /dev/mapper/var will be the encrypted devices.
    Credits
    Thanks to the authors of SECURITY_System_Encryption_DM-Crypt_with_LUKS (gentoo wiki), System Encryption with LUKS (arch wiki), mkinitcpio (arch wiki) and Early Userspace in Arch Linux (/dev/brain0 blog)!
    Guide
    1. Boot the arch live cd
    I had to use a newer testing version, because the 2010.05 cd came with a broken gpg. You can download one here: http://releng.archlinux.org/isos/. I chose the “core“ version. Go ahead and boot the live cd, but don't start the setup yet.
    2. Set keymap
    Use km to set your keymap. This is important for non-qwerty keyboards to avoid suprises with passphrases...
    3. Wipe your discs
    ATTENTION: this will DELETE everything on /dev/sda and /dev/sdb forever! Do not blame me for any lost data!
    Before encrypting the hard disc, it has to be completely wiped and overwritten with random data. I used shred for this. Others use badblocks or dd with /dev/urandom. Either way, this will take a long time, depending on the size of your disc. I also wiped my usb stick just to be sure.
    shred -v /dev/sda
    shred -v /dev/sdb
    4. Partitioning
    Fire up fdisk and create the following partitions:
    /dev/sda1, type linux swap.
    /dev/sda2: type linux
    /dev/sda3: type linux
    /dev/sdb1, type linux
    Of course you can choose a different layout, this is just how I did it. Keep in mind that only the root filesystem will be decrypted by the initcpio. The rest will be decypted during normal init boot using /etc/crypttab, the keys being somewhere on the root filesystem.
    5. Format  and mount the usb stick
    Create an ext2 filesystem on /dev/sdb1:
    mkfs.ext2 /dev/sdb1
    mkdir /root/usb
    mount /dev/sdb1 /root/usb
    cd /root/usb # this will be our working directory for now.
    Do not mount anything to /mnt, because the arch installer will use that directory later to mount the encrypted root filesystem.
    6. Configure the network (if not already done automatically)
    ifconfig eth0 192.168.0.2 netmask 255.255.255.0
    route add default gw 192.168.0.1
    echo "nameserver 192.168.0.1" >> /etc/resolv.conf
    (this is just an example, your mileage may vary)
    7. Install gnupg
    pacman -Sy
    pacman -S gnupg
    Verify that gnupg works by launching gpg.
    8. Create the keys
    Just to be sure, make sure swap is off:
    cat /proc/swaps
    should return no entries.
    Create gpg encrypted keys (remember, we're still in our working dir /root/usb):
    dd if=/dev/urandom bs=512 count=4 | gpg -v --cipher-algo aes256 --digest-algo sha512 -c -a > root.gpg
    dd if=/dev/urandom bs=512 count=4 | gpg -v --cipher-algo aes256 --digest-algo sha512 -c -a > var.gpg
    Choose a strong password!!
    Don't do this in two steps, e.g don't do dd to a file and then gpg on that file. The key should never be stored in plain text on an unencrypted device, except if that device is wiped on system restart (ramfs)!
    Note that the default cipher for gpg is cast5, I just chose to use a different one.
    9. Create the encrypted devices with cryptsetup
    Create encrypted swap:
    cryptsetup -c aes-cbc-essiv:sha256 -s 256 -h whirlpool -d /dev/urandom create swap /dev/sda1
    You should see /dev/mapper/swap now. Don't format nor turn it on for now. This will be done by the arch installer.
    Important: From the Cryptsetup 1.1.2 Release notes:
    Cryptsetup can accept passphrase on stdin (standard input). Handling of new line (\n) character is defined by input specification:
        if keyfile is specified as "-" (using --key-file=- or by positional argument in luksFormat and luksAddKey, like cat file | cryptsetup --key-file=- <action> ), input is processed
          as normal binary file and no new line is interpreted.
        if there is no key file specification (with default input from stdin pipe like echo passphrase | cryptsetup <action> ) input is processed as input from terminal, reading will
          stop after new line is detected.
    If I understand this correctly, since the randomly generated key can contain a newline early on, piping the key into cryptsetup without specifying --key-file=- could result in a big part of the key to be ignored by cryptsetup. Example: if the random key was "foo\nandsomemorebaratheendofthekey", piping it directly into cryptsetup without --key-file=- would result in cryptsetup using only "foo" as key which would have big security implications. We should therefor ALWAYS pipe the key into cryptsetup using --key-file=- which ignores newlines.
    gpg -q -d root.gpg 2>/dev/null | cryptsetup -v -–key-file=- -c aes-cbc-essiv:sha256 -s 256 -h whirlpool luksFormat /dev/sda3
    gpg -q -d var.gpg 2>/dev/null | cryptsetup -v –-key-file=- -c aes-cbc-essiv:sha256 -s 256 -h whirlpool -v luksFormat /dev/sda2
    Check for any errors.
    10. Open the luks devices
    gpg -d root.gpg 2>/dev/null | cryptsetup -v –-key-file=- luksOpen /dev/sda3 root
    gpg -d var.gpg 2>/dev/null | cryptsetup -v –-key-file=- luksOpen /dev/sda2 var
    If you see /dev/mapper/root and /dev/mapper/var now, everything is ok.
    11. Start the installer /arch/setup
    Follow steps 1 to 3.
    At step 4 (Prepare hard drive(s), select “3 – Manually Configure block devices, filesystems and mountpoints. Choose /dev/sdb1 (the usb stick) as /boot, /dev/mapper/swap for swap, /dev/mapper/root for / and /dev/mapper/var for /var.
    Format all drives (choose “yes” when asked “do you want to have this filesystem (re)created”) EXCEPT for /dev/sdb1, choose “no”. Choose the correct filesystem for /dev/sdb1, ext2 in my case. Use swap for /dev/mapper/swap. For the rest, I chose ext4.
    Select DONE to start formatting.
    At step 5 (Select packages), select grub as boot loader. Select the base group. Add mkinitcpio.
    Start step 6 (Install packages).
    Go to step 7 (Configure System).
    By sure to set the correct KEYMAP, LOCALE and TIMEZONE in /etc/rc.conf.
    Edit /etc/fstab:
    /dev/mapper/root / ext4 defaults 0 1
    /dev/mapper/swap swap swap defaults 0 0
    /dev/mapper/var /var ext4 defaults 0 1
    # /dev/sdb1 /boot ext2 defaults 0 1
    Configure the rest normally. When you're done, setup will launch mkinitcpio. We'll manually launch this again later.
    Go to step 8 (install boot loader).
    Be sure to change the kernel line in menu.lst:
    kernel /vmlinuz26 root=/dev/mapper/root cryptdevice=/dev/sda3:root cryptkey=/dev/sdb1:ext2:/root.gpg
    Don't forget the :root suffix in cryptdevice!
    Also, my root line was set to (hd1,0). Had to change that to
    root (hd0,0)
    Install grub to /dev/sdb (the usb stick).
    Now, we can exit the installer.
    12. Install mkinitcpio with the etwo hook.
    Create /mnt/lib/initcpio/hooks/etwo:
    #!/usr/bin/ash
    run_hook() {
    /sbin/modprobe -a -q dm-crypt >/dev/null 2>&1
    if [ -e "/sys/class/misc/device-mapper" ]; then
    if [ ! -e "/dev/mapper/control" ]; then
    /bin/mknod "/dev/mapper/control" c $(cat /sys/class/misc/device-mapper/dev | sed 's|:| |')
    fi
    [ "${quiet}" = "y" ] && CSQUIET=">/dev/null"
    # Get keyfile if specified
    ckeyfile="/crypto_keyfile"
    usegpg="n"
    if [ "x${cryptkey}" != "x" ]; then
    ckdev="$(echo "${cryptkey}" | cut -d: -f1)"
    ckarg1="$(echo "${cryptkey}" | cut -d: -f2)"
    ckarg2="$(echo "${cryptkey}" | cut -d: -f3)"
    if poll_device "${ckdev}" ${rootdelay}; then
    case ${ckarg1} in
    *[!0-9]*)
    # Use a file on the device
    # ckarg1 is not numeric: ckarg1=filesystem, ckarg2=path
    if [ "${ckarg2#*.}" = "gpg" ]; then
    ckeyfile="${ckeyfile}.gpg"
    usegpg="y"
    fi
    mkdir /ckey
    mount -r -t ${ckarg1} ${ckdev} /ckey
    dd if=/ckey/${ckarg2} of=${ckeyfile} >/dev/null 2>&1
    umount /ckey
    # Read raw data from the block device
    # ckarg1 is numeric: ckarg1=offset, ckarg2=length
    dd if=${ckdev} of=${ckeyfile} bs=1 skip=${ckarg1} count=${ckarg2} >/dev/null 2>&1
    esac
    fi
    [ ! -f ${ckeyfile} ] && echo "Keyfile could not be opened. Reverting to passphrase."
    fi
    if [ -n "${cryptdevice}" ]; then
    DEPRECATED_CRYPT=0
    cryptdev="$(echo "${cryptdevice}" | cut -d: -f1)"
    cryptname="$(echo "${cryptdevice}" | cut -d: -f2)"
    else
    DEPRECATED_CRYPT=1
    cryptdev="${root}"
    cryptname="root"
    fi
    warn_deprecated() {
    echo "The syntax 'root=${root}' where '${root}' is an encrypted volume is deprecated"
    echo "Use 'cryptdevice=${root}:root root=/dev/mapper/root' instead."
    if poll_device "${cryptdev}" ${rootdelay}; then
    if /sbin/cryptsetup isLuks ${cryptdev} >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    [ ${DEPRECATED_CRYPT} -eq 1 ] && warn_deprecated
    dopassphrase=1
    # If keyfile exists, try to use that
    if [ -f ${ckeyfile} ]; then
    if [ "${usegpg}" = "y" ]; then
    # gpg tty fixup
    if [ -e /dev/tty ]; then mv /dev/tty /dev/tty.backup; fi
    cp -a /dev/console /dev/tty
    while [ ! -e /dev/mapper/${cryptname} ];
    do
    sleep 2
    /usr/bin/gpg -d "${ckeyfile}" 2>/dev/null | cryptsetup --key-file=- luksOpen ${cryptdev} ${cryptname} ${CSQUIET}
    dopassphrase=0
    done
    rm /dev/tty
    if [ -e /dev/tty.backup ]; then mv /dev/tty.backup /dev/tty; fi
    else
    if eval /sbin/cryptsetup --key-file ${ckeyfile} luksOpen ${cryptdev} ${cryptname} ${CSQUIET}; then
    dopassphrase=0
    else
    echo "Invalid keyfile. Reverting to passphrase."
    fi
    fi
    fi
    # Ask for a passphrase
    if [ ${dopassphrase} -gt 0 ]; then
    echo ""
    echo "A password is required to access the ${cryptname} volume:"
    #loop until we get a real password
    while ! eval /sbin/cryptsetup luksOpen ${cryptdev} ${cryptname} ${CSQUIET}; do
    sleep 2;
    done
    fi
    if [ -e "/dev/mapper/${cryptname}" ]; then
    if [ ${DEPRECATED_CRYPT} -eq 1 ]; then
    export root="/dev/mapper/root"
    fi
    else
    err "Password succeeded, but ${cryptname} creation failed, aborting..."
    exit 1
    fi
    elif [ -n "${crypto}" ]; then
    [ ${DEPRECATED_CRYPT} -eq 1 ] && warn_deprecated
    msg "Non-LUKS encrypted device found..."
    if [ $# -ne 5 ]; then
    err "Verify parameter format: crypto=hash:cipher:keysize:offset:skip"
    err "Non-LUKS decryption not attempted..."
    return 1
    fi
    exe="/sbin/cryptsetup create ${cryptname} ${cryptdev}"
    tmp=$(echo "${crypto}" | cut -d: -f1)
    [ -n "${tmp}" ] && exe="${exe} --hash \"${tmp}\""
    tmp=$(echo "${crypto}" | cut -d: -f2)
    [ -n "${tmp}" ] && exe="${exe} --cipher \"${tmp}\""
    tmp=$(echo "${crypto}" | cut -d: -f3)
    [ -n "${tmp}" ] && exe="${exe} --key-size \"${tmp}\""
    tmp=$(echo "${crypto}" | cut -d: -f4)
    [ -n "${tmp}" ] && exe="${exe} --offset \"${tmp}\""
    tmp=$(echo "${crypto}" | cut -d: -f5)
    [ -n "${tmp}" ] && exe="${exe} --skip \"${tmp}\""
    if [ -f ${ckeyfile} ]; then
    exe="${exe} --key-file ${ckeyfile}"
    else
    exe="${exe} --verify-passphrase"
    echo ""
    echo "A password is required to access the ${cryptname} volume:"
    fi
    eval "${exe} ${CSQUIET}"
    if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
    err "Non-LUKS device decryption failed. verify format: "
    err " crypto=hash:cipher:keysize:offset:skip"
    exit 1
    fi
    if [ -e "/dev/mapper/${cryptname}" ]; then
    if [ ${DEPRECATED_CRYPT} -eq 1 ]; then
    export root="/dev/mapper/root"
    fi
    else
    err "Password succeeded, but ${cryptname} creation failed, aborting..."
    exit 1
    fi
    else
    err "Failed to open encryption mapping: The device ${cryptdev} is not a LUKS volume and the crypto= paramater was not specified."
    fi
    fi
    rm -f ${ckeyfile}
    fi
    Create /mnt/lib/initcpio/install/etwo:
    #!/bin/bash
    build() {
    local mod
    add_module dm-crypt
    if [[ $CRYPTO_MODULES ]]; then
    for mod in $CRYPTO_MODULES; do
    add_module "$mod"
    done
    else
    add_all_modules '/crypto/'
    fi
    add_dir "/dev/mapper"
    add_binary "cryptsetup"
    add_binary "dmsetup"
    add_binary "/usr/bin/gpg"
    add_file "/usr/lib/udev/rules.d/10-dm.rules"
    add_file "/usr/lib/udev/rules.d/13-dm-disk.rules"
    add_file "/usr/lib/udev/rules.d/95-dm-notify.rules"
    add_file "/usr/lib/initcpio/udev/11-dm-initramfs.rules" "/usr/lib/udev/rules.d/11-dm-initramfs.rules"
    add_runscript
    help ()
    cat<<HELPEOF
    This hook allows for an encrypted root device with support for gpg encrypted key files.
    To use gpg, the key file must have the extension .gpg and you have to install gpg and add /usr/bin/gpg
    to your BINARIES var in /etc/mkinitcpio.conf.
    HELPEOF
    Edit /mnt/etc/mkinitcpio.conf (only relevant sections displayed):
    MODULES=”ext2 ext4” # not sure if this is really nessecary.
    BINARIES=”/usr/bin/gpg” # this could probably be done in install/etwo...
    HOOKS=”base udev usbinput keymap autodetect pata scsi sata usb etwo filesystems” # (usbinput is only needed if you have an usb keyboard)
    Copy the initcpio stuff over to the live cd:
    cp /mnt/lib/initcpio/hooks/etwo /lib/initcpio/hooks/
    cp /mnt/lib/initcpio/install/etwo /lib/initcpio/install/
    cp /mnt/etc/mkinitcpio.conf /etc/
    Verify your LOCALE, KEYMAP and TIMEZONE in /etc/rc.conf!
    Now reinstall the initcpio:
    mkinitcpio -g /mnt/boot/kernel26.img
    Make sure there were no errors and that all hooks were included.
    13. Decrypt the "var" key to the encrypted root
    mkdir /mnt/keys
    chmod 500 /mnt/keys
    gpg –output /mnt/keys/var -d /mnt/boot/var.gpg
    chmod 400 /mnt/keys/var
    14. Setup crypttab
    Edit /mnt/etc/crypttab:
    swap /dev/sda1 SWAP -c aes-cbc-essiv:sha256 -s 256 -h whirlpool
    var /dev/sda2 /keys/var
    15. Reboot
    We're done, you may reboot. Make sure you select the usb stick as the boot device in your bios and hope for the best. . If it didn't work, play with grub's settings or boot from the live cd, mount your encrypted devices and check all settings. You might also have less trouble by using uuid's instead of device names.  I chose device names to keep things as simple as possible, even though it's not the optimal way to do it.
    Make backups of your data and your usb stick and do not forget your password(s)! Or you can say goodbye to your data forever...
    Last edited by fabriceb (2013-01-15 22:36:23)

    I'm trying to run my install script that is based on https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=129885
    Decrypting the gpg key after grub works, but then "Devce root already exists." appears every second.
    any idea ?
    #!/bin/bash
    # This script is designed to be run in conjunction with a UEFI boot using Archboot intall media.
    # prereqs:
    # EFI "BIOS" set to boot *only* from EFI
    # successful EFI boot of Archboot USB
    # mount /dev/sdb1 /src
    set -o nounset
    #set -o errexit
    # Host specific configuration
    # this whole script needs to be customized, particularly disk partitions
    # and configuration, but this section contains global variables that
    # are used during the system configuration phase for convenience
    HOSTNAME=daniel
    USERNAME=user
    # Globals
    # We don't need to set these here but they are used repeatedly throughout
    # so it makes sense to reuse them and allow an easy, one-time change if we
    # need to alter values such as the install target mount point.
    INSTALL_TARGET="/install"
    HR="--------------------------------------------------------------------------------"
    PACMAN="pacman --noconfirm --config /tmp/pacman.conf"
    TARGET_PACMAN="pacman --noconfirm --config /tmp/pacman.conf -r ${INSTALL_TARGET}"
    CHROOT_PACMAN="pacman --noconfirm --cachedir /var/cache/pacman/pkg --config /tmp/pacman.conf -r ${INSTALL_TARGET}"
    FILE_URL="file:///packages/core-$(uname -m)/pkg"
    FTP_URL='ftp://mirrors.kernel.org/archlinux/$repo/os/$arch'
    HTTP_URL='http://mirrors.kernel.org/archlinux/$repo/os/$arch'
    # Functions
    # I've avoided using functions in this script as they aren't required and
    # I think it's more of a learning tool if you see the step-by-step
    # procedures even with minor duplciations along the way, but I feel that
    # these functions clarify the particular steps of setting values in config
    # files.
    SetValue () {
    # EXAMPLE: SetValue VARIABLENAME '\"Quoted Value\"' /file/path
    VALUENAME="$1" NEWVALUE="$2" FILEPATH="$3"
    sed -i "s+^#\?\(${VALUENAME}\)=.*$+\1=${NEWVALUE}+" "${FILEPATH}"
    CommentOutValue () {
    VALUENAME="$1" FILEPATH="$2"
    sed -i "s/^\(${VALUENAME}.*\)$/#\1/" "${FILEPATH}"
    UncommentValue () {
    VALUENAME="$1" FILEPATH="$2"
    sed -i "s/^#\(${VALUENAME}.*\)$/\1/" "${FILEPATH}"
    # Initialize
    # Warn the user about impending doom, set up the network on eth0, mount
    # the squashfs images (Archboot does this normally, we're just filling in
    # the gaps resulting from the fact that we're doing a simple scripted
    # install). We also create a temporary pacman.conf that looks for packages
    # locally first before sourcing them from the network. It would be better
    # to do either *all* local or *all* network but we can't for two reasons.
    # 1. The Archboot installation image might have an out of date kernel
    # (currently the case) which results in problems when chrooting
    # into the install mount point to modprobe efivars. So we use the
    # package snapshot on the Archboot media to ensure our kernel is
    # the same as the one we booted with.
    # 2. Ideally we'd source all local then, but some critical items,
    # notably grub2-efi variants, aren't yet on the Archboot media.
    # Warn
    timer=9
    echo -e "\n\nMAC WARNING: This script is not designed for APPLE MAC installs and will potentially misconfigure boot to your existing OS X installation. STOP NOW IF YOU ARE ON A MAC.\n\n"
    echo -n "GENERAL WARNING: This procedure will completely format /dev/sda. Please cancel with ctrl-c to cancel within $timer seconds..."
    while [[ $timer -gt 0 ]]
    do
    sleep 1
    let timer-=1
    echo -en "$timer seconds..."
    done
    echo "STARTING"
    # Get Network
    echo -n "Waiting for network address.."
    #dhclient eth0
    dhcpcd -p eth0
    echo -n "Network address acquired."
    # Mount packages squashfs images
    umount "/packages/core-$(uname -m)"
    umount "/packages/core-any"
    rm -rf "/packages/core-$(uname -m)"
    rm -rf "/packages/core-any"
    mkdir -p "/packages/core-$(uname -m)"
    mkdir -p "/packages/core-any"
    modprobe -q loop
    modprobe -q squashfs
    mount -o ro,loop -t squashfs "/src/packages/archboot_packages_$(uname -m).squashfs" "/packages/core-$(uname -m)"
    mount -o ro,loop -t squashfs "/src/packages/archboot_packages_any.squashfs" "/packages/core-any"
    # Create temporary pacman.conf file
    cat << PACMANEOF > /tmp/pacman.conf
    [options]
    Architecture = auto
    CacheDir = ${INSTALL_TARGET}/var/cache/pacman/pkg
    CacheDir = /packages/core-$(uname -m)/pkg
    CacheDir = /packages/core-any/pkg
    [core]
    Server = ${FILE_URL}
    Server = ${FTP_URL}
    Server = ${HTTP_URL}
    [extra]
    Server = ${FILE_URL}
    Server = ${FTP_URL}
    Server = ${HTTP_URL}
    #Uncomment to enable pacman -Sy yaourt
    [archlinuxfr]
    Server = http://repo.archlinux.fr/\$arch
    PACMANEOF
    # Prepare pacman
    [[ ! -d "${INSTALL_TARGET}/var/cache/pacman/pkg" ]] && mkdir -m 755 -p "${INSTALL_TARGET}/var/cache/pacman/pkg"
    [[ ! -d "${INSTALL_TARGET}/var/lib/pacman" ]] && mkdir -m 755 -p "${INSTALL_TARGET}/var/lib/pacman"
    ${PACMAN} -Sy
    ${TARGET_PACMAN} -Sy
    # Install prereqs from network (not on archboot media)
    echo -e "\nInstalling prereqs...\n$HR"
    #sed -i "s/^#S/S/" /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist # Uncomment all Server lines
    UncommentValue S /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist # Uncomment all Server lines
    ${PACMAN} --noconfirm -Sy gptfdisk btrfs-progs-unstable libusb-compat gnupg
    # Configure Host
    # Here we create three partitions:
    # 1. efi and /boot (one partition does double duty)
    # 2. swap
    # 3. our encrypted root
    # Note that all of these are on a GUID partition table scheme. This proves
    # to be quite clean and simple since we're not doing anything with MBR
    # boot partitions and the like.
    echo -e "format\n"
    # shred -v /dev/sda
    # disk prep
    sgdisk -Z /dev/sda # zap all on disk
    #sgdisk -Z /dev/mmcb1k0 # zap all on sdcard
    sgdisk -a 2048 -o /dev/sda # new gpt disk 2048 alignment
    #sgdisk -a 2048 -o /dev/mmcb1k0
    # create partitions
    sgdisk -n 1:0:+200M /dev/sda # partition 1 (UEFI BOOT), default start block, 200MB
    sgdisk -n 2:0:+4G /dev/sda # partition 2 (SWAP), default start block, 200MB
    sgdisk -n 3:0:0 /dev/sda # partition 3, (LUKS), default start, remaining space
    #sgdisk -n 1:0:1800M /dev/mmcb1k0 # root.gpg
    # set partition types
    sgdisk -t 1:ef00 /dev/sda
    sgdisk -t 2:8200 /dev/sda
    sgdisk -t 3:8300 /dev/sda
    #sgdisk -t 1:0700 /dev/mmcb1k0
    # label partitions
    sgdisk -c 1:"UEFI Boot" /dev/sda
    sgdisk -c 2:"Swap" /dev/sda
    sgdisk -c 3:"LUKS" /dev/sda
    #sgdisk -c 1:"Key" /dev/mmcb1k0
    echo -e "create gpg file\n"
    # create gpg file
    dd if=/dev/urandom bs=512 count=4 | gpg -v --cipher-algo aes256 --digest-algo sha512 -c -a > /root/root.gpg
    echo -e "format LUKS on root\n"
    # format LUKS on root
    gpg -q -d /root/root.gpg 2>/dev/null | cryptsetup -v --key-file=- -c aes-xts-plain -s 512 --hash sha512 luksFormat /dev/sda3
    echo -e "open LUKS on root\n"
    gpg -d /root/root.gpg 2>/dev/null | cryptsetup -v --key-file=- luksOpen /dev/sda3 root
    # NOTE: make sure to add dm_crypt and aes_i586 to MODULES in rc.conf
    # NOTE2: actually this isn't required since we're mounting an encrypted root and grub2/initramfs handles this before we even get to rc.conf
    # make filesystems
    # following swap related commands not used now that we're encrypting our swap partition
    #mkswap /dev/sda2
    #swapon /dev/sda2
    #mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda3 # this is where we'd create an unencrypted root partition, but we're using luks instead
    echo -e "\nCreating Filesystems...\n$HR"
    # make filesystems
    mkfs.ext4 /dev/mapper/root
    mkfs.vfat -F32 /dev/sda1
    #mkfs.vfat -F32 /dev/mmcb1k0p1
    echo -e "mount targets\n"
    # mount target
    #mount /dev/sda3 ${INSTALL_TARGET} # this is where we'd mount the unencrypted root partition
    mount /dev/mapper/root ${INSTALL_TARGET}
    # mount target
    mkdir ${INSTALL_TARGET}
    # mkdir ${INSTALL_TARGET}/key
    # mount -t vfat /dev/mmcb1k0p1 ${INSTALL_TARGET}/key
    mkdir ${INSTALL_TARGET}/boot
    mount -t vfat /dev/sda1 ${INSTALL_TARGET}/boot
    # Install base, necessary utilities
    mkdir -p ${INSTALL_TARGET}/var/lib/pacman
    ${TARGET_PACMAN} -Sy
    ${TARGET_PACMAN} -Su base
    # curl could be installed later but we want it ready for rankmirrors
    ${TARGET_PACMAN} -S curl
    ${TARGET_PACMAN} -S libusb-compat gnupg
    ${TARGET_PACMAN} -R grub
    rm -rf ${INSTALL_TARGET}/boot/grub
    ${TARGET_PACMAN} -S grub2-efi-x86_64
    # Configure new system
    SetValue HOSTNAME ${HOSTNAME} ${INSTALL_TARGET}/etc/rc.conf
    sed -i "s/^\(127\.0\.0\.1.*\)$/\1 ${HOSTNAME}/" ${INSTALL_TARGET}/etc/hosts
    SetValue CONSOLEFONT Lat2-Terminus16 ${INSTALL_TARGET}/etc/rc.conf
    #following replaced due to netcfg
    #SetValue interface eth0 ${INSTALL_TARGET}/etc/rc.conf
    # write fstab
    # You can use UUID's or whatever you want here, of course. This is just
    # the simplest approach and as long as your drives aren't changing values
    # randomly it should work fine.
    cat > ${INSTALL_TARGET}/etc/fstab <<FSTAB_EOF
    # /etc/fstab: static file system information
    # <file system> <dir> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
    tmpfs /tmp tmpfs nodev,nosuid 0 0
    /dev/sda1 /boot vfat defaults 0 0
    /dev/mapper/cryptswap none swap defaults 0 0
    /dev/mapper/root / ext4 defaults,noatime 0 1
    FSTAB_EOF
    # write etwo
    mkdir -p /lib/initcpio/hooks/
    mkdir -p /lib/initcpio/install/
    cp /src/etwo_hooks /lib/initcpio/hooks/etwo
    cp /src/etwo_install /lib/initcpio/install/etwo
    mkdir -p ${INSTALL_TARGET}/lib/initcpio/hooks/
    mkdir -p ${INSTALL_TARGET}/lib/initcpio/install/
    cp /src/etwo_hooks ${INSTALL_TARGET}/lib/initcpio/hooks/etwo
    cp /src/etwo_install ${INSTALL_TARGET}/lib/initcpio/install/etwo
    # write crypttab
    # encrypted swap (random passphrase on boot)
    echo cryptswap /dev/sda2 SWAP "-c aes-xts-plain -h whirlpool -s 512" >> ${INSTALL_TARGET}/etc/crypttab
    # copy configs we want to carry over to target from install environment
    mv ${INSTALL_TARGET}/etc/resolv.conf ${INSTALL_TARGET}/etc/resolv.conf.orig
    cp /etc/resolv.conf ${INSTALL_TARGET}/etc/resolv.conf
    mkdir -p ${INSTALL_TARGET}/tmp
    cp /tmp/pacman.conf ${INSTALL_TARGET}/tmp/pacman.conf
    # mount proc, sys, dev in install root
    mount -t proc proc ${INSTALL_TARGET}/proc
    mount -t sysfs sys ${INSTALL_TARGET}/sys
    mount -o bind /dev ${INSTALL_TARGET}/dev
    echo -e "umount boot\n"
    # we have to remount /boot from inside the chroot
    umount ${INSTALL_TARGET}/boot
    # Create install_efi script (to be run *after* chroot /install)
    touch ${INSTALL_TARGET}/install_efi
    chmod a+x ${INSTALL_TARGET}/install_efi
    cat > ${INSTALL_TARGET}/install_efi <<EFI_EOF
    # functions (these could be a library, but why overcomplicate things
    SetValue () { VALUENAME="\$1" NEWVALUE="\$2" FILEPATH="\$3"; sed -i "s+^#\?\(\${VALUENAME}\)=.*\$+\1=\${NEWVALUE}+" "\${FILEPATH}"; }
    CommentOutValue () { VALUENAME="\$1" FILEPATH="\$2"; sed -i "s/^\(\${VALUENAME}.*\)\$/#\1/" "\${FILEPATH}"; }
    UncommentValue () { VALUENAME="\$1" FILEPATH="\$2"; sed -i "s/^#\(\${VALUENAME}.*\)\$/\1/" "\${FILEPATH}"; }
    echo -e "mount boot\n"
    # remount here or grub et al gets confused
    mount -t vfat /dev/sda1 /boot
    # mkinitcpio
    # NOTE: intel_agp drm and i915 for intel graphics
    SetValue MODULES '\\"dm_mod dm_crypt aes_x86_64 ext2 ext4 vfat intel_agp drm i915\\"' /etc/mkinitcpio.conf
    SetValue HOOKS '\\"base udev pata scsi sata usb usbinput keymap consolefont etwo encrypt filesystems\\"' /etc/mkinitcpio.conf
    SetValue BINARIES '\\"/usr/bin/gpg\\"' /etc/mkinitcpio.conf
    mkinitcpio -p linux
    # kernel modules for EFI install
    modprobe efivars
    modprobe dm-mod
    # locale-gen
    UncommentValue de_AT /etc/locale.gen
    locale-gen
    # install and configure grub2
    # did this above
    #${CHROOT_PACMAN} -Sy
    #${CHROOT_PACMAN} -R grub
    #rm -rf /boot/grub
    #${CHROOT_PACMAN} -S grub2-efi-x86_64
    # you can be surprisingly sloppy with the root value you give grub2 as a kernel option and
    # even omit the cryptdevice altogether, though it will wag a finger at you for using
    # a deprecated syntax, so we're using the correct form here
    # NOTE: take out i915.modeset=1 unless you are on intel graphics
    SetValue GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX '\\"cryptdevice=/dev/sda3:root cryptkey=/dev/sda1:vfat:/root.gpg add_efi_memmap i915.i915_enable_rc6=1 i915.i915_enable_fbc=1 i915.lvds_downclock=1 pcie_aspm=force quiet\\"' /etc/default/grub
    # set output to graphical
    SetValue GRUB_TERMINAL_OUTPUT gfxterm /etc/default/grub
    SetValue GRUB_GFXMODE 960x600x32,auto /etc/default/grub
    SetValue GRUB_GFXPAYLOAD_LINUX keep /etc/default/grub # comment out this value if text only mode
    # install the actual grub2. Note that despite our --boot-directory option we will still need to move
    # the grub directory to /boot/grub during grub-mkconfig operations until grub2 gets patched (see below)
    grub_efi_x86_64-install --bootloader-id=grub --no-floppy --recheck
    # create our EFI boot entry
    # bug in the HP bios firmware (F.08)
    efibootmgr --create --gpt --disk /dev/sda --part 1 --write-signature --label "ARCH LINUX" --loader "\\\\grub\\\\grub.efi"
    # copy font for grub2
    cp /usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2 /boot/grub
    # generate config file
    grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
    exit
    EFI_EOF
    # Install EFI using script inside chroot
    chroot ${INSTALL_TARGET} /install_efi
    rm ${INSTALL_TARGET}/install_efi
    # Post install steps
    # anything you want to do post install. run the script automatically or
    # manually
    touch ${INSTALL_TARGET}/post_install
    chmod a+x ${INSTALL_TARGET}/post_install
    cat > ${INSTALL_TARGET}/post_install <<POST_EOF
    set -o errexit
    set -o nounset
    # functions (these could be a library, but why overcomplicate things
    SetValue () { VALUENAME="\$1" NEWVALUE="\$2" FILEPATH="\$3"; sed -i "s+^#\?\(\${VALUENAME}\)=.*\$+\1=\${NEWVALUE}+" "\${FILEPATH}"; }
    CommentOutValue () { VALUENAME="\$1" FILEPATH="\$2"; sed -i "s/^\(\${VALUENAME}.*\)\$/#\1/" "\${FILEPATH}"; }
    UncommentValue () { VALUENAME="\$1" FILEPATH="\$2"; sed -i "s/^#\(\${VALUENAME}.*\)\$/\1/" "\${FILEPATH}"; }
    # root password
    echo -e "${HR}\\nNew root user password\\n${HR}"
    passwd
    # add user
    echo -e "${HR}\\nNew non-root user password (username:${USERNAME})\\n${HR}"
    groupadd sudo
    useradd -m -g users -G audio,lp,optical,storage,video,games,power,scanner,network,sudo,wheel -s /bin/bash ${USERNAME}
    passwd ${USERNAME}
    # mirror ranking
    echo -e "${HR}\\nRanking Mirrors (this will take a while)\\n${HR}"
    cp /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist.orig
    mv /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist.all
    sed -i "s/#S/S/" /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist.all
    rankmirrors -n 5 /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist.all > /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
    # temporary fix for locale.sh update conflict
    mv /etc/profile.d/locale.sh /etc/profile.d/locale.sh.preupdate || true
    # yaourt repo (add to target pacman, not tmp pacman.conf, for ongoing use)
    echo -e "\\n[archlinuxfr]\\nServer = http://repo.archlinux.fr/\\\$arch" >> /etc/pacman.conf
    echo -e "\\n[haskell]\\nServer = http://www.kiwilight.com/\\\$repo/\\\$arch" >> /etc/pacman.conf
    # additional groups and utilities
    pacman --noconfirm -Syu
    pacman --noconfirm -S base-devel
    pacman --noconfirm -S yaourt
    # sudo
    pacman --noconfirm -S sudo
    cp /etc/sudoers /tmp/sudoers.edit
    sed -i "s/#\s*\(%wheel\s*ALL=(ALL)\s*ALL.*$\)/\1/" /tmp/sudoers.edit
    sed -i "s/#\s*\(%sudo\s*ALL=(ALL)\s*ALL.*$\)/\1/" /tmp/sudoers.edit
    visudo -qcsf /tmp/sudoers.edit && cat /tmp/sudoers.edit > /etc/sudoers
    # power
    pacman --noconfirm -S acpi acpid acpitool cpufrequtils
    yaourt --noconfirm -S powertop2
    sed -i "/^DAEMONS/ s/)/ @acpid)/" /etc/rc.conf
    sed -i "/^MODULES/ s/)/ acpi-cpufreq cpufreq_ondemand cpufreq_powersave coretemp)/" /etc/rc.conf
    # following requires my acpi handler script
    echo "/etc/acpi/handler.sh boot" > /etc/rc.local
    # time
    pacman --noconfirm -S ntp
    sed -i "/^DAEMONS/ s/hwclock /!hwclock @ntpd /" /etc/rc.conf
    # wireless (wpa supplicant should already be installed)
    pacman --noconfirm -S iw wpa_supplicant rfkill
    pacman --noconfirm -S netcfg wpa_actiond ifplugd
    mv /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf.orig
    echo -e "ctrl_interface=DIR=/var/run/wpa_supplicant GROUP=network\nupdate_config=1" > /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf
    # make sure to copy /etc/network.d/examples/wireless-wpa-config to /etc/network.d/home and edit
    sed -i "/^DAEMONS/ s/)/ @net-auto-wireless @net-auto-wired)/" /etc/rc.conf
    sed -i "/^DAEMONS/ s/ network / /" /etc/rc.conf
    echo -e "\nWIRELESS_INTERFACE=wlan0" >> /etc/rc.conf
    echo -e "WIRED_INTERFACE=eth0" >> /etc/rc.conf
    echo "options iwlagn led_mode=2" > /etc/modprobe.d/iwlagn.conf
    # sound
    pacman --noconfirm -S alsa-utils alsa-plugins
    sed -i "/^DAEMONS/ s/)/ @alsa)/" /etc/rc.conf
    mv /etc/asound.conf /etc/asound.conf.orig || true
    #if alsamixer isn't working, try alsamixer -Dhw and speaker-test -Dhw -c 2
    # video
    pacman --noconfirm -S base-devel mesa mesa-demos
    # x
    #pacman --noconfirm -S xorg xorg-xinit xorg-utils xorg-server-utils xdotool xorg-xlsfonts
    #yaourt --noconfirm -S xf86-input-wacom-git # NOT NEEDED? input-wacom-git
    #TODO: cut down the install size
    #pacman --noconfirm -S xorg-server xorg-xinit xorg-utils xorg-server-utils
    # TODO: wacom
    # environment/wm/etc.
    #pacman --noconfirm -S xfce4 compiz ccsm
    #pacman --noconfirm -S xcompmgr
    #yaourt --noconfirm -S physlock unclutter
    #pacman --noconfirm -S rxvt-unicode urxvt-url-select hsetroot
    #pacman --noconfirm -S gtk2 #gtk3 # for taffybar?
    #pacman --noconfirm -S ghc
    # note: try installing alex and happy from cabal instead
    #pacman --noconfirm -S haskell-platform haskell-hscolour
    #yaourt --noconfirm -S xmonad-darcs xmonad-contrib-darcs xcompmgr
    #yaourt --noconfirm -S xmobar-git
    # TODO: edit xfce to use compiz
    # TODO: xmonad, but deal with video tearing
    # TODO: xmonad-darcs fails to install from AUR. haskell dependency hell.
    # switching to cabal
    # fonts
    pacman --noconfirm -S terminus-font
    yaourt --noconfirm -S webcore-fonts
    yaourt --noconfirm -S fontforge libspiro
    yaourt --noconfirm -S freetype2-git-infinality
    # TODO: sed infinality and change to OSX or OSX2 mode
    # and create the sym link from /etc/fonts/conf.avail to conf.d
    # misc apps
    #pacman --noconfirm -S htop openssh keychain bash-completion git vim
    #pacman --noconfirm -S chromium flashplugin
    #pacman --noconfirm -S scrot mypaint bc
    #yaourt --noconfirm -S task-git stellarium googlecl
    # TODO: argyll
    POST_EOF
    # Post install in chroot
    #echo "chroot and run /post_install"
    chroot /install /post_install
    rm /install/post_install
    # copy grub.efi file to the default HP EFI boot manager path
    mkdir -p ${INSTALL_TARGET}/boot/EFI/Microsoft/BOOT/
    mkdir -p ${INSTALL_TARGET}/boot/EFI/BOOT/
    cp ${INSTALL_TARGET}/boot/grub/grub.efi ${INSTALL_TARGET}/boot/EFI/Microsoft/BOOT/bootmgfw.efi
    cp ${INSTALL_TARGET}/boot/grub/grub.efi ${INSTALL_TARGET}/boot/EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI
    cp /root/root.gpg ${INSTALL_TARGET}/boot/
    # NOTES/TODO

  • [SOLVED] 3d Acceleration on Arch Linux guest

    I've just installed the latest FTP Arch Linux (2009.02) as a Guest running in Virtual Box 3.0.2 in my Windows 7 host, and I cannot get Xorg working at all.
    - 3D Acceleration is enabled for the VM, and 128MB of video memory allocated
    - Guest Additions were installed successfully, added rc.vboxadd to daemons, and everything loads ok on startup.
    Output of 'dmesg | grep vbox':
    vboxadd: Successfully loaded version 3.0.2 (interface 0x0010004)
    vboxvfs: Successfully loaded version 3.0.2 (interface 0x0010004)
    [drm] Initialized vboxvideo 1.0.0 20090303 for 0000:00:02.0 on minor 0
    Here is my .xinitrc:
    /usr/bin/VBoxClient-all
    I've symlinked vboxvideo_dri.so since the installer didn't do it.
    Output of 'ls -l /usr/lib/xorg/modules/dri/vboxvideo_dri.so':
    lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 19 2009-07-31 22:42 /usr/lib/xorg/modules/dri/vboxvideo_dri.so -> /usr/lib/VBoxOGL.so
    And error when I run 'startx':
    (EE) AIGLX error: dlopen of /usr/lib/xorg/modules/dri/vboxvideo_dri.so failed (libXcomposite.so.1: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory)
    (EE) AIGLX: reverting to software rendering
    waiting for X server to shut down
    And then it shuts down, without even trying to load swrast_dri.so. But the weirdest part is, that symlink exists, but X is saying it doesn't! I've restarted the VM and still get the same error.
    Here is my xorg.conf (created by installing GA), and I do have HAL up and running, loaded before the rc.vboxadd daemon:
    # Default xorg.conf for Xorg 1.5+ without PCI_TXT_IDS_PATH enabled.
    # This file was created by VirtualBox Additions installer as it
    # was unable to find any existing configuration file for X.
    Section "Device"
    Identifier "VirtualBox Video Card"
    Driver "vboxvideo"
    EndSection
    So... what next? 
    Last edited by timmahcheese (2009-08-03 15:20:55)

    Silly me, I forgot the libxcomposite package. I guess I should read the errors closer.
    Anyway, I'm still getting an error (signal 11) being caused by VBoxClient-all. Here is my Xorg.0.log:
    X.Org X Server 1.6.2
    Release Date: 2009-7-7
    X Protocol Version 11, Revision 0
    Build Operating System: Linux 2.6.30-ARCH i686
    Current Operating System: Linux obi-wan 2.6.30-ARCH #1 SMP PREEMPT Mon Jul 20 11:20:32 UTC 2009 i686
    Build Date: 18 July 2009 08:27:13PM
    Before reporting problems, check http://wiki.x.org
    to make sure that you have the latest version.
    Markers: (--) probed, (**) from config file, (==) default setting,
    (++) from command line, (!!) notice, (II) informational,
    (WW) warning, (EE) error, (NI) not implemented, (??) unknown.
    (==) Log file: "/var/log/Xorg.0.log", Time: Sun Aug 2 23:20:02 2009
    (==) Using config file: "/etc/X11/xorg.conf"
    (==) No Layout section. Using the first Screen section.
    (==) No screen section available. Using defaults.
    (**) |-->Screen "Default Screen Section" (0)
    (**) | |-->Monitor "<default monitor>"
    (==) No device specified for screen "Default Screen Section".
    Using the first device section listed.
    (**) | |-->Device "VirtualBox Video Card"
    (==) No monitor specified for screen "Default Screen Section".
    Using a default monitor configuration.
    (==) Automatically adding devices
    (==) Automatically enabling devices
    (WW) The directory "/usr/share/fonts/Type1" does not exist.
    Entry deleted from font path.
    (==) FontPath set to:
    /usr/share/fonts/misc,
    /usr/share/fonts/100dpi:unscaled,
    /usr/share/fonts/75dpi:unscaled,
    /usr/share/fonts/TTF,
    built-ins
    (==) ModulePath set to "/usr/lib/xorg/modules"
    (II) Cannot locate a core pointer device.
    (II) Cannot locate a core keyboard device.
    (II) The server relies on HAL to provide the list of input devices.
    If no devices become available, reconfigure HAL or disable AllowEmptyInput.
    (II) Loader magic: 0x7a40
    (II) Module ABI versions:
    X.Org ANSI C Emulation: 0.4
    X.Org Video Driver: 5.0
    X.Org XInput driver : 4.0
    X.Org Server Extension : 2.0
    (II) Loader running on linux
    (--) using VT number 7
    (--) PCI:*(0:0:2:0) 80ee:beef:0000:0000 InnoTek Systemberatung GmbH VirtualBox Graphics Adapter rev 0, Mem @ 0xe0000000/134217728
    (WW) Open ACPI failed (/var/run/acpid.socket) (No such file or directory)
    (II) No APM support in BIOS or kernel
    (II) System resource ranges:
    [0] -1 0 0xffffffff - 0xffffffff (0x1) MX[b]
    [1] -1 0 0x000f0000 - 0x000fffff (0x10000) MX[b]
    [2] -1 0 0x000c0000 - 0x000effff (0x30000) MX[b]
    [3] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x0009ffff (0xa0000) MX[b]
    [4] -1 0 0x0000ffff - 0x0000ffff (0x1) IX[b]
    [5] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x00000000 (0x1) IX[b]
    (II) LoadModule: "extmod"
    (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions//libextmod.so
    (II) Module extmod: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
    compiled for 1.6.2, module version = 1.0.0
    Module class: X.Org Server Extension
    ABI class: X.Org Server Extension, version 2.0
    (II) Loading extension MIT-SCREEN-SAVER
    (II) Loading extension XFree86-VidModeExtension
    (II) Loading extension XFree86-DGA
    (II) Loading extension DPMS
    (II) Loading extension XVideo
    (II) Loading extension XVideo-MotionCompensation
    (II) Loading extension X-Resource
    (II) LoadModule: "dbe"
    (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions//libdbe.so
    (II) Module dbe: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
    compiled for 1.6.2, module version = 1.0.0
    Module class: X.Org Server Extension
    ABI class: X.Org Server Extension, version 2.0
    (II) Loading extension DOUBLE-BUFFER
    (II) LoadModule: "glx"
    (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions//libglx.so
    (II) Module glx: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
    compiled for 1.6.2, module version = 1.0.0
    ABI class: X.Org Server Extension, version 2.0
    (==) AIGLX enabled
    (II) Loading extension GLX
    (II) LoadModule: "record"
    (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions//librecord.so
    (II) Module record: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
    compiled for 1.6.2, module version = 1.13.0
    Module class: X.Org Server Extension
    ABI class: X.Org Server Extension, version 2.0
    (II) Loading extension RECORD
    (II) LoadModule: "dri"
    (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions//libdri.so
    (II) Module dri: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
    compiled for 1.6.2, module version = 1.0.0
    ABI class: X.Org Server Extension, version 2.0
    (II) Loading extension XFree86-DRI
    (II) LoadModule: "dri2"
    (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions//libdri2.so
    (II) Module dri2: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
    compiled for 1.6.2, module version = 1.1.0
    ABI class: X.Org Server Extension, version 2.0
    (II) Loading extension DRI2
    (II) LoadModule: "vboxvideo"
    (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers//vboxvideo_drv.so
    (II) Module vboxvideo: vendor="Sun Microsystems, Inc."
    compiled for 1.5.99.901, module version = 1.0.1
    Module class: X.Org Video Driver
    ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 5.0
    (II) VBoxVideo: guest driver for VirtualBox: vbox
    (II) Primary Device is: PCI 00@00:02:0
    (II) resource ranges after xf86ClaimFixedResources() call:
    [0] -1 0 0xffffffff - 0xffffffff (0x1) MX[b]
    [1] -1 0 0x000f0000 - 0x000fffff (0x10000) MX[b]
    [2] -1 0 0x000c0000 - 0x000effff (0x30000) MX[b]
    [3] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x0009ffff (0xa0000) MX[b]
    [4] -1 0 0x0000ffff - 0x0000ffff (0x1) IX[b]
    [5] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x00000000 (0x1) IX[b]
    (II) resource ranges after probing:
    [0] -1 0 0xffffffff - 0xffffffff (0x1) MX[b]
    [1] -1 0 0x000f0000 - 0x000fffff (0x10000) MX[b]
    [2] -1 0 0x000c0000 - 0x000effff (0x30000) MX[b]
    [3] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x0009ffff (0xa0000) MX[b]
    [4] 0 0 0x000a0000 - 0x000affff (0x10000) MS[b]
    [5] 0 0 0x000b0000 - 0x000b7fff (0x8000) MS[b]
    [6] 0 0 0x000b8000 - 0x000bffff (0x8000) MS[b]
    [7] -1 0 0x0000ffff - 0x0000ffff (0x1) IX[b]
    [8] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x00000000 (0x1) IX[b]
    [9] 0 0 0x000003b0 - 0x000003bb (0xc) IS[b]
    [10] 0 0 0x000003c0 - 0x000003df (0x20) IS[b]
    (II) VBoxVideo(0): VirtualBox guest additions video driver version 3.0.2
    (II) Loading sub module "vbe"
    (II) LoadModule: "vbe"
    (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules//libvbe.so
    (II) Module vbe: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
    compiled for 1.6.2, module version = 1.1.0
    ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 5.0
    (II) Loading sub module "int10"
    (II) LoadModule: "int10"
    (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules//libint10.so
    (II) Module int10: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
    compiled for 1.6.2, module version = 1.0.0
    ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 5.0
    (II) VBoxVideo(0): initializing int10
    (II) VBoxVideo(0): Primary V_BIOS segment is: 0xc000
    (II) VBoxVideo(0): VESA BIOS detected
    (II) VBoxVideo(0): VESA VBE Version 2.0
    (II) VBoxVideo(0): VESA VBE Total Mem: 131072 kB
    (II) VBoxVideo(0): VESA VBE OEM: VirtualBox VBE BIOS http://www.virtualbox.org/
    (II) VBoxVideo(0): VESA VBE OEM Software Rev: 0.2
    (II) VBoxVideo(0): VESA VBE OEM Vendor: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
    (II) VBoxVideo(0): VESA VBE OEM Product: VirtualBox VBE Adapter
    (II) VBoxVideo(0): VESA VBE OEM Product Rev: Sun VirtualBox Version 3.0.2
    (II) Loading sub module "ramdac"
    (II) LoadModule: "ramdac"
    (II) Module "ramdac" already built-in
    (II) Loading sub module "fb"
    (II) LoadModule: "fb"
    (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules//libfb.so
    (II) Module fb: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
    compiled for 1.6.2, module version = 1.0.0
    ABI class: X.Org ANSI C Emulation, version 0.4
    (II) Loading sub module "shadowfb"
    (II) LoadModule: "shadowfb"
    (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules//libshadowfb.so
    (II) Module shadowfb: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
    compiled for 1.6.2, module version = 1.0.0
    ABI class: X.Org ANSI C Emulation, version 0.4
    (II) VBoxVideo(0): Creating default Display subsection in Screen section
    "Default Screen Section" for depth/fbbpp 24/32
    (==) VBoxVideo(0): Depth 24, (--) framebuffer bpp 32
    (II) VBoxVideo(0): Output VBOX1 has no monitor section
    (II) VBoxVideo(0): The maximum supported resolution is currently 32000x32000
    (II) VBoxVideo(0): Output VBOX1 has no monitor section
    (II) VBoxVideo(0): Output VBOX1 connected
    (II) VBoxVideo(0): Using exact sizes for initial modes
    (II) VBoxVideo(0): Output VBOX1 using initial mode 1024x768
    (==) VBoxVideo(0): RGB weight 888
    (==) VBoxVideo(0): Default visual is TrueColor
    (==) VBoxVideo(0): Using gamma correction (1.0, 1.0, 1.0)
    (==) VBoxVideo(0): DPI set to (96, 96)
    (II) Loading sub module "dri"
    (II) LoadModule: "dri"
    (II) Reloading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions//libdri.so
    (--) Depth 24 pixmap format is 32 bpp
    (II) do I need RAC? No, I don't.
    (II) resource ranges after preInit:
    [0] -1 0 0xffffffff - 0xffffffff (0x1) MX[b]
    [1] -1 0 0x000f0000 - 0x000fffff (0x10000) MX[b]
    [2] -1 0 0x000c0000 - 0x000effff (0x30000) MX[b]
    [3] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x0009ffff (0xa0000) MX[b]
    [4] 0 0 0x000a0000 - 0x000affff (0x10000) MS[b]
    [5] 0 0 0x000b0000 - 0x000b7fff (0x8000) MS[b]
    [6] 0 0 0x000b8000 - 0x000bffff (0x8000) MS[b]
    [7] -1 0 0x0000ffff - 0x0000ffff (0x1) IX[b]
    [8] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x00000000 (0x1) IX[b]
    [9] 0 0 0x000003b0 - 0x000003bb (0xc) IS[b]
    [10] 0 0 0x000003c0 - 0x000003df (0x20) IS[b]
    (==) VBoxVideo(0): Default visual is TrueColor
    drmOpenDevice: node name is /dev/dri/card0
    drmOpenDevice: open result is 10, (OK)
    drmOpenDevice: node name is /dev/dri/card0
    drmOpenDevice: open result is 10, (OK)
    drmOpenByBusid: Searching for BusID pci:0000:00:02.0
    drmOpenDevice: node name is /dev/dri/card0
    drmOpenDevice: open result is 10, (OK)
    drmOpenByBusid: drmOpenMinor returns 10
    drmOpenByBusid: drmGetBusid reports pci:0000:00:02.0
    (II) [drm] DRM interface version 1.3
    (II) [drm] DRM open master succeeded.
    (II) VBoxVideo(0): [drm] Using the DRM lock SAREA also for drawables.
    (II) VBoxVideo(0): [drm] framebuffer handle = 0xe0000000
    (II) VBoxVideo(0): [drm] added 1 reserved context for kernel
    (II) VBoxVideo(0): X context handle = 0x1
    (II) VBoxVideo(0): [drm] installed DRM signal handler
    (II) VBoxVideo(0): visual configurations initialized
    (==) VBoxVideo(0): Backing store disabled
    (II) VBoxVideo(0): RandR 1.2 enabled, ignore the following RandR disabled message.
    (II) VBoxVideo(0): DPMS enabled
    (II) VBoxVideo(0): The VBox video extensions are now enabled.
    (II) VBoxVideo(0): [DRI] installation complete
    (--) RandR disabled
    (II) Initializing built-in extension Generic Event Extension
    (II) Initializing built-in extension SHAPE
    (II) Initializing built-in extension MIT-SHM
    (II) Initializing built-in extension XInputExtension
    (II) Initializing built-in extension XTEST
    (II) Initializing built-in extension BIG-REQUESTS
    (II) Initializing built-in extension SYNC
    (II) Initializing built-in extension XKEYBOARD
    (II) Initializing built-in extension XC-MISC
    (II) Initializing built-in extension SECURITY
    (II) Initializing built-in extension XINERAMA
    (II) Initializing built-in extension XFIXES
    (II) Initializing built-in extension RENDER
    (II) Initializing built-in extension RANDR
    (II) Initializing built-in extension COMPOSITE
    (II) Initializing built-in extension DAMAGE
    (II) AIGLX: Screen 0 is not DRI2 capable
    drmOpenDevice: node name is /dev/dri/card0
    drmOpenDevice: open result is 11, (OK)
    drmOpenByBusid: Searching for BusID pci:0000:00:02.0
    drmOpenDevice: node name is /dev/dri/card0
    drmOpenDevice: open result is 11, (OK)
    drmOpenByBusid: drmOpenMinor returns 11
    drmOpenByBusid: drmGetBusid reports pci:0000:00:02.0
    (II) Next line is added to allow vboxvideo_drv.so to appear as whitelisted driver
    (II) The file referenced, is *NOT* loaded
    (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers//ati_drv.so
    (EE) AIGLX error: vboxvideo does not export required DRI extension
    (EE) AIGLX: reverting to software rendering
    (II) AIGLX: Loaded and initialized /usr/lib/xorg/modules/dri/swrast_dri.so
    (II) GLX: Initialized DRISWRAST GL provider for screen 0
    (II) VBoxVideo(0): Setting screen physical size to 270 x 203
    (II) config/hal: Adding input device Macintosh mouse button emulation
    (II) LoadModule: "evdev"
    (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/input//evdev_drv.so
    (II) Module evdev: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
    compiled for 1.6.1, module version = 2.2.2
    Module class: X.Org XInput Driver
    ABI class: X.Org XInput driver, version 4.0
    (**) Macintosh mouse button emulation: always reports core events
    (**) Macintosh mouse button emulation: Device: "/dev/input/event0"
    (II) Macintosh mouse button emulation: Found 3 mouse buttons
    (II) Macintosh mouse button emulation: Found x and y relative axes
    (II) Macintosh mouse button emulation: Configuring as mouse
    (**) Macintosh mouse button emulation: YAxisMapping: buttons 4 and 5
    (**) Macintosh mouse button emulation: EmulateWheelButton: 4, EmulateWheelInertia: 10, EmulateWheelTimeout: 200
    (II) XINPUT: Adding extended input device "Macintosh mouse button emulation" (type: MOUSE)
    (**) Macintosh mouse button emulation: (accel) keeping acceleration scheme 1
    (**) Macintosh mouse button emulation: (accel) filter chain progression: 2.00
    (**) Macintosh mouse button emulation: (accel) filter stage 0: 20.00 ms
    (**) Macintosh mouse button emulation: (accel) set acceleration profile 0
    (II) config/hal: Adding input device ImExPS/2 Generic Explorer Mouse
    (**) ImExPS/2 Generic Explorer Mouse: always reports core events
    (**) ImExPS/2 Generic Explorer Mouse: Device: "/dev/input/event5"
    (II) ImExPS/2 Generic Explorer Mouse: Found 5 mouse buttons
    (II) ImExPS/2 Generic Explorer Mouse: Found x and y relative axes
    (II) ImExPS/2 Generic Explorer Mouse: Found scroll wheel(s)
    (II) ImExPS/2 Generic Explorer Mouse: Configuring as mouse
    (**) ImExPS/2 Generic Explorer Mouse: YAxisMapping: buttons 4 and 5
    (**) ImExPS/2 Generic Explorer Mouse: EmulateWheelButton: 4, EmulateWheelInertia: 10, EmulateWheelTimeout: 200
    (II) XINPUT: Adding extended input device "ImExPS/2 Generic Explorer Mouse" (type: MOUSE)
    (**) ImExPS/2 Generic Explorer Mouse: (accel) keeping acceleration scheme 1
    (**) ImExPS/2 Generic Explorer Mouse: (accel) filter chain progression: 2.00
    (**) ImExPS/2 Generic Explorer Mouse: (accel) filter stage 0: 20.00 ms
    (**) ImExPS/2 Generic Explorer Mouse: (accel) set acceleration profile 0
    (II) config/hal: Adding input device AT Translated Set 2 keyboard
    (**) AT Translated Set 2 keyboard: always reports core events
    (**) AT Translated Set 2 keyboard: Device: "/dev/input/event1"
    (II) AT Translated Set 2 keyboard: Found keys
    (II) AT Translated Set 2 keyboard: Configuring as keyboard
    (II) XINPUT: Adding extended input device "AT Translated Set 2 keyboard" (type: KEYBOARD)
    (**) Option "xkb_rules" "evdev"
    (**) Option "xkb_model" "evdev"
    (**) Option "xkb_layout" "us"
    (II) config/hal: Adding input device VirtualBox Guest Service
    (II) LoadModule: "vboxmouse"
    (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/input//vboxmouse_drv.so
    (II) Module vboxmouse: vendor="Sun Microsystems Inc."
    compiled for 0.0.0, module version = 1.0.0
    Module class: X.Org XInput Driver
    ABI class: X.Org XInput driver, version 4.0
    (**) VirtualBox Guest Service: always reports core events
    (**) VirtualBox Guest Service: Device: "/dev/vboxadd"
    (II) XINPUT: Adding extended input device "VirtualBox Guest Service" (type: MOUSE)
    (**) VirtualBox Guest Service: (accel) keeping acceleration scheme 1
    (**) VirtualBox Guest Service: (accel) filter chain progression: 2.00
    (**) VirtualBox Guest Service: (accel) filter stage 0: 20.00 ms
    (**) VirtualBox Guest Service: (accel) set acceleration profile 0
    (**) VirtualBox Guest Service: Mouse Integration associated with screen 0
    (II) VirtualBox Guest Service: On.
    Backtrace:
    0: /usr/bin/X(xorg_backtrace+0x3b) [0x813154b]
    1: /usr/bin/X(xf86SigHandler+0x9e) [0x80cacee]
    2: [0xb8008400]
    3: /usr/bin/X(Dispatch+0x80) [0x808c350]
    4: /usr/bin/X(main+0x395) [0x8072005]
    5: /lib/libc.so.6(__libc_start_main+0xe6) [0xb7be2a36]
    6: /usr/bin/X [0x80714b1]
    Fatal server error:
    Caught signal 11. Server aborting
    Please consult the The X.Org Foundation support
    at http://wiki.x.org
    for help.
    Please also check the log file at "/var/log/Xorg.0.log" for additional information.
    (II) Macintosh mouse button emulation: Close
    (II) UnloadModule: "evdev"
    (II) ImExPS/2 Generic Explorer Mouse: Close
    (II) UnloadModule: "evdev"
    (II) AT Translated Set 2 keyboard: Close
    (II) UnloadModule: "evdev"
    (II) VirtualBox Guest Service: Off.
    (II) VirtualBox Guest Service: Close
    (II) UnloadModule: "vboxmouse"
    Last edited by timmahcheese (2009-08-03 04:07:48)

  • How to setup grub2 with arch linux and xen, lvm on luks

    OK, so I tried downloading this package from AUR:  https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/xen-git/ , but that has patching problems as noted in the comments.  It looks like the packagebuild sets up all the xen stuff for you, but I can't seem to get the package to install because of the error's while patching.  If anyone can point me in the right direction on what all the extra files in the PKGBUILD are for or how to debug problems with PKGBUILDs not working because of patches.
    So next I just tried to compile the latest xen from git://xenbits.xen.org/xen.git (with ./configure, make, make install) and that seemed to go fine, but I'm a bit confused:
    1.  Do I have to do any additional configuration for xen when working with arch linux?  On ubuntu I could just compile the source, update grub, and make sure to start the x services at runtime.
    2.  How do I set up grub to load xen with this setup?  Right now this is my /boot/grub/grub.cfg:
    GRUB_DEFAULT=0
    GRUB_TIMEOUT=5
    GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR="Arch"
    GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet"
    GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="cryptdevice=/dev/sda3:vgStorage"
    # Preload both GPT and MBR modules so that they are not missed
    GRUB_PRELOAD_MODULES="part_gpt part_msdos"
    # Uncomment to enable Hidden Menu, and optionally hide the timeout count
    #GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=5
    #GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT_QUIET=true
    # Uncomment to use basic console
    GRUB_TERMINAL_INPUT=console
    # Uncomment to disable graphical terminal
    #GRUB_TERMINAL_OUTPUT=console
    # The resolution used on graphical terminal
    # note that you can use only modes which your graphic card supports via VBE
    # you can see them in real GRUB with the command `vbeinfo'
    GRUB_GFXMODE=auto
    # Uncomment to allow the kernel use the same resolution used by grub
    GRUB_GFXPAYLOAD_LINUX=keep
    # Uncomment if you want GRUB to pass to the Linux kernel the old parameter
    # format "root=/dev/xxx" instead of "root=/dev/disk/by-uuid/xxx"
    #GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_UUID=true
    # Uncomment to disable generation of recovery mode menu entries
    GRUB_DISABLE_RECOVERY=true
    # Uncomment and set to the desired menu colors. Used by normal and wallpaper
    # modes only. Entries specified as foreground/background.
    #GRUB_COLOR_NORMAL="light-blue/black"
    #GRUB_COLOR_HIGHLIGHT="light-cyan/blue"
    # Uncomment one of them for the gfx desired, a image background or a gfxtheme
    #GRUB_BACKGROUND="/path/to/wallpaper"
    #GRUB_THEME="/path/to/gfxtheme"
    # Uncomment to get a beep at GRUB start
    #GRUB_INIT_TUNE="480 440 1"
    #GRUB_SAVEDEFAULT="true"
    ~
    I've tried throwing in a line like: XEN_HYPERVISOR_CMDLINE="cryptdevice=/dev/sda3:vgStorage", but nothing new shows up on the grub boot menu.
    First time trying to set up a non-ubuntu system, please help!

    As for XEN.... well you could always try QEMU/KVM or LXC.
    As for the LVM2-on-LUKS/dm-crypt
    My /etc/mkinitcpio.conf looks like this...
    MODULES="aesni_intel ata_generic ata_piix nls_cp437 ext4 intel_agp i915 dm-snapshot"
    BINARIES=""
    FILES=""
    HOOKS="base udev autodetect block keymap encrypt lvm2 filesystems keyboard fsck shutdown"
    /etc/defaults/grub
    GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="cryptdevice=/dev/sda2:root:allow-discards"
    GRUB_PRELOAD_MODULES="part_gpt part_msdos"
    GRUB_TERMINAL_INPUT=console
    GRUB_GFXMODE=auto
    GRUB_GFXPAYLOAD_LINUX=keep
    GRUB_DISABLE_RECOVERY=true
    The running grub config looks like this
    /boot/grub/grub.cfg
    9 insmod part_gpt
    10 insmod part_msdos
    53 if loadfont unicode ; then
    54 set gfxmode=auto
    55 load_video
    56 insmod gfxterm
    57 set locale_dir=$prefix/locale
    58 set lang=en_US
    59 insmod gettext
    60 fi
    61 terminal_input console
    62 terminal_output gfxterm
    63 set timeout=3
    84 menuentry 'Backup, Arch Linux grsec kernel' --class arch --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-grsec kernel-true-12341234-8080-8080-8080-332200882255' {
    85 load_video
    86 set gfxpayload=keep
    87 insmod gzio
    88 insmod part_msdos
    89 insmod ext2
    90 set root='hd1,msdos2'
    91 if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
    92 search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd1,msdos2 --hint-efi=hd1,msdos2 --hint-baremetal=ahci1,msdos2 BBAAEEAA-FFCC-CCFF-FFCC-AABBCCEEBBAA
    93 else
    94 search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root BBAAEEAA-FFCC-CCFF-FFCC-AABBCCEEBBAA
    95 fi
    96 echo 'Loading Linux grsec kernel ...'
    97 linux /vmlinuz-linux-grsec root=/dev/mapper/VolGroup00-lvroot rw cryptdevice=/dev/sda2:root:allow-discards quiet
    98 echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
    99 initrd /initramfs-linux-grsec.img
    100 }
    Things to note:
    Numerical UUID is the UUID of the ROOT partition.
    Alphabetical UUIS is the BOOT partition
    hd1,msdos2 AND ahci1,msdos2 are how the Grub Bootloader numbers the drives not Linux.
    I have my BOOT partition on a USB stick, and it is the Second partition.
    So, that would make it, Device 2 and Partition 2
    Device numbering starts at 0
    Partition numbering starts at 1
    Oh, and note that you don't need ":allow-discards" ... at all but certainly if you don't have an SSD. Also note that I included the line numbers so it is very clear that I didn't post the whole thing, but instead what I thought was relevant. Finally, I am loading modules that I don't even need, but what the hell... if it ain't broke, don't fix it
    Last edited by hunterthomson (2013-12-04 08:31:45)

  • About the future of Arch Linux Newsletter.

    Hi,
    As you may have noticed, I have taken the job to make the Arch Linux weekly newsletter a possibility again. I the time I've been doing them, we speak of about 3 weeks, I have enjoyed writing them and have received very positive comments from the community that reads them. I would like to thank all of you personally for the support, you are the community and yours are the newsletter. But, as you all may have noticed the newsletter has been in an unchanged format for quite a long time. I mean, I just added the Humor section thats all, I know there is an email address to which you can all write your suggestions to, but I find people communicate and express themselves better on the forums.
    So what I will ask of you, dear readers, suggestions of sections I should add/remove/edit, I will appreciate your constructive criticism in general. Express your thoughts in this thread to help me make a better more quality newsletter.
    In other news, the newsletter won't be weekly no more, as Jason Chu and I have talked about, is easier to maintain a 2 time a month newsletter than 4 times a month, also the Arch Linux Developers/Community doesn't make that much noise as the other major distributions, we tend to be a bit quieter. The bright side is, the newsletter will be written with more time at hand, more stuff to write about, and will contribute to a better quality overall.
    What has been suggested so far and I will work out on the next issue of the newsletter?
    * Change the Bugs stats to not reflect the overall percentage but the actual bugs opened and closed that week.
    As Roman Kyrylych points out: "They show a summary of status field "Progress" in open reports, but in 99% this field goes straight from 0% to 100%, so the overall number is always very low and doesn't really show anything".
    So I wait for your suggestions as well.;)

    Hi again,
    I ask for your opinion again on the subject of the stats section in the newsletter, Do you find this an important part that should stay there?
    I mean, this is going to be the most tedious, time-taking and in my opinion useless section I will have to write for the newsletter. I do want to bring a high quality newsletter but I feel this part doesn't contribute to the quality of the newsletter at all, Why?
    * Newsletters that include this section are mostly from distributions that has point releases and not rolling releases.
    * The number will always increase with minimum decrease because as a rolling release system Arch Linux is every package keep being updated everyday to newer versions, opening and closing more bugs by itself.
    * People might not be interested in how many bugs are and how many are closed every week, since this numbers aren't even provided on the bug system itself.
    Please give this a consideration and tell me your opinions.

Maybe you are looking for