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diff --git a/content/blog/2022-10-22-alpine-linux.md b/content/blog/2022-10-22-alpine-linux.md deleted file mode 100644 index 0de5440..0000000 --- a/content/blog/2022-10-22-alpine-linux.md +++ /dev/null @@ -1,266 +0,0 @@ -+++ -date = 2022-10-22 -title = "Alpine Linux: My New Server OS" -description = "" -draft = false -+++ - -# Alpine Linux - -[Alpine Linux](https://alpinelinux.org) is a very small distro, built on musl -libc and busybox. It uses ash as the default shell, OpenRC as the init system, -and apk as the package manager. According to their website, an Alpine container -"requires no more than 8 MB and a minimal installation to disk requires around -130 MB of storage." An actual bare metal machine is recommended to have 100 MB -of RAM and 0-700 MB of storage space. - -Historically, I've used Ubuntu's minimal installation image as my server OS for -the last five years. Ubuntu worked well and helped as my original server -contained an nVidia GPU and no onboard graphics, so quite a few distros won't -boot or install without a lot of tinkering. - -Alpine has given me a huge increase in performance across my Docker apps and -Nginx websites. CPU load for the new server I'm using to test Alpine hovers -around 0-5% on average with an Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-6100 CPU @ 3.70GHz. - -The only services I haven't moved over to Alpine are Plex Media Server and -Syncthing, which may increase CPU load quite a bit depending on how many streams -are running. - -## Installation - -In terms of installation, Alpine has an incredibly useful -[wiki](https://wiki.alpinelinux.org/wiki/Installation) that will guide a user -throughout the installation and post-installation processes, as well as various -other articles and guides. - -To install Alpine, find an appropriate [image to -download](https://alpinelinux.org/downloads/) and flash it to a USB using -software such as Rufus or Etcher. I opted to use the Standard image for my -x86~64~ architecture. - -Once the USB is ready, plug it into the machine and reboot. Note that you may -have to use a key such as `Esc` or `F1-12` to access the boot menu. The Alpine -Linux terminal will load quickly and for a login. - -To log in to the installation image, use the `root` account; there is no -password. Once logged-in, execute the setup command: - -```sh -setup-alpine -``` - -The setup script will ask a series of questions to configure the system. Be sure -to answer carefully or else you may have to re-configure the system after boot. - -- Keyboard Layout (Local keyboard language and usage mode, e.g., us and - variant of us-nodeadkeys.) -- Hostname (The name for the computer.) -- Network (For example, automatic IP address discovery with the "DHCP" - protocol.) -- DNS Servers (Domain Name Servers to query. For privacy reasons, it is NOT - recommended to route every local request to servers like Google's 8.8.8.8.) -- Timezone -- Proxy (Proxy server to use for accessing the web. Use "none" for direct - connections to the internet.) -- Mirror (From where to download packages. Choose the organization you trust - giving your usage patterns to.) -- SSH (Secure SHell remote access server. "Openssh" is part of the default - install image. Use "none" to disable remote login, e.g. on laptops.) -- NTP (Network Time Protocol client used for keeping the system clock in sync - with a time-server. Package "chrony" is part of the default install image.) -- Disk Mode (Select between diskless (disk="none"), "data" or "sys", as - described above.) - -Once the setup script is finished, be sure to reboot the machine and remove the -USB device. - -```sh -reboot -``` - -## Post-Installation - -There are many things you can do once your Alpine Linux system is up and -running, and it largely depends on what you'll use the machine for. I'm going to -walk through my personal post-installation setup for my web server. - -1. Upgrade the System - - First, login as `root` in order to update and upgrade the system: - - ```sh - apk -U upgrade - ``` - -2. Adding a User - - I needed to add a user so that I don't need to log in as root. Note that if - you're used to using the `sudo` command, you will now need to use the `doas` - command on Alpine Linux. - - ```sh - apk add doas - adduser <username> - adduser <username> wheel - ``` - - You can now log out and log back in using the newly-created user: - - ```sh - exit - ``` - -3. Enable Community Packages - - In order to install more common packages that aren't found in the `main` - repository, you will need to enable the `community` repository: - - ```sh - doas nano /etc/apk/repositories - ``` - - Uncomment the community line for whichever version of Alpine you're running: - - ```sh - /media/usb/apks - http://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/v3.16/main - http://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/v3.16/community - #http://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main - #http://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community - #http://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing - ``` - -4. Install Required Packages - - Now that the community packages are available, you can install any packages - you need. In my case, I installed the web server packages I need for my - services: - - ```sh - doas apk add nano nginx docker docker-compose ufw - ``` - -5. SSH - - If you didn't install OpenSSH as part of the installation, you can do so - now: - - ```sh - doas apk add openssh - ``` - - Next, either create a new key or copy your SSH key to the server from your - current machines: - - ```sh - # Create a new key - ssh-keygen - ``` - - If you need to copy an existing SSH key from a current machine: - - ```sh - # Copy key from existing machines - ssh-copy-id <username>@<ip_address> - ``` - -6. Firewall - - Lastly, I installed `ufw` above as my firewall. To set up, default to deny - incoming and allow outgoing connections. Then selectively allow other ports - or apps as needed. - - ```sh - doas ufw default deny incoming - doas ufw default allow outgoing - doas ufw allow SSH - doas ufw allow "WWW Full" - doas ufw allow 9418 # Git server port - ``` - -7. Change Hostname - - If you don't like the hostname set during installation, you just need to - edit two files. First, edit the simple hostname file: - - ```sh - doas nano /etc/hostname - ``` - - ```sh - <hostname> - ``` - - Next, edit the `hosts` file: - - ```sh - doas nano /etc/hosts - ``` - - ```sh - 127.0.0.1 <hostname>.local <hostname> localhost.local localhost - ::1 <hostname> <hostname>.local - ``` - -# Nginx Web Server - -To set up my web server, I simply created the `www` user and created the -necessary files. - -```sh -doas adduser -D -g 'www' www -mkdir /www -doas mkdir /www -doas chown -R www:www /var/lib/nginx/ -doas chown -R www:www /www -``` - -If you're running a simple webroot, you can alter the main `nginx.conf` file. -Otherwise, you can drop configuration files in the following directory. You -don't need to enable or symlink the configuration file like you do in other -systems. - -```sh -doas nano /etc/nginx/http.d/example_website.conf -``` - -Once the configuration is set and pointed at the `/www` directory to serve -files, enable the Nginx service: - -```sh -# Note that 'default' must be included or Nginx will not start on boot -doas rc-update add nginx default -``` - -# Docker Containers - -Docker works exactly the same as other systems. Either execute a `docker run` -command or create a `docker-compose.yml` file and do `docker-compose up -d`. - -# Git Server - -I went in-depth on how to self-host a git server in another post: [Self-Hosting -a Personal Git Server](../git-server/). - -However, there are a few differences with Alpine. First note that in order to -change the `git` user's shell, you must do a few things a little different: - -```sh -doas apk add libuser -doas touch /etc/login.defs -doas mkdir /etc/default -doas touch /etc/default/useradd -doas lchsh git -``` - -# Thoughts on Alpine - -So far, I love Alpine Linux. I have no complaints about anything at this point, -but I'm not completely finished with the migration yet. Once I'm able to upgrade -my hardware to a rack-mounted server, I will migrate Plex and Syncthing over to -Alpine as well - possibly putting Plex into a container or VM. - -The performance is stellar, the `apk` package manager is seamless, and system -administration tasks are effortless. My only regret is that I didn't install -Alpine sooner. |