diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'content/blog/2022-10-22-alpine-linux.md')
| -rw-r--r-- | content/blog/2022-10-22-alpine-linux.md | 206 |
1 files changed, 96 insertions, 110 deletions
diff --git a/content/blog/2022-10-22-alpine-linux.md b/content/blog/2022-10-22-alpine-linux.md index 2bc43cd..073d584 100644 --- a/content/blog/2022-10-22-alpine-linux.md +++ b/content/blog/2022-10-22-alpine-linux.md @@ -7,80 +7,73 @@ 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. +[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. +[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. +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. +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: +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. +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 @@ -89,14 +82,12 @@ 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. +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: + First, login as `root` in order to update and upgrade the system: ```sh apk -U upgrade @@ -104,9 +95,9 @@ web server. 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. + 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 @@ -122,15 +113,14 @@ web server. 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: + 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 + Uncomment the community line for whichever version of Alpine you're running: ```sh @@ -144,9 +134,9 @@ web server. 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: + 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 @@ -154,15 +144,15 @@ web server. 5. SSH - If you didn\'t install OpenSSH as part of the installation, you can - do so now: + 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: + Next, either create a new key or copy your SSH key to the server from your + current machines: ```sh # Create a new key @@ -178,9 +168,9 @@ web server. 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. + 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 @@ -192,8 +182,8 @@ web server. 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: + 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 @@ -216,8 +206,8 @@ web server. # Nginx Web Server -To set up my web server, I simply created the `www` user and -created the necessary files. +To set up my web server, I simply created the `www` user and created the +necessary files. ```sh doas adduser -D -g 'www' www @@ -227,17 +217,17 @@ 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. +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: +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 @@ -246,19 +236,16 @@ 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`. +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/). +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: +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 @@ -270,12 +257,11 @@ 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. +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. +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. |