Daniel Wayne Armstrong

Set up a stack of virtualization tools on a Debian host for creating and managing virtual machines (VMs). Start Here Directories Permissions Services Create VM Resize VM guest window Video Acceleration Virsh and virt-clone Resources Start Here KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) is built into the Linux kernel and handles the CPU and memory details. QEMU (Quick EMUlator) emulates the various hardware components of a physical

Linux kernel features zswap and zram both provide a compressed storage area in RAM for swap memory. But each takes a very different approach to achieve a fast(er) swap. Start Here Configure the Bootloader ZBM GRUB Verify Cmdline Dmesg Parameters Statistics Troubleshooting Resources Start Here The most apparent difference between the two approaches to swap management are that while zswap works in tandem with a swapfile or swap partition, zram

I like to create encrypted storage space to hold the contents of my home directory that is separate from the space that contains the root filesystem. This makes it easier if I decide to re-install Linux on the target system while preserving user data. During an install of LMDE 7 aka "Gigi" - if you select the option to automatically erase and partition the disk using LUKS (Linux Unified Key Setup) - the installer creates a single encrypted partition formatted with LVM (Logical Volume Manager)…

Set up a stack of virtualization tools on a Void Linux host for creating and managing virtual machines (VMs). 1. Start Here 2. Directories 3. Permissions 4. Services 5. Create VM 6. Resize VM guest window 7. Video Acceleration 8. Virsh and Virt-clone 9. Resources 1. Start Here KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) is built into the Linux kernel and handles the CPU and memory details. QE

I've only used it for a few weeks, however I've quickly come to love Void Linux. Void meets all the criteria I especially value when evaluating a desktop Linux distro for my personal use: Built and led by a community and built from scratch (not a fork). A rolling release model of continuous, incremental upgrades. Provide officially supported init system alternative(s) to systemd. Decent project documentation to get started and perform basic tasks. Tinkering friendly. All this rolling and…

Part of the "FreeBSD on a Laptop" series. The FreeBSD Handbook has an extensive chapter on installing FreeBSD that covers a wide range of scenarios with descriptions of each possible choice. Its an invaluable resource maintained by volunteer contributors. After performing a few installs, these are my personal notes of steps taken and choices made. A "short and sweet" version of the above Handbook. 1. Start Here Acquire an installation image Prepare the USB installation medium 2. Installation…

Do you like Lego? Do you like Linux? I think I've found the most Lego-ish Linux of the bunch: Gentoo Linux! Using the Gentoo minimal install image and Reading The Fine Manual, I show the choices I make to create an encrypted Root-On-ZFS minimal Linux system with "just enough" to provide a solid foundation to build upon further: whether that be setting up a desktop, laptop, or server. 01. Start Here Acquire an installation image Prepare the USB installation media Boot the installation media Set…

As we all go about our day we discover bits of wisdom that WOW! and YES! seem to be directed at you. I like to put these bits together in a file for later review. Using the programs fortune and cowsay and lolcat I made a little shell script that runs at a console login or when a terminal window/tab is opened and outputs a colourful, random fortune from my custom collection. Fortune Customize Cowsay Lolcat Script Auto-run Fortune The fortune command is included in the FreeBSD base system. On…

Part of the "FreeBSD on a Laptop" series. Disable password logins on the FreeBSD SERVER in favour of using SSH keys for authentication. Create the necessary SSH keys on a FreeBSD CLIENT that will be used to secure access to remote devices. 1. Start Here 2. Create Public and Private Keys 3. Share Public Key 4. Disable Password Logins 5. Create an Alias 6. Keychain 1. Start Here On BOTH the CLIENT and the SERVER Create the .ssh directory and authorized_keys file in $HOME: mkdir ~/.ssh && touch…

Chimera Linux is a delightful community-driven Linux distribution built from scratch that does things differently: musl instead of the typical glibc for C library, dinit over systemd for system init, and a userland derived from FreeBSD core tools. Using the Chimera base install image and working my way through this excellent installation guide for configuring Chimera with the OpenZFS filesystem and the ZFSBootMenu bootloader, I show the choices I make to create an encrypted, minimal Linux sys...

The first time I installed NetBSD I used sysinst(8), a menu-based program launched at boot that runs in the console. It has a clear and concise layout and I was quickly up-and-running on my new BSD system. For my next install I wanted to include disk encryption to protect personal data in case the device is lost or stolen. Its not really enough to simply encrypt home directories. Passphrases and sensitive data can linger and be extracted from locations such as system logs and swap memory. The...

Disable password logins on the BSD or Linux SERVER in favour of using SSH keys for authentication. Create the necessary SSH keys on a NetBSD CLIENT that will be used to secure access to remote devices. 1. Start Here 2. Create Public and Private Keys 3. Share Public Key 4. Disable Password Logins 5. Create an Alias 6. Keychain 1. Start Here On BOTH the CLIENT and the SERVER Create the .ssh directory and authorized_keys file in $HOME: mkdir ~/.ssh && touch ~/.ssh/authorized_keys chmod 700 ~...

Part of the “FreeBSD on a Laptop” series. After the first boot of my new FreeBSD installation, these are some extra steps I like to make right away to get a system off to a good start! Package management Set pkg manager to default to yes Allow designated users to run commands as root Use a larger font in console Add user to additional groups Alias for root mail Switch user shell from sh to bash Create SSH keys Boot delay Message of the day Clear terminal at logout Package management Pack...