Arch installation – Part 1

This is a continuation for my earlier post on Arch Linux. In this blog we’ll try to install and tame Arch Linux in an easier and quickest way.

The default installation covers only a minimal base system and expects the end user to configure and use it. Based on the KISS – Keep It Simple, Stupid! principle, Arch Linux focus on elegance, code correctness, minimalist system and simplicity.

Arch Linux supports the Rolling release model and has its own package manager – pacman. With the aim to provide a cutting-edge operating system, Arch never misses out to have an up-to-date repository. The fact that it provides a minimal base system gives you a choice to install it even on low-end hardware and then install only the required packages over it.

Also, its one of the most popular OS for learning Linux from scratch. If you like to experiment with a DIY attitude, you should give Arch Linux a try. It’s what many Linux users consider a core Linux experience.

You have been warned…!!! The method we are going to discuss here wipes out existing operating system(s) from your computer and install Arch Linux on it. So if you are going to follow this tutorial, make sure that you have backed up your files or else you’ll lose all of it or else your are installing in a fresh VM (You can deploy a VM easily with a Virtual Box, VMWare Workstation, KVM, Xen etc). Deploying a VM with any of those afore mentioned tools is completely out of scope for this post. again I would reccomend you to try this installation in any of your old laptop or a new VM

Requirements for installing Arch Linux:

  • A x86_64 (i.e. 64 bit) compatible machine
  • Minimum 512 MB of RAM (recommended 2 GB)
  • At least 1 GB of free disk space (recommended 20 GB for basic usage)
  • An active internet connection
  • A USB drive with minimum 2 GB of storage capacity
  • Familiarity with Linux command line

You have been warned..!!! If you are a person addicted to GUI and doesn’t want to do a DIY kind of Linux installation, IMHO, please discontinue reading this and go ahead with Arch derivatives like Manjaro.

Step 1: Download the ISO

You can download the ISO from the official website.
I prefer using the magnet link and downloading the ISO with a torrent client.

Step 2: Create a live USB of Arch Linux

We will have to create a live USB of Arch Linux from the ISO you just downloaded.

If you are on Linux, you can use dd command to create a live USB. I recommend you to try Balena Etcher for creating your usb. This is my favourite way of doing it. It is a portable piece of software and can be used on Windows/Mac OS/Linux etc

You can download it from the link here

Once you have created a live USB for Arch Linux, shut down your PC. Plugin your USB and boot your system. While booting keep pressing ESC, F2, F10 or F12 (depending upon your system) to go into boot settings. In here, select to boot from USB or removable disk. You will be presented with a Linux terminal which will be automatically logged in as root user.

As the initial steps are completed, we’ll discuss the installation part in my next post

February 10, 2019 FOSS Tools, Linux No Comments on Arch installation – Part 1

Demystifying Arch

There is always a lot of buzz around the Arch Linux distribution in the Linux community. Those who are switching to Linux as a desktop operating system are very reluctant to go the Arch way and those who have experienced with Linux as well. IMHO it’s only because of the mystery prevailing around this distro. Here in this blog we’ll try to address some of those and help to embrace everyone to Arch world with out any concerns.

Arch principles are: Simplicity, Modernity, Pragmatism, User Centrality and Versatility.

Arch Linux is an independently developed, x86-64 general-purpose GNU/Linux distribution that strives to provide the latest stable versions of most software by following a rolling-release model. The default installation is a minimal base system, configured by the user to only add what is purposely required. In other words Arch is a DIY Linux instalaltion where the user is having full control on each and every component getting installed and configured.

The original creator of Arch Linux, Judd Vinet was in total love with the simplicity and elegance of Slackware, BSD, etc. He wanted a distribution that could be DIY, you make it yourself from ground up and it only has what you want it to have.

The solution was to use a shell based manual installation instead of the automatic ncurses or graphical based installations that lead you to learn almost nothing and you know nothing about what exactly was installed on the system. The ZSH based installer of Arch Linux means that you do everything using commands. All this means that you know exactly what is happening, since you are the one doing it. You can customize everything right from the pre-installation steps. You don’t install the OS in Arch. You just download the base system and install it in the root partition/directory. Then you install other required packages needed by you by either chrooting into the system or booting into the new system and it will be a terminal, as it is only base system install the you’ve done. Install and configure each package, you must know what are your required packages and how they are installed and configured. That is how Arch Linux haelps you install your on custom Linux (DIY) and help you to learn by doing, breaking & repeating.

Arch Linux doesn’t care about being easy for Ubuntu/Debian/Redhat/Fedora style to set up. But, there do exist easy-to-install variants if anyone wants to have a touch and feel os Arch Linux; Antergos & Manjaro is essentially Arch with a graphical installer.

Typically in a more simpler steps Arch installation will be like,

  • Download ISO Image
  • Burn the image to a DVD/USB
  • Boot Arch from the media
  • create disk partitions
  • Setup network with/without DHCP, including wired or wireless network
  • Optimize gcc for the specific CPU
  • Config/compile Linux kernel & modules
  • Base packages
  • Environmental configuration
  • Necessary softwares/tools/applications
  • setup X server and GUI

In one word, the installation bundle in those distributions like Debian and CentOS does all things above in a more user-friendly way or even automatically, which you will have to do manually step by step in Arch Linux. But it is not at all a hard to do thing as it sounds. We’ll walk through the installation in the next post.

February 8, 2019 Linux No Comments on Demystifying Arch