DigitalOcean Debian to Arch

DigitalOcean deprecated Arch Linux a while back because it was relatively difficult to support due to the rolling updates. I wrote this script to bring it back! This script downloads all the packages necessary for a base Arch Linux VPS, extracts them, configures them, and installs the fully configured system on the root of the filesystem. This script also configures the system to run kexec on startup to ensure that the latest installed kernel version is running.

Warning

This script may cause your VPS to become unbootable. I only recommend running this script on newly created droplets with no important data.

Installation

1. Create a new Debian 7.0 x64 droplet.
2. In the droplet (either SSH or console access works), run the following as root: wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gh2o/digitalocean-debian-to-arch/master/install.sh && bash install.sh
3. Answer the questions as prompted.
   • If the script asks to remove a failed installation, there is a failed installation at /archroot that is unlikely to contain important data. It is safe and recommended to answer yes here.
   • Because the random number generator, required to generate keys for pacman, is painstakingly slow, the script will offer to install the package haveged which will speed it up. Again it is recommended to answer yes here.
4. Sit back and relax! The system will automatically reboot once complete, and you should have a fully updated Arch Linux system in within minutes.
5. You will be able to log in with your original root password. The replaced Debian files are located in /oldroot, which may be safely deleted to free up space.

Advanced Configuration

• You may set archlinux_mirror in the script to a mirror closer to your droplet's datacenter for a faster installation.