Personal Archlinux Installation Guide with btrfs and snapshots

Content

1 Errors in archiso
∟ 1.1 SCHED ERROR
∟ ∟ 1.1.1 Solution
2 Keyboard and font terminal
3 Wifi
∟ 3.1 Iwd
∟ ∟ 3.1.1 Adapters and devices
∟ ∟ 3.1.2 Station mode
∟ ∟ ∟ 3.1.2.1 Visible networks
∟ ∟ ∟ 3.1.2.2 Hidden networks
∟ 3.2 Check internet connection
4 UEFI or legacy bios
∟ 4.1 UEFI bios
∟ 4.2 Legacy bios
5 Update system clock
6 Storage devices
∟ 6.1 List storage devices
∟ 6.2 Verify storage device partition scheme
∟ 6.3 Partitions
∟ ∟ 6.3.1 Create partitions
∟ ∟ 6.3.2 Listing created partitions
∟ ∟ 6.3.3 Partitions formating
7 Subvolumes
∟ 7.1 System mounting options
8 Pacman configuration
∟ 8.1 Reflector mirrorlist
∟ ∟ 8.1.1 America
∟ ∟ 8.1.2 Europe
9 Install essential packages
∟ 9.1 Install packages for UEFI system
∟ 9.2 Install packages for legacy system
10 Configure the system
∟ 10.1 Chroot
∟ 10.2 Time zone
∟ 10.3 Localization
∟ 10.4 Network
∟ 10.5 Initramfs
∟ ∟ 10.5.1 Add modules
∟ ∟ 10.5.2 Recreate the initramfs image
∟ 10.6 Boot loader
∟ ∟ 10.6.1 Grub
∟ ∟ ∟ 10.6.1.1 Install grub
∟ ∟ ∟ 10.6.1.2 Config grub
∟ ∟ ∟ 10.6.1.3 Generate grub.cfg
∟ 10.7 Users and groups
∟ 10.8 Pacman configuration
∟ 10.9 Microcode
∟ 10.10 Aditional packages
∟ 10.11 Network manager
∟ ∟ 10.11.1 Iwd
∟ ∟ 10.11.2 Systemd-networkd
∟ 10.12 zswap or zram
∟ ∟ 10.12.1 Enabling zram
∟ 10.13 Fstab
11 Unmount partitions and restart system
12 Openresolv
13 Wifi
∟ 13.1 Iwd
∟ ∟ 13.1.1 Station mode
∟ ∟ 13.1.2 Visible networks
∟ ∟ 13.1.3 Hidden networks
∟ ∟ 13.1.4 Check internet connection
14 Snapper
∟ 14.1 Create configuration
∟ 14.2 Snapshots configuration
∟ 14.3 Automatically update grub upon snapshot
15 Reflector mirrorlist
∟ 15.1 America
∟ 15.2 Europe
16 User configurations

1.1 SCHED ERROR

Ante un error de éste tipo durante el inicio de archiso:

[171.533340] nouveau 0000.03.00.0: fifo: SCHED_ERROR 06 []
[171.533539] nouveau 0000.03.00.0: fifo: SCHED_ERROR 06 []
[171.534340] nouveau 0000.03.00.0: fifo: SCHED_ERROR 06 []
...

1.1.1 Solution

Press e when the menu appeart and in the line initramfs-linux.img add the following kernel parameters to disable modesetting:

nomodeset nouveau.modeset=0

2 Keyboard and font terminal

Set the latin keyboard layout/font (us: default):

# loadkeys la-latin1
# setfont Lat2-Terminus16

3 Wifi

Connect internet using wifi.

3.1 Iwd

3.1.1 Adapters and devices

List Wi-Fi adapters and devices:

root@archiso~# iwctl
NetworkConfigurationEnabled: enabled
StateDirectory: /var/lib/iwd
Version: 1.27
[iwd]# adapter list
                             Adapters
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 Name         Powered   Vendor              Model
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 phy0         on        Qualcomm AtherosQCA9565 / AR9565 Wir

[iwd]# device list
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                             Devices
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 Name         Address             Powered  Adapter  Mode
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 wlan0        80:a5:89:d7:6c:3d   on       phy0     station
[iwd]#

If the adapter and device are turned on, continue the guide, if not:
Check the driver status:

# lspci -kv | grep -A7 Network

If all goes well continue with the guide, if not:

3.1.2 Station mode

List wifi devices on station mode:

root@archiso~# iwctl
NetworkConfigurationEnabled: enabled
StateDirectory: /var/lib/iwd
Version: 1.27
[iwd]# station list
                    Devices in Station Mode       *
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Name                State           Scanning
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  wlan0               disconnect

3.1.2.1 Visible networks

List networks and connect to a:

[iwd]# station wlan0 scan
[iwd]# station wlan0 get-networks
                    Available networks            *
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Network name                Security           Signal
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  PETRO PRESIDENTE            psk                ****

[iwd]# station wlan0 connect 'PETRO PRESIDENTE '
Passphrase:******

3.1.2.2 Hidden networks

Connect hidden networks:

[iwd]# station wlan0 connect-hidden 'PETRO PRESIDENTE '
password:******

3.2 Check internet connection:

# ping -c2 archlinux.org
PING archlinux.org (95.217.163.246) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from archlinux.org (95.217.163.246): icmp_seq=1 ttl=50 time=202 ms
64 bytes from archlinux.org (95.217.163.246): icmp_seq=2 ttl=50 time=222 ms
--- archlinux.org ping statistics ---
3 packets transmitted, 3 received, 0% packet loss, time 2000ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 201.582/210.083/222.138/8.760 ms

4 UEFI or legacy bios

Check boot type, UEFI or BIOS/Legacy:

# ls /sys/firmware/efi/efivars

5 Update system clock:

# timedatectl set-ntp true

6.1 List storage devices:

# lsblk -dp

6.2 Verify storage device partition scheme:

# parted /dev/sda print | grep -E "Model|msdos|gpt"

6.3.1 Create partitions:

# fdisk /dev/sda

6.3.2 Listing created partitions:

# lsblk -p /dev/sda

6.3.3 Partitions formating

UEFI boot:

# mkfs.fat -F32 -n "UEFI" /dev/sda1

Legacy boot:

# mkfs.ext4 -F -L "legacy" /dev/sda1

Swap partition:

# mkswap -L "swap" /dev/sda2
# swapon /dev/sda2

Root partition:

# mkfs.btrfs -f -L "root" -R free-space-tree -n 32k /dev/sda3

List partitions:

# lsblk -po NAME,FSTYPE,LABEL,MOUNTPOINT,SIZE /dev/sda

7 Subvolumes

Mount root partition:

# mount /dev/sda3 /mnt

Create subvolumes:

# btrfs subvolume create /mnt/@
# btrfs subvolume create /mnt/@home
# btrfs subvolume create /mnt/@var_log
# btrfs subvolume create /mnt/@var_tmp
# btrfs subvolume create /mnt/@snapshots

List subvolumes:

# btrfs subvolume list -p /mnt

Umount partition root:

# umount /mnt

7.1 System mounting options

Mount root partition with options:

# mount -o noatime,compress=zstd,subvol=@ /dev/sda3 /mnt

Mount subvolumes with options:

# mount --mkdir -o noatime,compress=zstd,subvol=@home /dev/sda3 /mnt/home
# mount --mkdir -o noatime,compress=zstd,subvol=@var_log /dev/sda3 /mnt/var/log
# mount --mkdir -o noatime,compress=zstd,subvol=@var_tmp /dev/sda3 /mnt/var/tmp
# mount --mkdir -o noatime,compress=zstd,subvol=@snapshots /dev/sda3 /mnt/.snapshots

Mount boot partition:

# mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/boot

List partitions:

# lsblk -p /dev/sda

8 Pacman configuration

Enable/uncomment parallel downloads, comic pacman and color on "# misc options" section:

# vim /etc/pacman.conf
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
# Misc options
Color
ParallelDownloads = 5
ILoveCandy

Get in detail the 20 download mirrors synchronized in the last 12 hours, with a response time of no more than 35 seconds, classify them by speed and overwrite the file /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist, from the countries:

8.1.1 America

Canada 🇨🇦, Chile 🇨🇱, Brazil 🇧🇷, Ecuador 🇪🇨, United States 🇺🇸 and Colombia 🇨🇴:

# curl -s ix.io/3V9q | bash

8.1.2 Europe

France 🇫🇷, Germany 🇩🇪, Spain 🇪🇸, United Kingdom 🇬🇧, Italy 🇮🇹, Switzerland 🇨🇭 and Hungary 🇭🇺:

# curl -s ix.io/3YXN | bash

9 Install essential packages

Use the pacstrap(8) script to install essentials packages.

9.1 Install packages for UEFI system:

# pacstrap /mnt base{,-devel} linux{,-{headers,firmware}} grub ntfs-3g gvfs-{mtp,afc,gphoto2} neovim git os-prober arch-install-scripts zram-generator efibootmgr

9.2 Install packages for legacy system:

# pacstrap /mnt base{,-devel} linux{,-{headers,firmware}} grub ntfs-3g gvfs-{mtp,afc,gphoto2} neovim git os-prober arch-install-script zram-generator

10 Configure the system

10.1 Chroot

Change root into the new system:

# arch-chroot /mnt

10.2 Time zone

Set the time zone for Colombia:

# ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/America/Bogota /etc/localtime

Run hwclock(8) to generate /etc/adjtime:

# hwclock --systohc

Set system clock to start in UTC mode (optional):

# timedatectl set-local-rtc 0

10.3 Localization

Edit /etc/locale.gen and uncomment es_CO.UTF-8 UTF-8 for Spanish Colombia:

# nvim /etc/locale.gen
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
es_CO.UTF-8 UTF-8

Generate the locales by running:

# locale-gen

Create the locale.conf(5) file, and set the LANG variable accordingly:

# nvim /etc/locale.conf
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
LANG=es_CO.UTF-8

Set the keyboard layout and console font in vconsole.conf(5):

# nvim /etc/vconsole.conf
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
KEYMAP=la-latin1
FONT=Lat2-Terminus16

10.4 Network

Create the hostname file:

# echo arch > /etc/hostname

Set system with a fully qualified domain name:

# nvim /etc/hosts
127.0.0.1                      localhost
::1                            localhost
127.0.1.1   arch.localdomain   arch

10.5 Initramfs

Modify mkinitcpio.conf(5) and add necessary modules.

10.5.1 Add modules

Add btrfs and zram modules, and delete hook fsck:

# nvim /etc/mkinitcpio.conf
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
MODULES=(btrfs zram)
...
HOOKS=(base udev autodetect modconf block filesystems keyboard consolefont)
...

10.5.2 Recreate the initramfs image

Generate manual all presets:

# mkinitcpio -P

10.6 Boot loader

Choose and install a Linux-capable bootloader.

10.6.1 Grub

10.6.1.1 Install grub

Install grub on a GPT partition with UEFI bootloader :

# grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot --bootloader-id=Archlinux

Install grub on a MBR partition with Legacy bootloader :

# grub-install --target=i386-pc /dev/sda

10.6.1.2 Config grub

Detecting other operating systems

Remove "quiet" option and uncomment os-prober option:

# nvim /etc/default/grub
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="loglevel=3"
GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER=false

10.6.1.3 Generate grub.cfg

# grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

10.7 Users and groups

Set the root password:

# passwd

Add user with system groups, user groups and pre-systemd groups:

# useradd -mG power,wheel,storage,input,video,audio -s /bin/bash dakataca

Set dakataca user password:

# passwd dakataca

To allow members of group wheel sudo access uncomment:

# EDITOR=nvim visudo
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
%wheel      ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL

10.8 Pacman configuration

Enable/uncomment multilib repository, parallel downloads, comic pacman, VerbosePkgLists and color on "# misc options" section:

# nvim /etc/pacman.conf
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
# Misc options
Color
VerbosePkgLists
ParallelDownloads = 3
ILoveCandy

[multilib]
Include = /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist

10.9 Microcode

Enable microcode updates.

Install AMD microcode package:

# pacman -Sy amd-ucode --noconfirm

Install Intel microcode package:

# pacman -Sy intel-ucode --noconfirm

10.10 Aditional packages

Aditionals Packages required for btrfs, wifi and fonts:

# pacman -S linux-lts iwd grub-btrfs snapper reflector rsync ttf-{inconsolata,dejavu,hack,roboto,liberation} usbutils openresolv --needed --noconfirm

10.11 Network manager

10.11.1 Iwd

Useful for managing wireless networks and wireless adapters.

Create configuration directory:

# mkdir -p /etc/iwd/

Select DNS manager resolv.conf and configure routes using the built-in DHCP client:

# nvim /etc/iwd/main.conf
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
[Network]
NameResolvingService=resolvconf

[General]
EnableNetworkConfiguration=true

Enable unit iwd.service

# systemctl enable iwd.service

10.11.2 Systemd networkd

Wired configuration with static ip:

# nvim /etc/systemd/network/20-wired.network
.......................................................................
[Match]
Name=enp*

[Network]
DHCP=no
Address=192.168.1.2/24
Gateway=192.168.1.1

Wireless configuration with dinamyc ip:

# nvim /etc/systemd/network/25-wireless.network
.......................................................................
[Match]
Name=wl*

[Network]
DHCP=yes
IgnoreCarrierLoss=3s

Enable the service:

# systemctl enable systemd-networkd.service

10.12 zswap or zram

zswap comes enabled in the official linux kernel by default.

10.12.1 Enabling zram

Disable zswap, enable TCP Fast Open and decreasing the virtual file system (VFS)cache parameter:

# nvim /etc/sysctl.d/99-sysctl.conf
.......................................................................
zswap.enabled=0
net.ipv4.tcp_fastopen=3
vm.vfs_cache_pressure=50

Create file config:

# curl ix.io/48cE -so /etc/systemd/zram-generator.conf

10.13 Fstab

Generate an fstab file defined for UUID with genfstab:

# genfstab -U / >> /etc/fstab

11 Unmount partitions and restart system

Exit chroot environment:

# exit

Poweroff swap:

# swapoff -a

Disassemble all mounting points and reboot:

# umount -R /mnt
# reboot

12 Openresolv

Cloudflare and Google DNS servers with /etc/resolv.conf:

# nvim /etc/resolv.conf
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
# Resolver configuration file.
# See resolv.conf(5) for details.
nameserver 1.1.1.1
nameserver 8.8.8.8
nameserver 8.8.4.4
nameserver 1.0.0.1

Overwriting of /etc/resolv.conf:

# chattr +i /etc/resolv.conf

13 Wifi

13.1 Iwd

Wireless Adapter Manager.

13.1.1 Station mode

List wifi devices on station mode:

root@arch~# iwctl
NetworkConfigurationEnabled: enabled
StateDirectory: /var/lib/iwd
Version: 1.27
[iwd]# station list
                    Devices in Station Mode       *
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Name                State           Scanning
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  wlan0               disconnect

13.1.2 Visible networks

List networks and connect to a:

[iwd]# station wlan0 scan
[iwd]# station wlan0 get-networks
                    Available networks            *
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Network name                Security           Signal
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  PETRO PRESIDENTE            psk                ****

[iwd]# station wlan0 connect 'PETRO PRESIDENTE '
password:******

13.1.3 Hidden networks

Connect hidden networks:

[iwd]# station wlan0 connect-hidden 'PETRO PRESIDENTE '
password:******

13.1.4 Check internet connection:

# ping -c3 archlinux.org

14 Snapper

Managing snapshots of Btrfs subvolumes.

14.1 Create configuration

Configuration snapper and mount point:

# umount /.snapshots
# rm -r /.snapshots

Create a configuration file for the subvolumes mounted at /:

# snapper -c config create-config /

14.2 Snapshots configuration

Automatic timeline snapshots

Snapshot timeline can be created with a configurable number of hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly snapshots kept.

Set snapshot limits

Set onfiguration named config with only 5 hourly snapshots, 7 daily ones, no monthly and no yearly ones:

nvim /etc/snapper/configs/config
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
TIMELINE_MIN_AGE="1800"
TIMELINE_LIMIT_HOURLY="5"
TIMELINE_LIMIT_DAILY="7"
TIMELINE_LIMIT_WEEKLY="0"
TIMELINE_LIMIT_MONTHLY="0"
TIMELINE_LIMIT_YEARLY="0"

14.3 Automatically update grub upon snapshot:

Automatically regenerate grub-btrfs.cfg when a modification appears in the /.snapshots mount point:

# systemctl enable --now grub-btrfs.path

Use the provided systemd units to periodically clean older snapshots and start the automatic snapshot timeline:

# systemctl enable snapper-{timeline,cleanup}.timer

15 Reflector mirrorlist:

15.1 America

Canada 🇨🇦, Chile 🇨🇱, Brazil 🇧🇷, Ecuador 🇪🇨, United States 🇺🇸 and Colombia 🇨🇴.

# curl -s ix.io/3V9q | bash

15.2 Europe

France 🇫🇷, Germany 🇩🇪, Spain 🇪🇸, United Kingdom 🇬🇧, Italy 🇮🇹, Switzerland 🇨🇭 and Hungary 🇭🇺.

# curl -s ix.io/3YXN | bash

16 User configurations

Manage "well known" user directories like the desktop folder and the music folder.

Install xdg-user-dirs:

$ sudo pacman -S xdg-user-dirs

Generate default directories in the English language (recomended):

$ LC_ALL=C xdg-user-dirs-update --force

Generar directorios predeterminados en el idioma establecido en el sistema (es_CO.UTF-8):

$ xdg-user-dirs-update