[SOLVED] Installing Arch Linux on a Very Slow Internet Connection.

donniezazen · 2013-10-23 11:36:03

Namaste,

My internet bandwidth is capped at maximum 256 kbps. I will not be able to do net install over such a slow internet connection and if power goes out I will be stranded in a dicey situation. Preferable way to install Arch would be to download a few GBs of archive, that I can do in a few nights, and then do installation in a sitting. I see there is the Archboot which has [core] repository but I also would like to have KDE SC and other important packages like networkmanager, so I have a working system in the end. I currently don't have access to any system running Arch. I do have a system running Ubuntu. How can I go about installing Arch in such a situation so that I can feel home (Arch+KDE)? Any pointers would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

Last edited by donniezazen (2013-10-27 01:17:54)

Roberth · 2013-10-23 12:38:37

I think you have misunderstood the install process, when you are installing the base system and kde, you just use a package manager called pacstrap, if the power goes, you just start the process again and it starts from where you left off.

Last edited by Roberth (2013-10-23 13:20:41)

drcouzelis · 2013-10-23 12:50:05

Roberth wrote:

if the power goes, you just start the process all over again and it starts from where you left off.

And "all over again" at that point would take, I think, about two minutes. Arch Linux and pacman are very good at picking up where it left off.

Is installing Arch Linux using that speed of an Internet connection something that has caused a problem for you in the past? Why do you think it would be a problem?

HenrikJuul · 2013-10-23 13:38:45

You might be able to pull the core and extra repositories and host your own mirror while installing, that would enable a fast install. I've pulled the sizes from my own repository:

$ du -Lh core/os/x86_64/ multilib/os/x86_64/ extra/os/x86_64/ community/os/x86_64/
283M    core/os/x86_64/
345M    multilib/os/x86_64/
5.4G    extra/os/x86_64/
18G     community/os/x86_64/

However, as Roberth and drcouzelis says above, pacman is quite good at continuing where it left off, and should be able to download a base system (less than 100MiB) overnight, even with your bandwidth. KDE on the other hand is a very large set of packages, and I would personally wait with its installation till I've booted up the real system.

x33a · 2013-10-23 13:41:49

donniezazen wrote:

Preferable way to install Arch would be to download a few GBs of archive, that I can do in a few nights, and then do installation in a sitting. I see there is the Archboot which has [core] repository but I also would like to have KDE SC and other important packages like networkmanager, so I have a working system in the end.

Just install base, and then get the urls of other packages using

# pacman -S --print kde

and download them using your favourite download manager to the /var/cache/pacman/pkg directory. I used to upgrade my system this way a few years back, when I had access to a super slow connection.

Last edited by x33a (2013-10-23 13:42:04)

Trilby · 2013-10-23 13:43:23

HenrikJuul wrote:

...should be able to download a base system (less than 100MiB) overnight ...

If that speed is consistent, then it would take 53 minutes. That speed may not be great for streaming video, but it's not that slow.

HenrikJuul · 2013-10-23 13:51:43

Trilby wrote:

If that speed is consistent, then it would take 53 minutes. That speed may not be great for streaming video, but it's not that slow.

You're absolutely right, I was thinking back to my 56 kbaud modem - damn slow and unstable

Roberth · 2013-10-23 14:15:57

Base, kdebase-workspace, xorg-server and your graphics card driver gives you a working kde desktop.

Last edited by Roberth (2013-10-23 14:16:08)

donniezazen · 2013-10-23 15:30:30

According to my calculations, 256 kbps is equal to 115.2 MB/H [1]. My previous experience says I will probably need to download 150 MB of core and other basic packages from beginner's guide and around 200 MB of KDE stuff. On a 115.2 MB/H it will take me 3 hours to do the installation. Realistically, Internet connection will be much slower than that. So, it could take anywhere from 3 to 6 hours. That's is why I would much prefer to first download everything and then do installation in as usual 15-20 minutes.

I don't have Arch installed on any system. Only way I can think of running pacman -S --print is through live cd. Will it also print url of dependencies? Will this only work for KDE and not [core]? On an installed system I can drop packages in /var/cache/pacman/pkg but where will I drop [core] in LiveCD?

Is it possible to modify Arch ISO or Archboot to include a list of desired packages on Ubuntu?

[1] 256kbps*(1B/8b)*(1M/10^3K)*(3600s/H)

Roberth · 2013-10-23 15:42:05

How exactly do you get it downloaded faster that way?

x33a · 2013-10-23 17:57:48

donniezazen wrote:

I don't have Arch installed on any system. Only way I can think of running pacman -S --print is through live cd. Will it also print url of dependencies? Will this only work for KDE and not [core]? On an installed system I can drop packages in /var/cache/pacman/pkg but where will I drop [core] in LiveCD?

--print does list the urls for the dependencies too. I think you can simply do

# pacman -S --print base base-devel kde > pkglist.txt

from a live cd (be sure to use an up-to-date mirror).

Download the packages listed in pkglist.txt from your ubuntu installation at your pace, and then finish the install using those packages later.

To use the downloaded packages, bind mount the directory containing those to /var/cache/pacman/pkg on the live cd, and use

# pacstrap -c base

The -c switch will make pacstrap use the host cache.

https://projects.archlinux.org/arch-ins … acstrap.in

jasonwryan · 2013-10-23 18:05:30

I'd worry less about the install (a bootable base system) and more about ongoing maintenance. If you are stuck with that speed, then think very carefully about the logistics of keeping it up-to-date...

donniezazen · 2013-10-24 02:32:04

@x33a Thanks that's very useful. I will give it a try and report back.

@Roberth I can leave my system ON for a day or two and download everything I need at my convenience. It is better than getting stuck with command-line. Installation takes only a few minutes but the most time consuming task in this process is to download packages, so, I see no fallacy in pre-planning the most time consuming task.

@jasonwryan It is one of my worries but once you go blue, you keep coming back to it. Jokes apart, once I have a working system I will need to keep it updated and that can be done once a week by leaving system ON for an extended period of time. Since Pacman can work in background it doesn't sound like a mammoth task that I have to do manually. There is not much difference in update size when compared to beginner's friendly distro's like Ubuntu, Fedora or OpenSUSE. Software's like JDK, Chrome, etc. get updated regularly across distributions.

cfr · 2013-10-27 00:17:24

You also might want to consider whether you want to install all of KDE. You don't need to - it is packaged so that you can pick the bits you want and leave much of the rest. (Well, you may still end up with some stuff you'd rather not have but that's a different issue.) Personally, there are chunks of it I just don't want so I don't install those at all - and I am short of neither bandwidth nor disk space. Obviously, if you want it all, you want it all. But make sure you really do before you devote scarce resources to downloading it!

donniezazen · 2013-10-27 01:23:22

At the beginning of the month my speed is bumped to 512 Kbps, so, I was able to install Arch/btrfs/kde-meta in around 2 hours. Boy it would have sucked it I had to download everything on a speed below 256 Kbps. All well. Thanks all for commenting.

@cfr I agree I install individual packages. It would defy purpose of using Arch if I install KDE SC.

Arch Linux

#1 2013-10-23 11:36:03

[SOLVED] Installing Arch Linux on a Very Slow Internet Connection.

#2 2013-10-23 12:38:37

Re: [SOLVED] Installing Arch Linux on a Very Slow Internet Connection.

#3 2013-10-23 12:50:05

Re: [SOLVED] Installing Arch Linux on a Very Slow Internet Connection.

#4 2013-10-23 13:38:45

Re: [SOLVED] Installing Arch Linux on a Very Slow Internet Connection.

#5 2013-10-23 13:41:49

Re: [SOLVED] Installing Arch Linux on a Very Slow Internet Connection.

#6 2013-10-23 13:43:23

Re: [SOLVED] Installing Arch Linux on a Very Slow Internet Connection.

#7 2013-10-23 13:51:43

Re: [SOLVED] Installing Arch Linux on a Very Slow Internet Connection.

#8 2013-10-23 14:15:57

Re: [SOLVED] Installing Arch Linux on a Very Slow Internet Connection.

#9 2013-10-23 15:30:30

Re: [SOLVED] Installing Arch Linux on a Very Slow Internet Connection.

#10 2013-10-23 15:42:05

Re: [SOLVED] Installing Arch Linux on a Very Slow Internet Connection.

#11 2013-10-23 17:57:48

Re: [SOLVED] Installing Arch Linux on a Very Slow Internet Connection.

#12 2013-10-23 18:05:30

Re: [SOLVED] Installing Arch Linux on a Very Slow Internet Connection.

#13 2013-10-24 02:32:04

Re: [SOLVED] Installing Arch Linux on a Very Slow Internet Connection.

#14 2013-10-27 00:17:24

Re: [SOLVED] Installing Arch Linux on a Very Slow Internet Connection.

#15 2013-10-27 01:23:22

Re: [SOLVED] Installing Arch Linux on a Very Slow Internet Connection.

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