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Hello arch-community. I have a dream, a goal.
Short story:
I'd like to have a centrally installed and configured archlinux on my home network that could be accessed via different computers. This would mean the whole desktop environment with all the usual bells and whistles.
I am an advanced beginner and can follow wiki instructions well. Problem is, I don't know which way to go.
- Is the idea viable? Am I missing something?
- My router/switch can create a samba accessible share from a usb3 disk. Can I use that to have a central location for root filesystem? (Network speed is 1gb so this could work.)
- Or should I have one "server" running in the corner and access that with others?
- Which method is the least work to install?
Background and misc questions:
I have installed archlinux several times on different computers and I'm getting tired of configuring them all separately. Instead I'd like to configure one installation properly and use that with many computers. I'm not necessarily looking for diskless system, though that is an option as well. Having something light installed on every household computer is ok. Using each machine's hard drive for this or that, is ok as well.
- If the central installation is 64bit, can I access it with 32bit older laptop?
- I suppose gaming is not really possible over network. Can I run arch over network but install for example games on my main computer?
- How about driver installation on different computers?
I thank you for your replies beforehand, every comment is appreciated. Also, if a similar thread exists, please direct me there.
Last edited by scarpa (2015-05-26 20:28:13)
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What exactly do you want to access and how? Do you mean using ssh?
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Ah, I see how my original post lacked some details (I'll edit it in there as well):
I aim to have a full desktop experience using the same installation regardless of the machine being used. This would include browsing the internet, listening music, editing photos etc. etc. How this is achieved is part of my question. What would be the best way?
Also another possibility occured to me: Can I have a /boot folder on every machine and have that load the rest of the system from samba share?
Last edited by scarpa (2015-05-26 20:27:14)
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Here are some of the possibilities I've come up with, please point out if they have some inherent flaws:
- Have a /boot folder (and/or something else) on each computer which loads the rest of the system over network. Basically samba would be seen as a normal hard drive. What other folder would be useful to have on each computer?
- Have a "server" machine on at all times and use it for diskless system, as per wikipage. Is this actually the same principle as the first one?
- Have a full installation made on one computer. This installation would then be backupped on samba share. Other computers would load this whole backup image every time they are booted up. Every time any of the computers are closed, they would update the image so next time any of them is used, the updated backup is available. I suppose this would require a barebone installation on each machine and those could be "upgraded" using the backup image. Is this possible?
This whole system would have only one user and one username, me. Later I might add another for the kids to use, but lets think about that later.
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Have a look at https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Diskless_system
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Have a look at https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Diskless_system
Yep, that is one option. Is it the only one though? From what I've read it seems a bit challenging to set up. Is there really no way to utilize the shared folder for this scheme? I'd be inclined not to have an extra computer acting as a server. Of course if it's the only way, then...
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You could create a live USB, copy it to different USB media and run it from each computer.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/In … _a_USB_key
It won't be the *same* install, but it'll stop you having to do the configuration over and over again. Although unless you want to work from thin clients and a server, and unless you're talking about a lot of computers, spending an hour configuring arch isn't a big deal. It'll certainly be quicker than setting up client/server for diskless systems. It'll also be more portable, and not reliant on that single server. I've done it for all four computers in the house, and the bespoke is good because each one has a different role and different specs.
Even if you get around the logistics of the third, you can't do any of these without having something acting as a server.
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