On Jul 25, 2012 9:22 PM, <brainworker@lavabit.com> wrote:

Hello, folks

Due to recent changes in arch linux, I have some qustion about new process of installation and configuration of arch linux.

I am really not computer geek, so I apologize if I express anything incorrectly.

First. About absence of core images. When I just read about it, I thought why they did it. But then I realize that arch is rolling release system after all. This fact means periodical and quite frequent updates, which are impossible without Internet connection. So if you would like to install Linux on computer without Internet, choose OS with fixed release cycle - all the system packages (as well as applications) will be on that distribution. So I am glad that now there is one universal iso-image instead of six.

Second. About absence of AIF. I really sorry about it. As I said I am not so geeky to install everything with closed eyes. AIF helped me a lot. It gives me tips what to do next and how to do it. Now, when burned CD finished loading, I just see prompt to enter commands and nothing else. But I just do not know what to do next. So if I do not have installation guide previously printed on paper, I just become consused what to do next. So, I really hope that to the moment when next iso snapshot will be released, AIF will be fixed and included in that release.

But for the present I would like at least to have installation guide included in installation iso (with a note where this guide resides) in order to switch to it during installation.

Third. About systemd. As I understand from installation guide on Wiki all the configuration now is made not in rc.conf but in several config files. I do not know yet whether it is good or bad. But in Wiki I can read the following:

1) instead of NETWORKING section I should specify hostname in /etc/hostname and /etc/hosts. Why should I duplicate information? The danger of need to duplicate information is that it have to be synchronized.

/etc/hosts was always needed. However, you can avoid configuring it if you use nss-myhostname (in extra).

2) instead of LOCALIZATION section I should specify locale in /etc/locale.conf and /etc/locale.gen. Again why should I duplicate information?

locale.gen was always needed. It decides which locales should be available on your system. You can enable lots of locales if you wish. Which one to use is configured in locale.conf.

3) instead of LOCALIZATION section I should specify timezone in /etc/timezone and /etc/localtime. And again the same question. Why?

/etc/timezone is not used by initscripts, don't know what the benefit of that one is. What matters is /etc/localtime.

Besides, where should I specify my network connection settings? In what systemd-specific file? As I understand in ... rc.conf. And what about daemons? Where to specify them? Again in rc.conf?

Both in rc.conf. See the various man pages for more details. It should be much clearer in the rc.conf man page in testing. If it is still unclear, let me know.

And now the main question. If new plan of reorganization of configuration files can not manage without rc.conf, why there is so need to split it?

rc.conf should now only contain what is necessary to configure the initscripts. See arch-dev-public for details. Tom

Welcome ;) On Wed, 25 Jul 2012 15:22:43 -0400 (EDT) brainworker@lavabit.com wrote:

Hello, folks

Due to recent changes in arch linux, I have some qustion about new process of installation and configuration of arch linux.

I am really not computer geek, so I apologize if I express anything incorrectly.

First. About absence of core images. When I just read about it, I thought why they did it. But then I realize that arch is rolling release system after all. This fact means periodical and quite frequent updates, which are impossible without Internet connection. So if you would like to install Linux on computer without Internet, choose OS with fixed release cycle - all the system packages (as well as applications) will be on that distribution. So I am glad that now there is one universal iso-image instead of six.

Second. About absence of AIF. I really sorry about it. As I said I am not so geeky to install everything with closed eyes. AIF helped me a lot. It gives me tips what to do next and how to do it. Now, when burned CD finished loading, I just see prompt to enter commands and nothing else. But I just do not know what to do next. So if I do not have installation guide previously printed on paper, I just become consused what to do next. So, I really hope that to the moment when next iso snapshot will be released, AIF will be fixed and included in that release.

But for the present I would like at least to have installation guide included in installation iso (with a note where this guide resides) in order to switch to it during installation.

Third. About systemd. As I understand from installation guide on Wiki all the configuration now is made not in rc.conf but in several config files. I do not know yet whether it is good or bad. But in Wiki I can read the following:

1) instead of NETWORKING section I should specify hostname in /etc/hostname and /etc/hosts. Why should I duplicate information? The danger of need to duplicate information is that it have to be synchronized.

Currently, with core/initscripts (not systemd) you need only /etc/hosts.

2) instead of LOCALIZATION section I should specify locale in /etc/locale.conf and /etc/locale.gen. Again why should I duplicate information?

3) instead of LOCALIZATION section I should specify timezone in /etc/timezone and /etc/localtime. And again the same question. Why?

Besides, where should I specify my network connection settings? In what systemd-specific file? As I understand in ... rc.conf. And what about daemons? Where to specify them? Again in rc.conf?

It depends on your network setup (wifi, static IP, etc.) and desktop environment. In my experience netcfg+wpa_actiond is the most robust option. But beware that you'll need admin priviledges to manage networks at runtime. If that's OK, create a profile in /etc/network.d (there are example templates) and add net-auto-wire{d,less} into DAEMONS in rc.conf. Otherwise, you may want networkmanager or wicd to better integrate into GNOME/KDE, for example. Also, if I were you, I would start with the usual sysvinit/initscripts, and upgrade to systemd when things are working properly.

And now the main question. If new plan of reorganization of configuration files can not manage without rc.conf, why there is so need to split it?

I hope you can make it clear, guys.

-- Leonid Isaev GnuPG key: 0x164B5A6D Fingerprint: C0DF 20D0 C075 C3F1 E1BE 775A A7AE F6CB 164B 5A6D