oliver
120 lines
2.8 KiB
Markdown
120 lines
2.8 KiB
Markdown
# Alpine Linux USB Rescue ISO
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A bootable hybrid ISO that:
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- Gets an IP via **DHCP on `eth0`**
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- Automatically opens a **Nebula overlay tunnel**
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- Runs **OpenSSH** (login: `root` / `alpine`)
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- Carries all tools needed to **install Alpine onto the host machine** (`setup-alpine`, `setup-disk`, `parted`, …)
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The ISO is a hybrid image — it can be written to a USB stick with `dd` *or* burned to a CD/DVD.
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---
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## Prerequisites
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- Docker + Docker Compose
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- A Nebula certificate set for this node (see below)
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---
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## 1. Place Nebula certificates
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Put the following files in `nebula/`:
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```
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nebula/
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nebula ← binary (already included)
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config.yml ← already included, edit as needed
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ca.crt ← your Nebula CA certificate ← YOU PROVIDE
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host.crt ← this node's certificate ← YOU PROVIDE
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host.key ← this node's private key ← YOU PROVIDE
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```
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`ca.crt`, `host.crt`, and `host.key` are gitignored.
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---
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## 2. Build the ISO
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```bash
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docker compose run --rm alpine bash /scripts/create.sh
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```
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The ISO is written to `output/rescue-alpine.iso`.
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---
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## 3. Write to USB
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```bash
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dd if=output/rescue-alpine.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress && sync
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```
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Replace `/dev/sdX` with your USB device (check with `lsblk`). **All data on the device will be erased.**
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Or burn to CD/DVD:
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```bash
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cdrecord dev=/dev/sr0 output/rescue-alpine.iso
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```
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---
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## 4. Boot and connect
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1. Insert USB and boot the target machine from it.
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2. The system comes up fully in RAM — no writes to the host disk.
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3. On boot, `eth0` gets an IP via DHCP, then the Nebula tunnel comes up automatically.
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4. SSH in via the Nebula overlay IP (see `nebula/config.yml`):
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```bash
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ssh root@<nebula-ip>
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# password: alpine
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```
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---
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## 5. Install Alpine onto the host machine
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Once SSH'd in (or at the local console):
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```bash
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# Interactive guided installer — partitions disk, installs Alpine
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setup-alpine
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# Or use setup-disk for more control
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setup-disk -m sys /dev/sda
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```
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All required tools (`parted`, `e2fsprogs`, `dosfstools`, `btrfs-progs`, `alpine-conf`, …) are pre-installed.
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---
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## Default credentials
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| Field | Value |
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|----------|----------|
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| Username | `root` |
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| Password | `alpine` |
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Change this in `scripts/chroot-setup.sh` before building if needed.
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---
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## Architecture
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```
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ISO (hybrid — bootable on USB or CD)
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└── isolinux (BIOS boot)
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├── vmlinuz-lts
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└── initramfs.gz ← entire Alpine system packed as cpio+gzip
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├── eth0 DHCP (openrc networking)
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├── nebula → /usr/local/bin/nebula
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├── /etc/nebula/ (config + certs)
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├── OpenSSH (sshd)
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└── Alpine install tools
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```
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The system runs **entirely in RAM** — the host disk is never touched until you explicitly run the installer.
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