User:Hamish

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Arch Linux - Fedora User Guide

Having used Fedora as my primary operating system and Linux distribution for six years, I naturally wanted most of the same core tools I came to rely on to come with me when I finally decided to make the move to Arch. Thankfully this was not that difficult a process, and I have now documented how to get several Fedora staples installed and configured on your own Arch install so that you to can also pretend that almost nothing has changed at all.

Note: This guide assumes you already have a working installation with systemd, Xorg, and a Desktop Environment installed.

Install PackageKit

Fedora by default uses the PackageKit interface for handling it's package management. Arch also supports PackageKit, which will make it easier for experienced Fedora users to wrap their heads around pacman.

To install PackageKit, enter the following into a root terminal:

# pacman -S gnome-packagekit

Install and Configure NetworkManager

Fedora uses the primarily Red Hat developed NetworkManager software to easily handle network connections. Arch also supports NetworkManager, although it will need to be installed and configured.

To install NetworkManager enter the following into a root terminal:

# pacman -S network-manager-applet networkmanager

Then disable the already running networking daemon:

# systemctl stop dhcpcd
# systemctl disable dhcpcd

And then finally enable NetworkManager as outlined here

Install and Configure PulseAudio

PulseAudio is a sound server that is also primarily developed by Red Hat and is used on Fedora to enable near seamless interactions with audio devices. Like with NetworkManager, PulseAudio is also available on Arch but it does need to be configured.

To install PulseAudio enter the following into a root terminal:

# pacman -S pulseaudio pulseaudio-alsa pavucontrol

Then read the following instructions.

Install and Configure Bluecurve cursor theme

Many Fedora users will be familiar with the Bluecurve cursor theme, which provides a more attractive cursor than is provided by default with Arch.

To install the Bluecurve cursor theme enter the following into a root terminal:

# pacman -S xcursor-bluecurve

And then follow the these instructions

Install and Configure system-config-printer

system-config-printer is another Red Hat invention that allows easy handling of multiple printers on a computer. Once again Arch also supports this, but you will need to install and configure both system-config-printer and CUPS in order for it to work.

To install system-config-printer enter the following into a root terminal:

# pacman -S cups cups-filters foomatic-filters ghostscript gsfonts system-config-printer

And then enable CUPS with the following commands:

# systemctl enable org.cups.cupsd.service
# systemctl start org.cups.cupsd.service

Install and Configure OpenSSH

Fedora uses SSH to communicate between different computers and for other network operations. Arch users can install and setup OpenSSH to ensure proper interoperability between Arch installs and Fedora installs, as well as with any other computers running an SSH server.

To install OpenSSH enter the following into a root terminal:

# pacman -S openssh

And then enable the SSH daemon.

Install and Configure firewalld

Fedora ships with a firewall already enabled by default for security reasons. Starting with the release of Fedora 18 the old system-config-firewall utility has been replaced with Red Hat's new firewalld implementation, which is also available for Arch users and acts as a front-end for iptables and ebtables.

To install firewalld enter the following into a root terminal:

# pacman -S firewalld iptables ebtables

You then you have to configure iptables by issuing the following commands:

# cd /etc/iptables/
# iptables-save > iptables.rules
# systemctl start iptables
# systemctl status iptables

You can then start and enable the firewalld daemon from a root terminal:

# systemctl start firewalld
# systemctl enable firewalld

Further configuration can then be handled from the firewall-config interface.

Further Recommend Reading

The following articles can also be especially useful for former Fedora users:

Additional Content

Enable OSS emulation modules on boot

The following commands will enable the OSS emulation modules on boot, which is useful for older game titles. This guide assumes that you already have the alsa-oss package installed.

# echo "snd-pcm-oss" > /etc/modules-load.d/snd-pcm-oss.conf
# echo "snd-mixer-oss" > /etc/modules-load.d/snd-mixer-oss.conf
# echo "snd-seq-oss" > /etc/modules-load.d/snd-seq-oss.conf

If you are using PulseAudio you will also need to use the padsp wrapper in order for OSS applications to have reliable sound.

Good bug reports (Mesa/FOSS drivers)