Arch Linux VPS

Related articles

• Server

From Wikipedia:Virtual private server:

Virtual private server (VPS) is a term used by Internet hosting services to refer to a virtual machine. The term is used for emphasizing that the virtual machine, although running in software on the same physical computer as other customers' virtual machines, is in many respects functionally equivalent to a separate physical computer, is dedicated to the individual customer's needs, has the privacy of a separate physical computer, and can be configured to run server software.

This article discusses the use of Arch Linux on Virtual Private Servers, and includes some fixes and installation instructions specific to VPSes.

Warning:

• Linux 2.6.32 is not supported by systemd since version 205 (and will not work with systemd-212 or higher). Since many container-based virtualization environments rely on older kernels, it may be impossible to keep an Arch Linux install up-to-date in such an environment. However, OpenVZ, as of kernel build 042stab094.7, has backported the CLOCK_BOOTTIME feature, making it work with later versions of systemd.
• Systemd since version 220 doesn't work on OpenVZ containers. [1] This issue has been fixed in OpenVZ kernel 042stab111.1 [2]

Providers that offer Arch Linux

Warning: We cannot vouch for the honesty or quality of any provider. Please conduct due diligence before ordering.

Note: This list is for providers with a convenient Arch Linux template. Using Arch on other providers is possible but requires more work. Example methods include:

• Loading custom disc images (requires hardware virtualization such as in Xen or KVM),
• Installing under chroot, for example with the help of the vps2arch script (it will download the latest iso; be particularly aware of the systemd 220/221 bug), or
• Following #Installing the latest Arch Linux on any OpenVZ provider instructions, using rsync to synchronize Arch over the top of another distribution.

Provider	Arch Release	Virtualization	Locations	Notes
4smart.cz	2013.08	OpenVZ	Prague, CZ	(Czech language site only) when updating system make sure you use [tredaelli-systemd] in pacman.conf (see Unofficial user repositories
affinity.net.nz	2013.08.01	KVM	Auckland, New Zealand (NZ)	IRC channel is #affinity on ircs.kiwicon.org
Atlantic.Net	2015.05.01	KVM	NYC/SF/Toronto/Dallas/Orlando, US & Canada	100% SSD 1-click Arch Linux, ready in 30 seconds. It is also easy to update Arch to the current version because the pre-provisioned Arch image is relatively current.
BuyVM	2013.07.01	KVM	LA, Buffalo NY	Must chose a different OS at sign up. Once accessible, choose to mount the latest Arch ISO and reboot to install manually.
Coinshost	2015.04	Xen	Zurich, Switzerland	Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies accepted.
Cherry Host	Latest	KVM	Santee, US-CA	Must submit a support ticket to get Arch installed.
DirectVPS	2014.01.xx	OpenVZ	Amsterdam, NL; Rotterdam, NL	(Dutch language site only)
Edis	2013.03.01	vServer, KVM, OpenVZ	Multiple international locations.	Also offer dedicated server options as well as an "off-shore" location at the Isle of Man (IM). Requires mounting an Arch ISO for a full manual install.
GigaTux	2013.06.01	Xen	Chicago, US-IL; Frankfurt, DE; London, GB; San Jose, US-CA	Currently, when changing to the US$ currency, the page breaks and it is not possible to provision a server.
Host Virtual	2014.06.01	KVM	Multiple International Locations	Appears to use KVM virtualization. Site lists "Xen based virtualization" and features lists ability to install from ISO. VPS plans are very expensive with an setup fee as well.
Hostigation	Latest	OpenVZ, KVM	Charlotte, US-NC; Los Angeles, US-CA	Arch is not currently listed as a choice.
Kloud51	Unlisted	OpenVZ	US-CA, Canada	Presently, the website does not list any VPS plans.
Leapswitch Networks	2013.10.xx	OpenVZ/KVM	USA, India, Portugal, Spain, Ukraine, Germany	Arch Linux currently available in Control Panel for reinstall, not on order form.
Linevast.de	Latest	OpenVZ, KVM	Germany	Arch Linux is possible on openvz and on KVM with the one click os installer.
Linode.com	2016.06.01	Xen, KVM	Tokyo, JP; Multiple US; London, GB	To run a custom kernel, install linux-linodeAUR (linux will break on a 32-bit Linode). When shipped, the NIC enp4s0 is renamed to eth0 and reverts back to enp4s0 on reboot --- on reboot, this may cause sshd load to fail.
LYLIX	2014.01.xx	OpenVZ	Multiple US; Europe	32-bit and 64-bit available
Netcup	2012.11.xx	KVM	Germany (DE)	(German language site only)
OnePoundWebHosting	2014.01	Xen PV, Xen HVM	United Kingdom (UK)	They are a registrar too. Unable to verify server locations.
OVH	Latest	KVM	France, Canada
PacmanVPS	2014.01	KVM	Canada (CA), Poland (PL)	Arch image is very old and PacmanVPS repos are broken. Not possible to update Arch. Site appears unmaintained.
Proplay	Latest	OpenVZ, KVM	Germany (DE)	(German language site only)
Rackspace Cloud	2013.6	Xen	Multiple international locations	Billed per hour. Use their "next gen" VPSes (using the mycloud.rackspace.com panel); the Arch image on the first gen Rackspace VPSes is out of date.
RamHost.us	2013.05.01	OpenVZ, KVM	Los Angeles, US-CA; Great Britain (GB); Atlanta, US-GA; Germany (DE)	You can request a newer ISO on RamHost's IRC network.
RamNode	2016.01.01	SSD and SSD Cached: KVM	Alblasserdam, NL; Atlanta, GA-US; Los Angeles, CA-US; New York, NY-US; Seattle, WA-US	You can request Host/CPU passthrough with KVM service.[3] Frequent use of discount promotions.[4], Must install Arch manually from an ISO using VNC viewer.
RoseHosting	Latest	OpenVZ, KVM	St. Louis, Missouri, USA	SSD powered hosting plans with free fully-managed 24/7 support. No unmanaged VPS offerings.
SeedVPS	Latest	OpenVZ, KVM	Amsterdam, Netherlands	Linux VPS and Windows VPS Hosting in The Netherlands (NL). Newer ISO can be requested by opening a support ticket.
Tilaa	2016.03.01	KVM	Amsterdam, NL
TransIP	2017.01.01	KVM	Amsterdam, NL	Also registrar.
upCUBE	Latest	Docker	Germany	Different prepared arch linux templates available
Virpus	2014.11.07	Xen	Kansas City, US-KS; Los Angeles, US-CA	Arch is not offered as a choice when creating a server (even though the Arch logo is prominently featured on the site). As of 2018, the most recent version of Ubuntu offered is 14.04, and the limited-time promo code for new sign ups is over two years old. None of this generates much trust.
Virtual Master	2012-08	??	Prague, CZ
VPS6.NET	2013.01.xx	OpenVZ, Xen, HVM-ISO	Multiple US; Frankfurt, DE; Bucharest, RO; Istanbul, TR	Registrar.
VPSBG.eu	2013.10	OpenVZ	Sofia, Bulgaria	Offshore VPS in Bulgaria - anonymous registrations and Bitcoin are accepted.
VPSSERVER	2015.07	KVM	Chicago, US-IL; Dallas, US-TX; Miami, US-FL; New York, US-NY; Silicon Valley, US-CA; Amsterdam, NL; Frankfurt, DE; London, UK	Currently the latest Archlinux OS version we are providing is 2015.07 x64 and you can't update the OS version to the new version.
World4You	2015.10.28	OpenVZ	Austria (AT)	Internet hosting provider; quick setup; 24/7 support; shared web hosting; also CentOS, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora and Arch OpenVZ servers; supports newest systemd (227 atm)
XenVZ	2009.12.07	OpenVZ, Xen	United Kingdom (UK), United States (US)	Hardware
1984hosting.com	2016.x	Xen	Iceland (IS)	Hardware will provide any image you request, has Arch in default image list.

Installation

KVM

See QEMU#Preparing an (Arch) Linux guest.

OpenVZ

Installing the latest Arch Linux on any OpenVZ provider

Warning: See the above warning^{[broken link: invalid section]} about older kernel builds and systemd.

It is possible to directly copy an installation of Arch Linux over the top of a working OpenVZ VPS. This tutorial explains how to create a basic installation of Arch Linux with pacstrap (as used in a standard install) and then replace the contents of a target VPS with it using rsync.

This process (with minor modification) also works to migrate existing Arch installations between various environments and has been confirmed to work in migrating from OpenVZ to Xen and from Xen to OpenVZ. For an install to Xen, other hardware-virtualized platforms, or probably even to physical hardware (unconfirmed), extra steps (basically running mkinitcpio and installing a bootloader) are needed.

Prerequisites

• A working Arch Linux installation
  • To keep things simple, it should match the architecture you want to install on your VPS (x86_64 or i686).
  • To build from other distributions, arch-bootstrap.sh can be used in place of pacstrap.
• The arch-install-scripts, rsync, and openssh packages from the official repositories
  • SSH is not strictly required, but rsync over SSH is the method used here.
• A VPS running any distribution, with rsync and a working SSH server
  • Its architecture (x86_64 or i686) does not matter as long as the OpenVZ installation can support your target architecture.
• OpenVZ's serial console feature (usually accessible via your provider's control panel)
  • Without this, any network configuration for the target VPS will have to be done immediately after the "Build" step below.

Building a clean Arch Linux installation

As root, build the installation (optionally replacing build with your preferred target directory):

# mkdir build
# pacstrap -cd build

Other tweaks for the pacstrap command:

• -C custom-pacman-config.conf - Use a custom pacman configuration file. By default, pacstrap builds according to your local pacman.conf. This determines the architecture (i686 or x86_64) of the build, the mirror list, etc.
• -G - Prevent pacstrap from copying your system's pacman keyring to the new build. If you use this option, you will need to run pacman-key --init and pacman-key --populate archlinux in the Configuration step to set up the keyring.
• -M - Prevent pacstrap from copying your system's pacman mirror list to the new build.
• You can pass a list of packages to pacstrap to add them to your install, instead of the default base group. For example: pacstrap -cd build base openssh dnsutils gnu-netcat traceroute vim

Replacing everything on the VPS with the Arch build

Replace all files, directories, etc. on your target VPS with the contents of your build directory (replacing "YOUR.VPS.IP.ADDRESS" below):

Warning: Be careful with the following command. By design, rsync is very destructive, especially with any of the --delete options.

# rsync -axH --delete-delay -e ssh --stats -P build/ YOUR.VPS.IP.ADDRESS:/

Explanation of options:

• -a - Required. Preserves timestamps, permissions, etc.
• --delete - Required. Deletes anything in the target that does not exist in the source
• -x - Important. Prevents the crossing of filesystem boundaries (other partitions, /dev, etc.) during the copy
• -H - Important. Preserves hardlinks
• --delete-delay - Recommended. Enables alternate deletion mode which waits to delete anything until the synchronization is otherwise complete, which may reduce the risk of a slow transfer causing the target VPS to lock-up
• -e ssh - Recommended. Uses rsync over SSH (recommended for simplicity compared to setting up an rsync server)
• -P - Recommended. Shows partial progress information during transfer
• --stats - Recommended. Shows transfer statistics at the end

Configuration

1. Reboot the VPS externally (using your provider's control panel, for example).
2. Using OpenVZ's serial console feature, configure the network and basic system settings (ignoring fstab generation and arch-chroot steps).
   • If you do not have access to the serial console feature, you will need to preconfigure your network settings before synchronizing Arch to the VPS.
   • On some VPS configuration you won't have a gateway to connect to, here is an example netctl configuration for this setup. It configures static IP addresses and default routes on venet0 and uses Google Public DNS.

/etc/netctl/venet

Description='VPS venet connection'
Interface=venet0
Connection=ethernet

IP=static
Address=('192.0.2.42/32')
Routes=('default')

IP6=static
Address6=('2001:db8::1234:5678/128')
Routes6=('default')

DNS=('2001:4860:4860::8888' '2001:4860:4860::8844' '8.8.8.8' '8.8.4.4')

Xen

See Xen.