corvus

Unattended Arch install

The cluster nodes get Arch from a custom image that installs with no console interaction: plug the stick in, power on, wait for the reboot, pull the stick. Ansible takes over at first SSH. Done when the first ThinkCentre is installed from the image and the runbook describes the tested procedure.

7 issues in the path · 0 closed

  • Done 0
  • In review 0
  • Waiting 7

Path

One phase. The archiso profile skeleton first, then the install script, the baked-in access and the stick burn, then the first real install on a ThinkCentre, and only after that the container build in CI and the runbook, so that both describe a profile that already proved itself on hardware.
  1. 01
  2. 02
  3. 03
  4. 04
    waits on 01
  5. 05
    waits on 02, 03, 04
  6. 06
  7. 07

Open questions

Which ThinkCentre goes first, and whether its firmware needs a change for USB boot.

Deviations and noise

Nothing yet.

Out of scope

The Raspberry Pis and the MacBook Air, since the image targets the x86 boxes only, and disk encryption, by decision.

Timeline

Decided and planned on 2026-10-19.