muetzi Linux Client

I am using linux for my desktop since debian woody and am supporting family members with ubuntu clients since ubuntu dapper (?).

The machines were deployed by cloning them from my own "gold installation" with grml boot, rsync and reinstalling the boot loader in the grml-chroot.

This is all history now - thanks to the potos framework:

This specs repo (together with a few additional roles) is now used to manage the zoo of my family desktop machines. There are three flavours i need to support:

• (wishlist): the desktop node is integrated into the home network (LDAP login, automount network data shares)
• the road warriors can work offline, but if online they can establish a VPN connection to the home network in two ways:
  • (implemented) a fully managed host establishes automatically the VPN connection but it is used to get remote support only.
  • (in production) a less managed host (my own) where the VPN connection is manually established and usually used to access more services from the home network.

Some of the advanced features are not suitable for all family members, so I might need to maintain multiple specs repository branches.

current state

features

• language / timezone / keyboard set to switzerland

• desktop tweaked to my personal taste

  • changed window behavior
  • favorite apps (the apps in the dock) set to a sane default
  • sane system wide defaults for vim, EDITOR, propsed configs for ssh in /usr/local/src
  • integration of argos and some example scripts for managing SMB shares, mpd/snapcast (multiroom), suspend/hibernate, screen resolution.

• scripts/sudo permissions to mount CIFS/SMB shares as normal user without gvfs (too slow)

• suspend/hibernate that really works

files/templates/requirements.yml.j2

The current setup is a combination of

• U unchanged potos roles (all values at their defaults)
• V potos roles with additional variables (and files) set
• C potos roles from my own repo (as the upstream needs some time to merge my contributions)
• O my own roles derived from the potos template role, usually at least one variable used

files/templates/requirements.yml.j2

A dynamic ansible galaxy requirements files for roles to be executed in that run.

I currently have configured the following roles:

state	name	comment
V	ansible-role-potos_firstboot	(currently C), rebuild initramfs from hibernate, create users/groups
U	ansible-role-potos_basics	(currently C)
V	ansible-role-potos_wallpaper	my own wallpaper
V	ansible-role-potos_dconf	desktop tweaks, including "favorite apps"
V	ansible-role-potos_locale	set system locale to de_CH.UTF-8, install gnome german language pack
O	ansible-role-potos_time	using role default time zone Europe/Zurich
O	ansible-role-potos_openvpn	using role default to install scripts to configure system VPN
O	ansible-role-potos_argos	role has no variables (yet)
V	ansible-role-potos_files	distribute some helper scripts/polkit/sudo/menu files
V	ansible-role-potos_apt	Install a bunch of packages, ansible from a ppa etc
O	ansible-role-potos_hibernate	Make hibernate work on my specific laptop

To create a bootable install image, I use the my own fork of the potos_iso_buider], but I will be able to switch back to upstream as soon as PR 46 is merged.

I use the following non default settings there:

client_name:
  long: "m Linux Client"
  short: "mlc"
disk_encryption:
  enable: true
specs:
  url: "https://github.com/nis65/"
  repo: "ansible-specs-potos-mlc"
initial_hostname: "mlc0"
environment: "develop"
full_unattended_install: true
wifi:
  interface: "wlp1s0"
  ssid: "REDACTED"
  pw: "REDACTED"
output:
  iso_filename: "potos-mlc-installer.iso"

and I changed to partition sizes in container/autoinstall-user-data.j2:

autoinstall:
  storage:
    config:
      - id: lvm_volume_swap
        size: 16G
      - id: lvm_volume_root
        size: 50G

The first is needed to make the swap partition big enough to store all RAM contents for hibernation. The second limits the used disk size to 50GB, and leaving the rest of available storage in the VG. If more disk space is needed, an administrator can resize the partition on the fly by adding space from the VG.

Other important files

templates/collections.yml.j2

List with required collections that need to be installed e.g.

---

collections:
  - ansible.posix
  - community.general

This is originally taken from here.

community.general is used by the ansible-role-potos_time and ansible-role-potos_locale roles.

vars

See the files in the /vars directory of this repo.

Templates

Get applied by the templating engine before the playbook run

Files

Get copied to the playbook directory to be then later used in different roles