Fog is a free and open source computer imaging solution for Windows, Linux, and macOS. It allows you to create and deploy images of your systems, as well as manage and maintain them remotely. In this tutorial, we will walk you through the installation process of Fog on Arch Linux.
Before we begin, we need to make sure that our system has all the required dependencies installed. Open the terminal and run the following command to update your package list:
sudo pacman -Sy
Once the package list is updated, run the following command to install the required dependencies:
sudo pacman -S tar apache mariadb php php-apache wget gzip net-tools sudo
To install Fog, we need to download the installation package from the official website. Open the terminal and run the following command to download the latest version of Fog:
wget https://github.com/fogproject/fogproject/archive/refs/tags/1.5.9.tar.gz
Extract the downloaded package using the following command:
tar xvzf 1.5.9.tar.gz
Move the extracted folder to the /opt directory using the following command:
sudo mv fogproject-1.5.9 /opt/fog
Fog requires a web server to function properly. We will be using the Apache web server for this purpose. Run the following command to start and enable Apache:
sudo systemctl start httpd.service
sudo systemctl enable httpd.service
Create a new file called /etc/httpd/conf.d/fog.conf with the following contents:
Alias /fog/ "/opt/fog/"
<Directory "/opt/fog/">
Options FollowSymLinks
AllowOverride All
Require all granted
</Directory>
<Directory "/opt/fog/service/ipxe/">
Options FollowSymLinks
AllowOverride All
Require all granted
</Directory>
Restart the Apache service to apply the changes:
sudo systemctl restart httpd.service
Fog uses MariaDB as its database management system. We need to create a new database and user for Fog. Run the following command to start and enable MariaDB:
sudo systemctl start mariadb.service
sudo systemctl enable mariadb.service
Run the following command to secure your MariaDB installation:
sudo mysql_secure_installation
Create a new database and user for Fog using the following commands:
sudo mysql -u root -p
CREATE DATABASE fog;
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON fog.* TO 'fog'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY '<password>';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
exit
Replace <password> with your chosen password.
Before we can use Fog, we need to install it using the following command:
sudo /opt/fog/bin/installfog.sh
The installation script will prompt you for various configuration options. Follow the instructions carefully and configure the options according to your requirements.
Once the installation is complete, navigate to http://localhost/fog/management/ in your web browser. You should be prompted to log in to the Fog web interface. Use the default username and password (fog and password, respectively) to log in.
Congratulations! You have successfully installed Fog on Arch Linux. You can now create and manage system images using this powerful tool.
If you want to self-host in an easy, hands free way, need an external IP address, or simply want your data in your own hands, give IPv6.rs a try!
Alternatively, for the best virtual desktop, try Shells!
