u/csp4me

When traveling I take my Pixelbook Go chromebook. At home I use debian or kubuntu. My linux knowledge is average.

I got interested in atomic or immutable linux, because I like the way that chromebooks are low maintenance devices.

So I got myself a laptop in multiboot mode with Origami Linux and Bazzite. Both are fedora atomic variations with extra flavour like a CachyOS kernel for Origami Linux.

I got interested in the story of AerynOS how they do atomic without [yet] being immutable.

Right now, a multiboot installation of AerynOS is not for a beginner.

First I tried to flash a usb with dd. Finally balena etcher worked for me, because my laptop's BIOS is very picky. The text based installer picks the first esp partition it encounters, which will not work if you want a multiboot with separate esp partitions. Fortunately gparted is included in live usb. So I temporarily removed the boot flags of partitions the installer should not pick.

Wow the installation process is simple and fast. Also the booting. I boot from refind into the systemd bootloader. The OS is as stable as Fedora atomic. Yes there are a few unfinished edges. What I find most lacking are packages in the moss repository. This is understandable.

If I compare Origami Linux with Cosmic desktop and AerynOS Cosmic, the installation of system packages [rpm-ostree] is slow in Fedora, which AerynOS solves with moss atomic installations. On the other hand Fedora has more packages and the integration of stuff like topgrade and brew.

Will I be using it as a daily driver? Not yet. Who knows what the future will hold. But AerynOS is surely a promising distro to watch and try out.

I woulld like to share some of my DIY vpn experience. Since 2018 I have setup a small vpn server box behind a router in my home in Europe.

This box is made of the Nano Pi Neo with half GB of memory. I have installed Dietpi, which is a very lean Linux server OS. First I have been using Wireguard and Tailscale. But lately I moved to Vless and Tailscale only.

I need a VPN to stream home content and consume it everywhere in the world when I travel.

The client devices I used are an Android TV stick, which I can insert in any hotel TV I come to. And also I use different laptops, but primarily Chromebooks and Linux, as I moved away from Windows. Apps I use are V2rayTun [Android TV, chromebook], hiddify and trayscale on Linux. V2rayTun has per app tunnel routing.

Here are my lessons learned:

1. For streaming I was first using Wireguard. But even with the fastest internet at the client side, with a latency of over 200ms like in South East Asia, my throughput was topped at 5 mbps, while hardware wise the NanoPi could top at 90mbps. Lowering MTU did not help.

Finally I discovered that using xray for Vless reality could up the throughput to a stable 25 mbps.

2. Tailscale I have been using for remote control of my devices worldwide, as it is very easy to setup and it works even for mobile devices, that does not have a unique IP4 address.

I have tried Zerotier, however the clients on Chromebook and Linux were very bad, and moreover running xray and zerotier connections at the same time on the same server was giving me problems. With tailscale no problems with gui clients nor interference between vpn servers.

3. Wireguard was my first goto, but even for remote control of devices I am not a fan anymore. The reason is setting up clients is not so easy as with Tailscale.

4. If you are considering to use Openwrt instead of Dietpi, I have used Openwrt for a 4G/5G mobile internet router.

Dietpi is way much easier to setup. And if you need some gui remote mgmt of your vpn box, you may consider installing Webmin. I am still on the fence with Webmin with its added value compared to using a multitab terminal in Linux and with storing/firing quick commands in shell.

Next year the 32 bit Nano Pi will have served well for almost 10 years. It will be time to upgrade to 64 bit, as I don't know how long xray or tailscale will support 32 bit machines.