I seem to have missed a step (no root file system) after getting Raid 1, etc. configured, so it's back to square one and start over.

At least some progress ...

EDIT: Started from the beginning ...

At the Partition disks step should I use "Guided - use the largest continuous free space"  or go with "Manual" in order to be sure to have room for a root file system?

I used "lspci" to ID the nic.

I'm told that the probable reason for the instability is that the Intel I219-LM isn't recognized.

If you stopped at the very beginning because the installer told you that you needed to provide the drivers on a usb stick, then run the installer again and ignore that question and proceed. Hardly anyone needs to do that. (a few broadcom chips)

I guess it's CDs ... old school.

EDIT: Is there a reason that 4 CD's must be used rather than one USB stick?

EDIT2: I need all of these?

devuan_chimaera_4.0.0_i386_cd2.iso                 12-Oct-2021 11:55    543M
devuan_chimaera_4.0.0_i386_cd3.iso                 12-Oct-2021 12:03    573M
devuan_chimaera_4.0.0_i386_cd4.iso                 12-Oct-2021 12:12    630M
devuan_chimaera_4.0.0_i386_desktop.iso             12-Oct-2021 11:45      3G
devuan_chimaera_4.0.0_i386_netinstall.iso          12-Oct-2021 10:50    405M
devuan_chimaera_4.0.0_i386_server.iso              12-Oct-2021 11:02    691M
devuan_chimaera_4.1_0_i386_pool1.iso               15-Feb-2022 01:26      5G

These on CD 1 - the rest on consecutive CD's?

devuan_chimaera_4.0.0_i386_desktop.iso             12-Oct-2021 11:45      3G
devuan_chimaera_4.0.0_i386_netinstall.iso          12-Oct-2021 10:50    405M
devuan_chimaera_4.1_0_i386_pool1.iso               15-Feb-2022 01:26      5G

Since I'm setting up a server, what of this one?
devuan_chimaera_4.0.0_i386_server.iso              12-Oct-2021 11:02    691M

Use the netinstall iso unless you must install without using a network mirror. In that case, use the DVD.

Why go that way rather than an installer iso "that knows how to set up a RAID"?

Can you point me to the Devuan installer that can do RAID? (If I'd seen that I'd have tried it and not be making such a bother of myself).

Note: If I were going to do it manually with mdadm and refractainstaller, I would need to read those instructions I linked. Be aware that I'm the one who wrote those instructions and I'm the one who wrote refractainstaller, and I would still need to re-read the instructions.

Next step is to open the Devuan Installer use that to set the rest of both SSD's as Raid1?

Or, is there a separate app to set up Raid1?

Options allowed are exfat, ext2, ext3, ext4, fat16, fat32, linux-swap, lvm2 pv, minix, ntfs, cleared, unformatted.

EDIT: I'm using

devuan_chimaera_4.0.2_amd64_desktop-live.iso

Did you use that? Please describe the steps you took.

Since it's an UEFI boot, the machine needs at least one disk partitioned, with a GPT type partition table format, and then at least one EFI partition, which technically is a FAT type partition with a top level directory "/EFI".

Those are things you set up in the partitioning step.

In your case, you need to set up an EFI partition of, say, 100M first on one disk and use the rest as a RAID partition, and then divide the other disk similarly since RAID members need to be of the same size.

Then you set up a software raid device spanning those RAID partitions, and then you partition that to be your root filesystem (/). Unless you also want that RAID to be subdivided further.

"There is no disk with a gpt partition table. You should exit this script and run gdisk to create one for uefi boot. There is no EFI partition. You will need to create one or else install the system without a bootloader."

I recognize that wording. You're using the live installer (refractainstaller) which does not support RAID. But it is possible to use the cli installer with a RAID1 that you created manually. See the first section of this thread: https://dev1galaxy.org/viewtopic.php?pid=11437#p11437

If you use one of the installer isos instead of a live iso, you'll get the debian/devuan installer which does support RAID installs. That process will be the way Ralph described it, and the installer will look more like the pictures in the install guide that you linked way back at the beginning of this thread.

The error message you got from the live installer is to let you know that you booted in uefi mode but your disk doesn't have a gpt partition table. You could re-partition the disk or you could switch to legacy bios boot and keep the mbr partition table. The installer isos will most likely figure out the right thing to do. The live installer expects you to tell it what to do.

I just guessed that all of that meant I needed to format the disks.

Can you translate for me, please?

Thanks