Looking for server cd desktop environment installation guide

zwischen · 2023-08-23 05:17:07

Hi,

Newbie here. Playing with installing Daedalus and Chimaera on virtual machine before doing it real. Installing from a desktop dvd is straightforward. I would like a lean system, and so try installing the 4 server cd's. Using only the first server cd is successful. Though, having problem with desktop environment. Did a bit search for documentation and posts with no luck. Is there any installation guide for, let's say, cinnamon desktop with the 4 server cd set? Thanks.

Last edited by zwischen (2023-08-23 05:18:45)

Andre4freedom · 2023-08-23 08:16:53

Welcome to the forum and the very friendly Devuan-community!

You complicate matters by using the server-CD and CD2,3,4, increasingly so if done in a VM, due to the CD swapping.
It can be done in a single go using the desktop-image iso, which you can directly import to your VM host and deploy your Cinnamon-Devuan installation.
The server CD, though installs only basic things to make up a server. However, you can install tasksel which gives you the comfort of an automated process to install desktop-environments.
BTW: you can install a pure server using the same dvd-iso.
The install instructions are here:
https://www.devuan.org/os/documentation … all-devuan

Good luck and have fun. Daedalus is really fun, believe me.

stopAI · 2023-08-23 11:35:52

zwischen wrote:

Hi,
Did a bit search for documentation and posts with no luck. Is there any installation guide for, let's say, cinnamon desktop with the 4 server cd set? Thanks.

Hello.

According this https://www.devuan.org/get-devuan info, server cd sets contains:

(~670 MB): CD1 of a 4 CD set that allows for a complete off-line server/minimal installation. The remaining CDs offer several desktop choices and a limited selection of additional software.

CD2: Xfce (installable from tasksel) and LXDE.
CD3: MATE (installable from tasksel) and Openbox window manager.
CD4: Cinnamon (installable from tasksel) but requires CD2 and CD3 to install.

zwischen · 2023-08-24 00:22:30

Thank you. The size of the desktop dvd about 1G larger than that of the 4 cd set gives me a false impression that the installation from the server cd set will be lean compared to from the desktop dvd.

I tried to let it scan all 4 server discs during installation. It did show options for different desktop environment. Then, I swapped CDs, and proceeded. And, then, it got stuck. Silly me really. I will just stick to the desktop dvd, even though it's not the leanest. Close is close enough.

Thanks again.

ralph.ronnquist · 2023-08-24 01:37:05

All the installer ISO have the same installer software and they only differ in which collections of packages they come with; the so called package pool. They work by installing that which you select, and then those selections expands by having dependencies. If you install with network mirror backing, they will all link up with the Devuan repository and they will all have all packages available.

The leanest system you can get from them is their base system where you opt for not installing anything else. That gives you a Linux operating system without all things you may expect, and in particular without graphical desktop environment. That's generally known as a "server system" although even a functional server would typically include some additional services such as perhaps ssh and web service.

The cinnamon desktop is generally understood to be "defined" by the task-cinnamon-desktop package, which is a content free-package that only depends on the collection detail packages that would make up a "cinnamon desktop". The "desktop" ISO contains all those packages, as do the collective of server+cd2+cd3+cd4 ISOs (both having also other packages that are outside of the task-cinnamon-desktop collection).

At a more general level, Devuan (like Debian) is like a warehouse of packages rather than an end-user "distribution", and it's up to the end-user to choose which subset of packages they will want to use. The installer offers some pre-packaged choices of end-user-like desktop collections, but that is supposed to be for convenience; in particular someone new to it may otherwise struggle a fair bit to pull together their best convenience package collection.

zwischen · 2023-08-24 02:43:26

Thanks. That's very helpful info. Clears up my mind.

I feel that I am very close, just one step from 'installable from tasksel'. It's just that there is no options for desktop environment on tasksel screen, if only one server cd is used for installation. A little bit further from 'installable from tasksel' on the Install Guide page would be nice.

Last edited by zwischen (2023-08-24 02:47:29)

Dutch_Master · 2023-08-24 04:15:39

Install aptitude, which is a basic package manager. Then, as root, type aptitude on the cli to start the tool. Search the package pool with ?. The easiest way for obtaining a full desktop is via the task-* packages alluded to earlier. There are several, including but not limited to:

task-gnome-desktop
task-mate-desktop
task-kde-desktop
task-cinnamon-desktop
task-xfce-desktop

These are so-called meta-packages: they don't contain software but using the dependency system apt provides they pull in all the required packages you need for a functional desktop. Select one or more and let the system finish. Reboot and your desktop should start.

Having said that, you don't need aptitude to install those desktop meta packages. If you've made your choice already, install directly via apt:

apt-get install task-cinnamon-desktop

Replace cinnamon with your DE of choice

HTH!

rolfie · 2023-08-24 08:36:05

Apart from the tasks you can also use mate-desktop-environent, mate-desktop-environent-extra, mate-desktop-environent-extras, or cinnamon (I am using these, thats why I have the names at hand). Coupled with the option --no-install-recommends you can setup a minimum DE and add the packages you want and need.

cinnamon also requires a language package like cinnamon-l10n for German.

Last edited by rolfie (2023-08-24 08:37:41)

zwischen · 2023-08-25 02:49:33

I tried installing task-cinnamon-desktop. It worked smoothly from command line. A lean server plus a desktop environment is a good starting point for my use case. Thank you. Aptitude is even more convenient. Very nice.

Didn't know --no-install-recommends either. I find a server with libre office odd. Even a browser. Well, that's off topic.

fsmithred · 2023-08-25 11:06:42

I find a server with libre office odd. Even a browser. Well, that's off topic.

Not off-topic, but relevant to this discussion. The task-*-desktop packages pull in everything that most people would expect or want to be in a desktop computer. Run apt depends task-cinnamon-desktop to see what it wants either through Depends or Recommends (which you just learned how to avoid),

Trying to remove some of those extra packages may be difficult - it might want to remove half the system. An alternate approach is to install the base system and then install the desktop components after you reboot into the system. Then you could install cinnamon-desktop-environment to get the desktop without things like libreoffice. The hard part of doing it this way is figuring out what packages you want. It takes longer, but you get exactly what you want.

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#1 2023-08-23 05:17:07