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I did the same for years, with the addition of wireless tools when I switched to using laptops. With Buster and the additional networking features of systemd (

I did the same for years, with the addition of wireless tools when I switched to using laptops. With Buster and the additional networking features of systemd (and iwd for wifi), I was able to replace the whole stack with just 2-3 things. Much simpler in design and easier to setup and use. I wrote a small gist on the setup a couple years ago that is still mostly relevant. In case you're interested... https://gist.github.com/eikenb/1e9faeb8210e639e8caa69e9832db594 https://gist.github.com/eikenb/1e9faeb8210e639e8caa69e9832db...

iso1631 5y ago
99% of my machines (everything apart from one laptop) has no wifi. Systemd is constantly Now of course I can return to basics and learn everything again from scratch. The problem with that approach is distros like Ubuntu frequently drop in new features which last 5 years, and then they're gone as they're no longer sexy. This reduces the payoff of learning something new, may as well just continue to fight. I probably won't use ubuntu on servers going forward as they broke the installer for 20.04 (they got rid of the nice simple debian-installer, which just needed a new kernel/initrd and a preseed tweak every 2 years) and replaced it with some live cd monstrosity. Managed to avoid netplan on 18.04. It's a pain, as it means spending mental effort to make changes to something that just works, and the whole reason I use linux is because it has "just worked" for 2 decades. It seems all these recent changes are aimed at people who want their linux machine to operate just like an OSX laptop.
- rubicks 5y ago
  You can get a "legacy" installer for Focal server: http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-legacy-server/releases/20.04/release/ http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-legacy-server/releases/20.0... I'm using it myself for $DAYJOB, although, as you say, my Bionic preseed needed a _lot_ of adaptation.
- glitchcrab 5y ago
  You can use autoinstall instead of d-i - I vastly prefer it over the arcane d-i configurations. d-i is one of those things which you get working and never touch again in case you break it. https://ubuntu.com/server/docs/install/autoinstall https://ubuntu.com/server/docs/install/autoinstall
  - iso1631 5y ago
    I've used d-i with ubuntu since 6.10 and it just works. Never managed to find a base pxe boot for autoinstall, but it's just one of the many straws As I say, just one of the many reasons I'm trying to leave the tech industry, just like the unix greybeards were annoyed by young upstart linux people in the late 90s, these things are cyclical.
- eikenberry 5y ago
  Without wifi it isn't very compelling vs. the good old /etc/network/interfaces setup, it's hard to get simpler than that. I still use that on my servers as well. I use Debian myself and know that they don't change tech lightly and will keep supporting Systemd for the foreseeable future. So that part isn't a concern for me. Can't help with the Ubuntu installer, I only ever used it for cloud deployments with cloudinit. Systemd is a mixed bag but overall I've been happy with it. I have been using it since Jesse and have never had any issues with it and definitely prefer it over sysv-init (which I always hated, every other init system is an improvement over it IMO... so low bar I guess).

iso1631 5y ago

99% of my machines (everything apart from one laptop) has no wifi. Systemd is constantly Now of course I can return to basics and learn everything again from scratch. The problem with that approach is distros like Ubuntu frequently drop in new features which last 5 years, and then they're gone as they're no longer sexy. This reduces the payoff of learning something new, may as well just continue to fight. I probably won't use ubuntu on servers going forward as they broke the installer for 20.04 (they got rid of the nice simple debian-installer, which just needed a new kernel/initrd and a preseed tweak every 2 years) and replaced it with some live cd monstrosity. Managed to avoid netplan on 18.04. It's a pain, as it means spending mental effort to make changes to something that just works, and the whole reason I use linux is because it has "just worked" for 2 decades. It seems all these recent changes are aimed at people who want their linux machine to operate just like an OSX laptop.

rubicks 5y ago
You can get a "legacy" installer for Focal server: http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-legacy-server/releases/20.04/release/ http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-legacy-server/releases/20.0... I'm using it myself for $DAYJOB, although, as you say, my Bionic preseed needed a _lot_ of adaptation.
glitchcrab 5y ago
You can use autoinstall instead of d-i - I vastly prefer it over the arcane d-i configurations. d-i is one of those things which you get working and never touch again in case you break it. https://ubuntu.com/server/docs/install/autoinstall https://ubuntu.com/server/docs/install/autoinstall
- iso1631 5y ago
  I've used d-i with ubuntu since 6.10 and it just works. Never managed to find a base pxe boot for autoinstall, but it's just one of the many straws As I say, just one of the many reasons I'm trying to leave the tech industry, just like the unix greybeards were annoyed by young upstart linux people in the late 90s, these things are cyclical.
eikenberry 5y ago
Without wifi it isn't very compelling vs. the good old /etc/network/interfaces setup, it's hard to get simpler than that. I still use that on my servers as well. I use Debian myself and know that they don't change tech lightly and will keep supporting Systemd for the foreseeable future. So that part isn't a concern for me. Can't help with the Ubuntu installer, I only ever used it for cloud deployments with cloudinit. Systemd is a mixed bag but overall I've been happy with it. I have been using it since Jesse and have never had any issues with it and definitely prefer it over sysv-init (which I always hated, every other init system is an improvement over it IMO... so low bar I guess).