Arch Linux on a VPS

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From Wikipedia:Virtual private server:

Virtual private server (VPS) is a term used by Internet hosting services to refer to a virtual machine. The term is used for emphasizing that the virtual machine, although running in software on the same physical computer as other customers' virtual machines, is in many respects functionally equivalent to a separate physical computer, is dedicated to the individual customer's needs, has the privacy of a separate physical computer, and can be configured to run server software.

This article discusses the use of Arch Linux on Virtual Private Servers, and includes some fixes and installation instructions specific to VPSes.

Official Arch Linux cloud image

Arch Linux provides an official cloud image as part of the arch-boxes project. The image comes with Cloud-init preinstalled and should work with most cloud providers.

The image can be downloaded from the mirrors under the images directory. Instructions for tested providers is listed below:

Provider Locations Note
Digital Ocean Global
  1. Find the cloud image on a mirror, ex: https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/images/latest/Arch-Linux-x86_64-cloudimg.qcow2
  2. Add the image as a custom image by importing it
  3. Create a new VM from the custom image
  4. SSH to the VM: ssh root@ip
Hetzner Cloud Nuremberg, Falkenstein (Germany), Helsinki (Finland)
  1. Create a new VM with this user data:
    #cloud-config
    vendor_data: {'enabled': false}
    The vendor_data from Hetzner overrides the distro and sets the default user to root without setting disable_root: false, meaning you can not login
  2. Boot the VM in rescue mode
  3. SSH to the VM and download the cloud image from a mirror, ex: curl -O https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/images/latest/Arch-Linux-x86_64-cloudimg.qcow2
  4. Write the image to the disk: qemu-img convert -f qcow2 -O raw Arch-Linux-x86_64-cloudimg.qcow2 /dev/sda
  5. Reboot the VM
  6. SSH to the VM: ssh arch@ip
Linode Multiple international locations
  1. Create a new VM and select Arch as the distribution (to use the Linode-provided image, stop here; otherwise proceed with the rest of the steps)
  2. Boot the VM in rescue mode
  3. Connect to the VM via the Lish console and download the basic image from a mirror, ex: curl -O https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/images/latest/Arch-Linux-x86_64-basic.qcow2
  4. Install the qemu-utils package: apt update && apt install qemu-utils
  5. Write the image to the disk: qemu-img convert -f qcow2 -O raw Arch-Linux-x86_64-basic.qcow2 /dev/sda
  6. In the Linode manager, go to the VM's configurations menu and edit the configuration to change the kernel option to "Direct Disk"
  7. Reboot the VM
  8. SSH to the VM: ssh arch@ip
Proxmox N/A
  1. Create a new VM
  2. Select "Do not use any media" in OS section.
  3. Remove created hard disk from your VM after VM creation completes.
  4. Add the downloaded image to your VM using qm importdisk, ex:
    qm importdisk 100 Arch-Linux-x86_64-cloudimg.qcow2 local
  5. Add a cloudinit drive and make your configurations in Cloud-Init section.
  6. Start the VM!

Providers that offer Arch Linux

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Reason: Inconsistency, some language issues (Discuss in Talk:Arch Linux on a VPS)
Warning: We cannot vouch for the honesty or quality of any provider. Please conduct due diligence before ordering.
Note: This list is for providers where Arch Linux can be installed in a supported way. This excludes any container-based hosting such as LXC or Docker as well as OpenVZ.
Provider Archiso release Virtualization Locations Notes
Hetzner 2020.06.01 KVM Nuremberg, DE; Falkenstein, DE; Helsinki, FI You cannot choose Arch Linux directly on the order form. Order Ubuntu or something first, then go to ISO Images, mount Arch Linux, reboot server, and log in to web console to complete installation.
Linode Latest KVM Multiple international locations Linode instances are configured to run Arch's kernel by default. Linode provides custom kernels which can be selected in the manager settings. There are also community-supported kernels in the AUR, such as linux-linodeAUR.
Netcup 2020.09.01 KVM Germany (DE) German language: Netcup
MonoVM Latest VMware USA - Canada - Netherlands - Germany - UK - France - Denmark VMware Based VPS Server Provider.
RamNode 2016.01.01 SSD and SSD Cached: KVM Alblasserdam, NL; Atlanta, GA-US; Los Angeles, CA-US; New York, NY-US; Seattle, WA-US You can request Host/CPU passthrough with KVM service.[1] Frequent use of discount promotions.[2], Must install Arch manually from an ISO using VNC viewer.
Server Cheap Latest KVM Chicago, Illinois, USA Arch Linux available on request.[3] Windows, BSD, and many Linux distribution hosting options.
TransIP latest KVM Amsterdam, NL For latest image, submit ticket. Also registrar.
Vultr Latest KVM Multiple International locations When deploying a new server just select the Arch install ISO from Vultr ISO Library. Then just manually run through the standard Arch installation guide.
Misaka.io / zeptoVM Latest KVM Multiple International locations Images are built every 24 hrs
V.PS Latest KVM Multiple International locations Images are built monthly

Providers with Community provided Arch Linux support

Warning: We cannot vouch for the honesty or quality of any provider. Please conduct due diligence before ordering.
Note: Arch Linux is not officially supported by these providers. The images and scripts listed here are created by the community.
Provider Installation Type Locations Notes
Amazon Web Services Custom Images Global
Digital Ocean Official Arch cloud image, Conversion Script or Custom Image Global IPv6 does not work with custom images, but works with conversion script
Google Cloud Platform Custom Image Global