Configurare Sistem de operare

How to install and configure Solus Budgie

1. Download Solus Budgie

  1. Go to the official Solus website: https://getsol.us.

  2. Click Download → Select Budgie edition (the flagship desktop).

  3. Download the .iso file — about 2 GB.

  4. After download, verify checksum (optional but recommended):

    • On Linux:

      bash
      sha256sum Solus-*.iso

      Compare with the checksum on the website.

    • On Windows: Use a tool like CertUtil in Command Prompt:

      cmd
      certutil -hashfile Solus-*.iso SHA256

2. Create a Bootable USB

You’ll need an empty USB (≥4 GB).

  • On Windows: Use Rufus

    1. Insert your USB.

    2. Open Rufus → Select the Solus ISO → Leave partition scheme as GPT (for UEFI).

    3. Click Start.

  • On Linux: Use balenaEtcher or the dd command:

    bash
    sudo dd if=Solus-*.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress
    sync

    (Replace /dev/sdX with your USB device — be very careful!)

3. Install Solus Budgie

  1. Boot from USB: Restart your PC, open BIOS/UEFI boot menu (F12, Esc, or F2 usually), select your USB drive.

  2. Live environment: Choose “Start Solus” to boot into the live desktop.

  3. Launch installer (icon on desktop).

  4. Go through installer screens:

    • Language & Region

    • Keyboard Layout

    • Time Zone

    • Installation Type:

      • Erase disk (wipes all data — easiest)

      • Manual partitioning (if you dual-boot — you’ll need at least / and swap partitions; optionally /home)

    • User Setup:

      • Create username, password, computer name.

    • Summary → click Install.

  5. Wait until installation completes (~5–15 min).

  6. Reboot and remove the USB when prompted.

4. Post-Installation Configuration

a. Update the system

Open Terminal and run:

bash
sudo eopkg upgrade

This fetches the latest packages and security patches.

b. Install additional drivers (if needed)

  • Open DoFlicky (Solus Hardware Driver tool) from the menu.

  • It will suggest proprietary GPU/Wi-Fi drivers if required.

  • Install, reboot.

c. Enable firewall

Solus includes ufw (Uncomplicated Firewall):

bash
sudo eopkg install ufw
sudo systemctl enable --now ufw
sudo ufw enable

d. Essential apps

Solus uses eopkg as its package manager. Examples:

bash
# Web browsers
sudo eopkg install firefox
sudo eopkg install chromium# Office suite
sudo eopkg install libreoffice

# Media player
sudo eopkg install vlc

Or use Software Center for a GUI approach.

e. Budgie desktop tweaks

Install Budgie settings:

bash
sudo eopkg install budgie-desktop-view budgie-extras

Then open Budgie Desktop Settings:

  • Change Panel Layout

  • Add Applets (e.g., system monitor, workspace switcher)

  • Adjust Theme (icon packs, GTK theme)

5. Optional Customizations

Themes & Icons

bash
sudo eopkg install arc-theme papirus-icon-theme

Then switch in Budgie Desktop Settings → Style.

Enable Night Light

  • Settings → Devices → Displays → Night Light

  • Adjust schedule and warmth.

Performance tweaks

  • Disable unneeded startup apps: Settings → Startup Applications

  • Install preload (caches frequently used apps):

    bash
    sudo eopkg install preload
    sudo systemctl enable --now preload

Snap & Flatpak support

Solus supports them for extra software:

bash
# Flatpak
sudo eopkg install flatpak
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo# Snap
sudo eopkg install snapd
sudo systemctl enable –now snapd

[mai mult...]

RetroArch on Raspberry Pi – Complete Installation & Configuration Guide

Flash Raspberry Pi OS:

    • Use Raspberry Pi Imager to install Raspberry Pi OS.

    • Enable SSH and Wi-Fi in advanced settings (optional but useful).

First Boot:

    • Insert the microSD, power up your Pi, and complete the OS setup.

Update your system:

bash
sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade -y
sudo reboot

Install RetroArch

There are two main options to install RetroArch:

Option A: Install via RetroPie (Recommended for Ease + Full Emulation Suite)

RetroPie bundles RetroArch + EmulationStation and makes configuration easier.

  1. Install Git:

    bash
    sudo apt install git -y

  2. Clone and install RetroPie:

    bash
    git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup.git
    cd RetroPie-Setup
    chmod +x retropie_setup.sh
    sudo ./retropie_setup.sh

  3. Choose:

    • Basic Install – installs RetroArch, EmulationStation, and core scripts.

  4. After install, reboot:

    bash
    sudo reboot

Option B: Install RetroArch Standalone from Source

If you want only RetroArch:

  1. Install dependencies:

    bash
    sudo apt install build-essential git libasound2-dev libudev-dev libsdl2-dev libv4l-dev \
    libxkbcommon-dev libdrm-dev libgbm-dev libpulse-dev libx11-dev libegl1-mesa-dev \
    libxrandr-dev libxi-dev libgl1-mesa-dev -y

  2. Clone RetroArch:

    bash
    git clone https://github.com/libretro/RetroArch.git
    cd RetroArch
    ./configure
    make -j$(nproc)
    sudo make install

  3. Launch RetroArch:

    bash
    retroarch

 You’ll need to install and manage cores and frontends manually if you choose Option B.

Step 3: Install Emulator Cores

From within RetroArch:

  1. Launch RetroArch:

    bash
    retroarch

  2. Navigate to:

    • Main Menu > Online Updater > Core Downloader

    • Select and download cores (emulators) such as:

      • NES: FCEUmm, Nestopia

      • SNES: SNES9x

      • GBA: mGBA

      • PS1: PCSX ReARMed (best for Raspberry Pi)

Step 4: Add ROMs

  1. Create ROM folders:

    bash
    mkdir -p ~/RetroPie/roms/nes
    mkdir -p ~/RetroPie/roms/snes
    mkdir -p ~/RetroPie/roms/psx

  2. Transfer ROMs:

    • Use SFTP (via FileZilla) or USB stick.

    • File path: ~/RetroPie/roms/[system]

Legal Note: Only use ROMs you legally own.

Step 5: Configure Controllers

Auto-Configuration:

  • On first launch, RetroArch will detect most gamepads.

  • Follow the on-screen prompts to map buttons.

Manual Configuration:

  • Main Menu > Settings > Input > Port 1 Binds

  • Save autoconfig:

    • Input > Save Autoconfig

Step 6: Enable Video and Shaders

  1. Settings > Video:

    • Enable Threaded Video

    • Set Scaling > Aspect Ratio to Core Provided or 4:3

  2. Shaders (for CRT filters):

    • Settings > Shaders > Load Shader Preset

    • Try crt-pi.glslp or crt-geom.glslp

Step 7: Save Configurations

Make sure to save settings:

bash
Settings > Configuration File > Save Current Configuration

Or save per-core config:

bash
Quick Menu > Overrides > Save Core Overrides

Step 8: Autostart RetroArch

To launch RetroArch on boot:

bash
nano ~/.bashrc

Add at the end:

bash
if [ $(tty) = "/dev/tty1" ]; then
retroarch
fi

Or use EmulationStation (from RetroPie) as the frontend.

Optional Enhancements

Add Hotkeys

  • Assign a “Hotkey Enable” button (e.g., Select)

  • Combine with:

    • Hotkey + Start = Exit

    • Hotkey + R = Reset

RetroAchievements

Overclock (Advanced)

  • Use raspi-config > Overclock

  • Improves performance but watch temps.

[mai mult...]

What is Bazzite and why i should install it as a gaming OS

Bazzite is a customized, gaming-focused variant of Fedora Atomic Desktops (specifically Kinoite), developed by the open-source team at Universal Blue. It is designed to deliver an optimized out-of-the-box gaming experience for both desktop PCs and handheld devices like the Steam Deck.

Create a Bootable USB Drive
Use a tool like:

Rufus (Windows)

dd (Linux/macOS)

balenaEtcher (Cross-platform)

Example with dd:

bash
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Edit
sudo dd if=bazzite-xyz.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress && sync
Replace /dev/sdX with the path to your USB stick.

Boot and Install

  • Boot from the USB stick (adjust BIOS boot order if needed).
  • Bazzite will boot into a live environment.
  • Follow the Anaconda installer process:
  • Choose language, disk, and partitions.
  • Set up a user and password.

Install.

Warning: This will overwrite your target drive unless you’re dual-booting. Backup important data.

Post-Install Configuration
Once installed and rebooted into Bazzite:

1. First Boot Tasks
Log into your user account.

Perform initial update (if prompted) via GNOME Software or CLI.

bash
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Edit
rpm-ostree upgrade
2. Steam Setup
Steam is preinstalled, but you can:

Log in to your account.

Enable Proton Experimental in settings for broader compatibility.

Add non-Steam games via Lutris/Bottles (already installed).

3. System Management Tools
Flatpak is your default app store:

bash
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Edit
flatpak install flathub com.discordapp.Discord
Nix Package Manager is also supported (optional but powerful):

bash
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Edit
curl -L https://nixos.org/nix/install | sh
4. Rebase to Another Variant (Optional)
Want to switch between KDE, GNOME, etc.?

bash
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Edit
rpm-ostree rebase ostree-unverified:ghcr.io/ublue-os/bazzite-gnome:latest
Then reboot:

bash
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Edit
systemctl reboot

Useful Bazzite CLI Commands
Command Description
rpm-ostree upgrade Check for and apply system updates
rpm-ostree install <pkg> Layer in additional RPM packages
rpm-ostree status View deployment status
rpm-ostree rollback Roll back to previous working deployment
flatpak install <app> Install Flatpak apps
bazzite-device-setup (Steam Deck) Reconfigures device-specific tweaks.

[mai mult...]

Setting up a Proxmox cluster in your homelab

It is not required but very good practice to keep management networks from VM networks. As I had four ports on each server, I went with following design:

Port 1 on each server — Management Network
This is what I provided to Proxmox at installation time, 192.168.3.x range
Linux Bridge was created by Proxmox

Port 2 on each server — VM Network (Data Plane)
In my case, this is connected to different switch/subnet, 192.168.4.x range
We’ll now create Linux Bridge to use this port

Linux Bridge: “A Linux Bridge allows the physical network interface to act as a virtual switch inside our server. This helps connect our virtual machines to different network segments.”

Log on on to one node and get to Network tab (process needs to be done on all nodes):

Proxmox Network — Setup Bridge

I am going to use eno2 that is connected to a separate subnet and use this network for VMs. First bridge created by Proxmox is named as vmbr0, so we’ll name the new one as vmbr1. In comments, I put ‘vm-net4’ to represent usage and subnet but you can put any description here:

Create Linux Bridge

Leave Gateway blank here. Click on Apply Configuration, otherwise changes will only take effect on the next restart.

Apply Network Configuration

Next time we create VMs, we’ll pick this new network that we just created:

Select network for VM creation

We can change it for existing VMs also:

Even though we have not set up the Cluster yet, we can define Shared storage at Datacenter level and not node level. I have access to NFS share from my Synology but as we can see below, we have many options to pick from:

Add Shared Storage to Proxmox

In Content above, we decide what this shared storage can be used for, like for VM disks, ISO images etc. We have defined one for virtual machines above, let us define one for backups also:

With shared storage configured, we can now leverage it to seamlessly move VMs between nodes in the cluster. This flexibility is a key benefit of clustering, as it allows for workload balancing and high availability.

At this stage, we have three separate Proxmox hosts. We have set up two networks on each and added shared storage to one. At this stage we are good for creating the cluster.

Let us Create the cluster now:

Create Cluster

Pick a cluster name and give it node IP:

Create Cluster — Output

Now we have a cluster with one node. By clicking on Join Information button, we can grab information that we need to take to other nodes to add them to same cluster:

Now we can refresh page and see all nodes in cluster:

Also, in above we can see that Shared storage is accessible to all nodes even though we added it to only one node.

Virtual Machine Migrations

We can test our cluster by Migrating VM:

This VM was created using local disk. Migrating VM with local disk:

It took a few minutes to migrate over 1Gb network. The VM was responsive during this time.

Now we can see that VM has move to prx-2 node:

We can also verify from logs at bottom of screen:

Now let us Create VM using shared storage. Process is same except that we select disk from shared storage:

Migrate VM with shared storage:

It is very quick:

So far we have migrated VMs manually. There are use cases for doing so. But if want VMs to migrate when there is an issue with a given node, then we need High Availability.

  • Click on Add under Resources
  • And select VM to add to HA

We can leave Max Restarts and Max Relocate to 1. We do not want migration to be tried multiple times, we would rather know about underlying issue first at that time. VM was stopped when adding, so it is starting now as requested state above was Started:

Now, if something happens to the node on which the VM is running, it’ll be moved to another node automatically (hence HA). I tested it by unplugging the network cable from the server on which VM was running and it moved to another node.

While High Availability (HA) is a powerful feature with clear use cases, it’s important to assess whether it’s necessary based on specific requirements. In scenarios where redundancy is already built into the application layer, such as Elasticsearch or Kafka clusters, we might prioritize high-speed local storage over fast VM migration, even if that means reduced mobility for the virtual machines. Ensuring data consistency often takes precedence in such cases. Conversely, for services like NGINX acting as a load balancer, HA can be a valuable option, as configuration updates are infrequent and the service benefits more from uptime and reliability than instantaneous data replication.

[mai mult...]