Ubuntu

Add zfs support

Advanced installation of Ubuntu with "ZFS on Root" was never part of the installer (basic installation was previously an option), but with Ubuntu 22.04, it was rolled back even more with the removal of zsys.

sudo apt udpate
sudo apt install zfsutils-linux
sudo modprobe zfs
zfs --version
  

Required for booting from zfs:

sudo apt install zfs-initramfs

Root on ZFS

Ref.:

https://openzfs.github.io/openzfs-docs/Getting%20Started/Ubuntu/Ubuntu%2022.04%20Root%20on%20ZFS.html#step-1-prepare-the-install-environment
https://www.medo64.com/2022/05/installing-uefi-zfs-root-on-ubuntu-22-04/

NB: Always use the long /dev/disk/by-id/* aliases with ZFS!

Setup disks

ls -l /dev/disk/by-id/

# 1) get the uuid
scsi-SATA_INTEL_SSDSC2KB24_BTYS820606UV240AGN -> ../../sdb

DISK1=/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_INTEL_SSDSC2KB24_BTYS820606UV240AGN
DISK2=/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_INTEL_SSDSC2KB24_BTYS82060704240AGN

same?

DISK1=/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-355cd2e414f68789a
DISK2=/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-355cd2e414f687946

# 2) disable automount
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.media-handling automount false

# 3) install zfs and utils
sudo -i
apt update
apt install --yes debootstrap gdisk zfsutils-linux
systemctl stop zed

swapoff --all

# 4) If the disk was previously used with zfs
wipefs -a $DISK1
wipefs -a $DISK2

# 5) full-disk discard (TRIM/UNMAP), which can improve performance
blkdiscard -f $DISK1
blkdiscard -f $DISK2

# 6) Clear the partition table
sgdisk --zap-all $DISK1
sgdisk --zap-all $DISK2

# 7) Create bootloader partition
sgdisk     -n1:1M:+512M   -t1:EF00 $DISK1
sgdisk     -n1:1M:+512M   -t1:EF00 $DISK2
  

Note: While the Ubuntu installer uses an MBR label for legacy (BIOS) booting, this HOWTO uses GPT partition labels for both UEFI and legacy (BIOS) booting. This is simpler than having two options. It is also provides forward compatibility (future proofing). In other words, for legacy (BIOS) booting, this will allow you to move the disk(s) to a new system/motherboard in the future without having to rebuild the pool (and restore your data from a backup). The ESP is created in both cases for similar reasons. Additionally, the ESP is used for /boot/grub in single-disk installs.

Choose one of the following options if you want swap:

# For a single-disk install:
sgdisk     -n2:0:+500M    -t2:8200 $DISK1

# For a mirror or raidz topology:
sgdisk     -n2:0:+500M    -t2:FD00 $DISK
  

Adjust the swap swize

sgdisk     -n3:0:+2G      -t3:BE00 $DISK1

Create a root pool partition:

# Unencrypted or ZFS native encryption:
sgdisk     -n4:0:0        -t4:BF00 $DISK1
  

If you are creating a mirror or raidz topology, repeat the partitioning commands for all the disks which will be part of the pool.

You should not need to customize any of the options for the boot pool. Ignore the warnings about the features "not in specified ‘compatibility' feature set."

Create the boot pool:

zpool create \
    -o ashift=12 \
    -o autotrim=on \
    -o cachefile=/etc/zfs/zpool.cache \
    -o compatibility=grub2 \
    -o feature@livelist=enabled \
    -o feature@zpool_checkpoint=enabled \
    -O devices=off \
    -O acltype=posixacl -O xattr=sa \
    -O compression=lz4 \
    -O normalization=formD \
    -O relatime=on \
    -O canmount=off -O mountpoint=/boot -R /mnt \
    bpool ${DISK1}-part3
  

If you are creating a mirror topology, create the pool using:

zpool create \
    ... \
    bpool mirror \
    /dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_disk1-part3 \
    /dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_disk2-part3
  

Create the root pool:

zpool create \
    -o ashift=12 \
    -o autotrim=on \
    -O acltype=posixacl -O xattr=sa -O dnodesize=auto \
    -O compression=lz4 \
    -O normalization=formD \
    -O relatime=on \
    -O canmount=off -O mountpoint=/ -R /mnt \
    rpool ${DISK1}-part4
  

If you are creating a mirror topology, create the pool using:

zpool create \
    ... \
    rpool mirror \
    /dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_disk1-part4 \
    /dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_disk2-part4
  

Create filesystem datasets to act as containers:

zfs create -o canmount=off -o mountpoint=none rpool/ROOT
zfs create -o canmount=off -o mountpoint=none bpool/BOOT
  

Create filesystem datasets for the root and boot filesystems:

UUID=$(dd if=/dev/urandom bs=1 count=100 2>/dev/null |
    tr -dc 'a-z0-9' | cut -c-6)

zfs create -o mountpoint=/ \
    -o com.ubuntu.zsys:bootfs=yes \
    -o com.ubuntu.zsys:last-used=$(date +%s) rpool/ROOT/ubuntu_$UUID

zfs create -o mountpoint=/boot bpool/BOOT/ubuntu_$UUID
  

Create datasets:

zfs create -o com.ubuntu.zsys:bootfs=no -o canmount=off \
    rpool/ROOT/ubuntu_$UUID/usr
zfs create -o com.ubuntu.zsys:bootfs=no -o canmount=off \
    rpool/ROOT/ubuntu_$UUID/var
zfs create rpool/ROOT/ubuntu_$UUID/var/lib
zfs create rpool/ROOT/ubuntu_$UUID/var/log
zfs create rpool/ROOT/ubuntu_$UUID/var/spool

zfs create -o canmount=off -o mountpoint=/ \
    rpool/USERDATA
zfs create -o com.ubuntu.zsys:bootfs-datasets=rpool/ROOT/ubuntu_$UUID \
    -o canmount=on -o mountpoint=/root \
    rpool/USERDATA/root_$UUID
chmod 700 /mnt/root
  

Bind the virtual filesystems from the LiveCD environment to the new system and chroot into it:

mount --make-private --rbind /dev  /mnt/dev
mount --make-private --rbind /proc /mnt/proc
mount --make-private --rbind /sys  /mnt/sys
chroot /mnt /usr/bin/env DISK=$DISK1 UUID=$UUID bash --login
  

Even if you prefer a non-English system language, always ensure that en_US.UTF-8 is available:

dpkg-reconfigure locales tzdata keyboard-configuration console-setup

Create the EFI filesystem, perform these steps for both UEFI and legacy (BIOS) booting:

apt install --yes dosfstools

mkdosfs -F 32 -s 1 -n EFI ${DISK1}-part1
mkdir /boot/efi
echo /dev/disk/by-uuid/$(blkid -s UUID -o value ${DISK1}-part1) \
    /boot/efi vfat defaults 0 0 >> /etc/fstab
mount /boot/efi
  

mkdir /boot/efi/grub /boot/grub
echo /boot/efi/grub /boot/grub none defaults,bind 0 0 >> /etc/fstab
mount /boot/grub
  

Install GRUB/Linux/ZFS in the chroot environment for the new system:

Choose one of the following options:

apt install --yes \
    grub-efi-amd64 grub-efi-amd64-signed linux-image-generic \
    shim-signed zfs-initramfs zsys
  

apt purge --yes os-prober
passwd

mkswap -f ${DISK1}-part2
echo /dev/disk/by-uuid/$(blkid -s UUID -o value ${DISK1}-part2) \
    none swap discard 0 0 >> /etc/fstab
swapon -a

addgroup --system lpadmin
addgroup --system lxd
addgroup --system sambashare

update-grub