Re: [BLOG] Running Guix System on a Linode Server

[Alexandru-Sergiu Marton]

Hi,

I want to thank Joshua Branson and Christopher Lemmer Webber for their
article on Guix and Linode servers [1], it's always nice to look up and
see more GNU Guix in the clouds.

Since the post contains an invitation to run websites using Guix System,
I thought to reply saying I've accepted the challenge (though without
even knowing it existed!) I've been hosting my personal website [2] on a
GNU Guix System VPS for the past month, and I have to say it's been an
amazing experience. However I don't use Linode.

I bought my VPS from Vultr [3][4][5]. When you deploy a new server on
their website, they allow you to upload a custom ISO for it to boot
from. I got the latest nightly Guix image and uploaded to Vultr, then
chose it for my new server. When the machine boots, it allows you to see
the screen in a browser window, and that means you can go through the
whole installation process. The resolution might be a bit weird, making
the installer not fit completely at times, but you can easily guess what
you're clicking on if you've been through the process before on your
personal machines.

After the installation, assuming you enabled the SSH daemon, you can
connect through SSH like on any other server. Pretty simple process. No
need to overwrite other operating systems.

I thought I should share my experience, cause it might prove useful for
people that want to get a Guix System server up and running quickly in
the cloud. Vultr servers are pretty performant too! (Or maybe Guix has
improved a lot in the past year regarding speed) I'm using the cheapest
plan (1 CPU, 1024MB RAM) and Guix felt almost as fast as on my desktop
computer, which is a lot beefier than that.

[1]: http://guix.gnu.org/en/blog/2020/running-guix-system-on-a-linode-server/
[2]: https://brown.121407.xyz
[3]: https://vultr.com
[4] (affiliate link): https://www.vultr.com/?ref=8680364
[5] (aff. link 2; get 100$ credit for 30 days): 
https://www.vultr.com/?ref=8680365-6G

Cheers,
Sergiu