Re: LUKS-encrypted root and unencrypted /boot ?

[Benjamin Slade]

Thanks, Clément.

 > >  > Do you use Libreboot?
 > >
 > > Yes, I'm using Libreboot. Does this make a great difference over the
 > > manufacturer firmware in this case?

 > It might, because the GRUB used is the one shipped with Libreboot.
 > So it has nothing to do with Guix.  I think talking to the libreboot
 > people would help you more.  (Disclaimer: I have the same issue, I
 > find that pressing 'c' and typing 'cryptomount ahci0,gpt3' makes the
 > process faster.)

Thanks, I'll look into that. For the moment I've just switched to having
an unencrypted root and encrypted /home partition (where the swapfile
also lives), which seems to me better from a security standpoint (I can
use --iter 500, sha512, &c. without an issue).

 > >  > I'm unsure [using an unencrypted /boot] would help, because GRUB
 > >  > would still have to unencrypt / to access the kernel (the kernel
 > >  > is in /gnu/store).
 > >
 > > Ah, I see. Is this an immutable design decision?  It would seem
 > > good to be able to keep the kernel in a separate space in order to
 > > avoid the issue of extremely long unlocking times when booting.

 > Nothing is immutable, but it's a strong design decision that all
 > packages data are put in /gnu/store.  Linux is just one of them.
 > Plus, a characteristic of GuixSD is that you can revert to previous
 > configurations.  Those configurations appear as GRUB lines.  Each
 > configuration could have a different kernel and kernels take space,
 > so it wouldn't scale well.  Plus, I think some other stuff is needed
 > as well, like the initrd, which is large too, etc.

I mused briefly about mirroring of the relevant things (kernels, initrd)
from /gnu/store to /boot, but that's probably pretty hack-y.

--
Benjamin Slade - https://babbagefiles.xyz
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