Re: Return a Debian system to a pristine state
On 6/4/20 02:45, Sijmen J. Mulder wrote:
> Marco Möller wrote:
>>> In the fairly large number of posts in this thread I don't recall seeing
>>> file system snapshots suggested. My current preference is ZFS, which I
>>> know from experience to be up to what I understand to be the goal here.
>>
>> (...)
>> I understand the OP to be in search for the uncomplicated removal of
>> installed packages considering package installation dates.
>> A fs snaphot tool is likely to return to a general system state which
>> would include also the return of the user data and system configurations
>> to a point of time in the past, instead of only treating package
>> installs. And if having to prepare sophisticated steps like requiring
>> special partitioning schemes, then this wouldn't be uncomplicated anymore.
Debian root on ZFS installation is non-standard (where the standard is
the Debian installer). It is more complicated than the standard install,
but instructions at
https://openzfs.github.io/openzfs-docs/Getting%20Started/Debian/Debian%20Buster%20Root%20on%20ZFS.html
describe adequately how to do it using a Debian Live CD. I used an
earlier, slightly less polished, version for five or six installs and
found it satisfactory. It is a hands-on command line install using the
shell in a terminal, but most of the commands can be copied and pasted
from the documentation with only minor changes.
>> Agreed, but at risk of going a bit off track, I didn't find this to be
> a problem in practice on ZFS native systems like SmartOS. Separate
> volume on /usr/pkg, snapshot, done. Of course the situation in Debian
> is a bit different.
>
> Sijmen
>
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