GNet Solutions » GNU/Linux Administration

This is a simple guide for setting up and using Linux Containers on Debian.

Prepare the Environment¶

• Make sure the system is up to date:
  

  sudo apt update
  

Install LXC¶

• Install LXC;
  

  sudo apt install lxc
  

Templates¶

Arch Container¶

• Create the container:
  

  lxc-create -n arch.example.com -t download -- --dist archlinux --release current --arch amd64
  

  • NOTE : To display a list of available templates to download, use:
    

    lxc-create -n arch.example.com -t download
    

• Start the Arch container:
  

  lxc-start -n arch.example.com
  

• Open a console to the container:
  

  lxc-attach -n arch.example.com
  

Debian Container¶

• Create the container:
  

  lxc-create -n debian.example.com -t download -- -d debian -r bullseye -a amd64
  

• (Optional) Add the Raspbian repository on top of stock Debian repos:
  

  echo 'deb http://archive.raspbian.org/raspbian bullseye main contrib non-free rpi' >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/raspbian.list
  echo 'deb-src http://archive.raspbian.org/raspbian bullseye main contrib non-free rpi' >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/raspbian.list
  

  • And add the Raspbian public signing key:
    

    wget https://archive.raspbian.org/raspbian.public.key -O - | sudo apt-key add -
    

  • Update the apt repository cache and upgrade any necessary files:
    

    apt update && apt upgrade
    

• (Optional) Add the Wolfram Alpha repository:
  

  echo 'deb http://repository.wolfram.com/raspbian/ stable non-free' >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/wolfram.list
  

  • And add the Wolfram public signing key:
    

    apt-key adv —keyserver http://repository.wolfram.com/raspbian/raspbian@wolfram.com.gpg.pub-key —recv-keys 574FA74E5CBB4222
    

  • Update the apt repository cache and upgrade any necessary files:
    

    apt update && apt upgrade
    

  • Install wolfram:
    

    apt-get install wolfram-engine mathelxc-create -n kali.example.com -t kali-arm -- --release sana --mirror=http://archive.kali.org/kali --security=http://security.kali.org/kali-security --packages=apt-utils,wget,debian-keyring,e2fsprogs,kali-defaults,kali-menu,parted,sudo,usbutilsmatica-fonts
    

Ubuntu Container¶

• Create the container:
  

  lxc-create -n ubuntu.example.com -t download -- -d ubuntu -r focal -a amd64
  

Fedora Container¶

• Create the container:
  

  lxc-create -n fedora.example.com -t download -- -d fedora -r 34 -a amd64
  

Autostarting Containers¶

• Enable container at boot:
  

  sudo systemctl enable lxc@containtername
  

Exposing Network Services¶

• Install iptables
  

  sudo apt install iptables iptables-persistent
  

• (Example) Forward port 2222 on host to 22 on container:
  

  sudo iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -p tcp --dport 2222 -j DNAT --to 10.0.3.3:22
  

• Save the current iptables rules:
  

  sudo sh -c "iptables-save > /etc/iptables/rules.v4" 
  

• Enable iptables to reload at boot:
  

  sudo systemctl enable netfilter-persistent
  

Issues & Workarounds¶

• Container fails to download with ERROR: Unable to fetch GPG key from keyserver. Resolve by using the DOWNLOAD_KEYSERVER environment variable:
  

  DOWNLOAD_KEYSERVER="pgp.mit.edu" lxc-create -n arch.example.com -t download -- --dist archlinux --release current --arch amd64
  

Resources¶

• https://gudok.xyz/lxcdeb/
• https://discuss.linuxcontainers.org/t/3-0-unable-to-fetch-gpg-key-from-keyserver/2015/10