Setup Clean Debian OS for Your (Cloud) VPS

Step 1. Preparation

• A clean normally running true virtualization (e.g. KVM) VPS with GRUB2 and VNC access. This script have been tested on SolusVM KVM VPS & Alibaba Cloud ECS with Debian 8/9 & Ubuntu 16.04/18.04.

• Then check /etc/default/grub with your preferred editor (e.g. nano or vi).

• Make sure there's no GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT_QUIET and GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT. Just delete them.

• Make sure there's reasonable number for GRUB_DEFAULT timeout. You can just set GRUB_DEFAULT=999 which will be fine (about 16 minutes).

Install dependencies:

sudo apt update && sudo apt -y install ca-certificates cpio wget whois

Step 2. Run the Script

Replace following <OPTIONS> with your options.

sudo sh -c "$(wget -O - https://github.com/brentybh/debian-netboot/raw/master/netboot.sh)" -- <OPTIONS>

Remember to enter your current user's password for sudo (if need) and then enter the new user's password (if not specified by -p).

All Options

• -c US Debian Installer Country
• -fqdn localhost.localdomain FQDN including hostname and domain
• -proto https Transport protocol for archive mirror only but not security repository (http, https, ftp)
• -host dpvctowv9b08b.cloudfront.net Host for archive mirror only but not security repository
• -dir /debian Directory path relative to root of the mirror
• -suite stretch Suite (stable, testing, stretch, etc.)
• -u ubuntu Username of admin account with sudo privilege
• -p secret Password of the account (if not specified, it will be asked interactively)
• -tz UTC Time zone
• -ntp time.google.com NTP server
• -upgrade full-upgrade Whether to upgrade packages after debootstrap (none, safe-upgrade, full-upgrade)
• -s https://dpvctowv9b08b.cloudfront.net/debian-security Custom URL for security repository mirror
• -ip 1.2.3.4 Configure network manually with an IP address (following options only work when IP address specified)
• -cidr 255.255.255.0 Netmask for manual network configuration
• -gw 1.2.3.1 Gateway for manual network configuration
• -ns "1.1.1.1 156.154.70.5 8.8.8.8" DNS for manual network configuration
• -add "ca-certificates curl openssl" Include individual additional packages to install
• -ssh secret Enable network console and specify password for SSH access during install process.

Chinese Special

If -c CN is used, Chinese Special options will be setup for good connectivity and experience against GFW.

• Default archive mirror is https://chinanet.mirrors.ustc.edu.cn/debian.
• Default security mirror is https://chinanet.mirrors.ustc.edu.cn/debian-security.
• Default time zone is Asia/Shanghai.
• Default NTP server is ntp1.aliyun.com.
• Default DNS is 1.2.4.8 119.29.29.29.
• All custom settings will override above defaults.

Step 3. Entering Debian Installer

• Keep your SSH connection and open VNC console on your Provider's control panel.
• sudo reboot with your SSH and the VM should reboot.
• Switch to your VNC window quickly. You should enter the GRUB selection menu now.
• Use your keyboard to select New Install and enter it. Also, be quick, just do not miss the GRUB_DEFAULT timeout you've set.
• Finally, you should see the screen of Debian Installer now. It will setup all things automatically and reboot when complete.