Use multiple distributions at the same time with Bedrock Linux

Installing Strata

It is now time to install the distributions within Bedrock. There are basically several ways to do this. You have the option of setting up the desired distribution on a USB stick and then copying the system from the stick to Bedrock. Another way would be to install the system in a virtual machine, then to mount the machine on the Bedrock system, and mirror it into the corresponding partition on the host. Both methods assume that you are able to install GRUB correctly in a chroot.

You might therefore prefer the easiest approach to get started, which is to build the distributions within Bedrock itself. The Quick Install documentation again points the way. For testing, we used debootstrap for Debian, rinse for Fedora, and the static installer for Void when setting up the basic systems. With this approach, you can install the basic systems of the three distributions in about an hour.

Bending

Next, you can move on the Configure section of the Quick Start page with the basic Bedrock configuration of the individual distributions. This part of the installation takes the most time. The aim is, among other things, to set up the symbolic links to the strata on the Bedrock filesystem (and the "kidnapped" distribution), create users and groups, and configure the boot loader.

You can apply most of the commands directly here, simply replacing the generic terms with the respective distribution name. To do this, you once again need to edit the /bedrock/etc/strata.conf file, where you define the basic distribution as the global stratum and as the rootfs [10]. A quick inspection of the contents of this file also sheds some light on the basic strategies of Bedrock (Figure 4).