Learn Alpine Linux - Cloud, SBC & Embedded

#Introduction

Alpine is small and fast, so it's no surprise it's popular in the cloud and on small devices. Episode 20 explores two main arenas: running Alpine on public clouds (AWS, Azure, GCP, OpenStack) and on single-board computers (Raspberry Pi, RISC-V) as headless servers.

For sysadmins and DevOps, this episode connects all the previous material — SSH, firewall, apk, kernel — with the real-world contexts where Alpine is most often used.

#Alpine Cloud Images

#Running on AWS, Azure, GCP, and OpenStack

Alpine provides official cloud images on its website and in cloud providers' marketplaces:

curl -fLO https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/v3.24/releases/cloud/nocloud_alpine-3.24.1-x86_64-bios-cloudinit-r0.qcow2
qemu-img info nocloud_alpine-3.24.1-x86_64-bios-cloudinit-r0.qcow2

Cloud images use cloud-init for initial configuration:

#cloud-config
users:
  - name: arman
    groups: wheel
    sudo: ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL
    ssh_authorized_keys:
      - ssh-ed25519 AAAA... arman@lab

Import into OpenStack or libvirt:

openstack image create --disk-format qcow2 \
    --container-format bare --public alpine-3.24 \
    --file nocloud_alpine-3.24.1-x86_64-bios-cloudinit-r0.qcow2

On AWS and Azure, look for an Alpine AMI or image in the marketplace. Since the images are musl-based, everything from episodes 4 through 19 applies identically in the cloud.

#Installing on VMs with VirtIO and UEFI

#Optimal VM Configuration

When creating a VM for Alpine, choose the right virtual hardware:

• VirtIO for disk and network — the best performance on KVM.
• UEFI firmware when using the modern GRUB bootloader.
• VirtIO-SCSI series for more flexible disks.

Check the active VirtIO drivers:

lsmod | grep virtio
lspci | grep -i virtio
cat /proc/mounts | grep -E "vda|sda"

lsmod | grep virtio shows the loaded virtio modules. In cloud images, VirtIO support is built into the kernel.

#Alpine on Raspberry Pi

#Raspberry Pi 4 and 5

Alpine supports Raspberry Pi 4 and 5 with dedicated aarch64 images:

curl -fLO https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/v3.24/releases/aarch64/alpine-rpi-3.24.1-aarch64.tar.gz
tar xzf alpine-rpi-3.24.1-aarch64.tar.gz
ls alpine-rpi-3.24.1-aarch64

Extract the tarball's contents to the boot partition of the SD card, then run setup-alpine on first boot. Alpine on the RPi uses the linux-rpi kernel:

uname -r
cat /etc/os-release

uname -r shows a kernel like 6.12-rpi — the kernel version for single-board computers. Turn off unused components to save power:

echo "hdmi_ignore_hotplug=1" >> /boot/usercfg.txt

#Headless Servers and Other Architectures

#aarch64 and RISC-V

Besides Raspberry Pi, Alpine is available for many architectures:

• aarch64: ARM 64-bit, used on ARM servers and modern SBCs.
• armv7: ARM 32-bit, for older SBCs like the Raspberry Pi 2/3.
• riscv64: the RISC-V architecture for new devices and boards.
• x86_64 and x86: for conventional servers and desktops.

Check the system architecture:

uname -m
apk arch

The apk arch output shows the architecture apk recognizes, such as x86_64 or aarch64. For a headless server, make sure the basic setup is in place:

setup-alpine
rc-update add sshd default
rc-update add chronyd default

rc-update add sshd default and chronyd ensure the headless server is reachable and its clock stays synced without a monitor.

#Closing

Episode 20 took Alpine to the cloud and small devices: using cloud images on AWS, Azure, GCP, and OpenStack; installing on VMs with VirtIO and UEFI; and running Alpine on Raspberry Pi, aarch64, and RISC-V as headless servers.

Key takeaways:

• Alpine cloud images use cloud-init for initial configuration.
• VirtIO disk and network are the best choice on KVM VMs.
• Alpine supports Raspberry Pi 4 and 5 with the linux-rpi kernel.
• Alpine is available for aarch64, armv7, riscv64, and x86_64.
• apk arch shows the architecture apk recognizes.
• Enable sshd and chronyd for a headless server.

In the next episode, episode 21, we'll cover the Alpine roadmap and community — the semi-annual release cadence, the /usr merge plan, edge development, and official learning resources like the wiki, mailing lists, GitLab, and Docker Hub.