Ubuntu 24.04 Desktop Post-Installation Script

Automated setup script for Ubuntu 24.04 Desktop that installs essential tools, configures SSH, sets up Docker, configures remote access, and optionally sets up Samba file sharing and a split-backup system using rclone.

What This Script Does

Core Utilities Installed

• net-tools - Network utilities (ifconfig, netstat)
• ncdu - Disk usage analyzer with ncurses interface
• git - Version control system
• curl & wget - Download tools
• vim - Text editor (instructions use nano)
• htop - Interactive process viewer
• tree - Directory structure visualizer
• zip/unzip - Archive utilities
• rclone - Sync tool for split backup strategy

SSH Configuration

• OpenSSH Server - Enables remote SSH access
• SSH Key Generation - Creates 4096-bit RSA key pair for this computer
• Key Import - Optionally imports public keys from GitHub and/or Launchpad
• Security - Automatically disables password authentication if keys are imported

Docker Installation

• Docker Engine - Latest version from official Docker repository (not snap)
• Docker Compose - Installed as a plugin (modern method)
• User Configuration - Adds your user to docker group (run docker without sudo)

Samba File Sharing (Optional)

• Samba Server - SMB/CIFS file server for network file sharing
• Primary Drive Share - Entire primary drive shared as "Primary"
• User Configuration - Creates Samba user matching your system username
• Cross-Platform Access - Works with Windows, Mac, and Linux

Remote Access Tools

• NetBird - Mesh VPN for secure device connections
  • Supports both NetBird SSH and traditional SSH
  • Enables remote access across networks
• RustDesk - Open-source remote desktop software

Backup System - Split Backup Strategy (Optional)

• Automated rclone backup script using split-backup approach
• Mount point management at ~/drives/primary, ~/drives/backup1, ~/drives/backup2
• Interactive drive mounting with automatic fstab configuration
• Systemd timer for scheduled daily backups

Prerequisites

• Fresh Ubuntu 24.04 Desktop installation
• Sudo/root access
• Internet connection
• (Optional) External drives for backup configuration

Quick Start

1. Download the Script

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/outis1one/post-ubuntu-install.git
cd post-ubuntu-install

# Or download the script directly
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/outis1one/post-ubuntu-install/main/ubuntu-post-install.sh -O post-install.sh

2. Make Executable

chmod +x post-install.sh

3. Run the Script

sudo ./post-install.sh

4. Follow Interactive Prompts

The script will ask you:

• SSH Key Generation: Generate new 4096-bit RSA key? (y/n)
• Import SSH Keys: GitHub username, Launchpad username (or leave blank)
• Samba File Sharing: Install and configure Samba? (y/n)
  • If yes: Set password for Samba user
• Rclone Backup System: Set up split backup system? (y/n)
  • If yes: Mount drives now? Device paths, fstab configuration

5. Post-Installation Steps

Required:

# Log out and back in for docker group to take effect
logout

If you enabled rclone backup:

# Configure rclone backup (see Backup Configuration section)
sudo nano /usr/local/bin/backup-scripts/rclone-backup.sh

SSH Configuration

SSH Key Combinations Supported

You can use any combination of:

• ✓ GitHub keys + Launchpad keys + NetBird SSH
• ✓ GitHub keys only
• ✓ Launchpad keys only
• ✓ NetBird SSH only
• ✓ Your generated key + any of the above
• ✓ Password authentication only (if no keys imported)

Traditional SSH vs NetBird SSH

Traditional SSH (uses imported keys):

ssh user@hostname
ssh user@192.168.1.100

NetBird SSH (manages keys automatically):

netbird ssh peer-name

These work independently - NetBird SSH works even if password auth is disabled.

Your Generated SSH Key

After installation, find your public key:

cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

Use it to:

• Add to GitHub: Settings → SSH and GPG keys → New SSH key
• Add to other servers: Append to remote ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
• Connect from this computer to other servers

Backup Configuration

This section applies if you chose to set up the rclone split backup system during installation.

Understanding Split Backup Strategy

The Problem:

• Your primary drive: 4TB
• Your backup drives: 2TB each
• Can't fit full primary on one backup drive

The Solution: Divide your data between backup1 and backup2:

primary/work/    (500G)  → backup1/work/    ┐
primary/photos/  (800G)  → backup1/photos/  ├─ 1.3TB on backup1
                                             ┘
primary/videos/  (1.2T)  → backup2/videos/  ┐
primary/music/   (500G)  → backup2/music/   ├─ 1.7TB on backup2
                                             ┘

Step-by-Step Backup Setup

1. Check Your Folder Sizes

du -sh ~/drives/primary/*

Example output:

500G  primary/work
800G  primary/photos
1.2T  primary/videos
500G  primary/music

2. Edit the Backup Script

sudo nano /usr/local/bin/backup-scripts/rclone-backup.sh

Find and edit these sections:

# Folders to backup to BACKUP1 only
BACKUP1_DIRS=(
    "work"        # 500G
    "photos"      # 800G
)
# Total: ~1.3TB

# Folders to backup to BACKUP2 only
BACKUP2_DIRS=(
    "videos"      # 1.2T
    "music"       # 500G
)
# Total: ~1.7TB

Balance the data so each backup drive has enough space.

3. Test with Dry-Run (CRITICAL!)

# Test backup1 sync (shows what WOULD happen)
rclone sync ~/drives/primary/work ~/drives/backup1/work --checksum --dry-run -v

# Test backup2 sync
rclone sync ~/drives/primary/videos ~/drives/backup2/videos --checksum --dry-run -v

Review the output carefully!

4. Run First Backup

sudo /usr/local/bin/backup-scripts/rclone-backup.sh

Monitor progress:

tail -f /var/log/rclone-backup.log

5. Enable Automatic Backups (Optional)

After successful manual backup:

sudo systemctl enable rclone-backup.timer
sudo systemctl start rclone-backup.timer

Check status:

sudo systemctl status rclone-backup.timer
sudo systemctl list-timers

Change schedule (default: 2 AM daily):

sudo systemctl edit rclone-backup.timer

Manual Drive Mounting

If you skipped auto-mounting during installation:

# Create mount points (already done by script)
mkdir -p ~/drives/primary ~/drives/backup1 ~/drives/backup2

# Find your drives
lsblk -f
sudo blkid

# Mount drives
sudo mount /dev/sdb1 ~/drives/primary
sudo mount /dev/sdc1 ~/drives/backup1
sudo mount /dev/sdd1 ~/drives/backup2

# Make permanent (add to /etc/fstab)
sudo nano /etc/fstab

Add lines like:

UUID=xxxx-xxxx /home/username/drives/primary auto defaults 0 2
UUID=yyyy-yyyy /home/username/drives/backup1 auto defaults 0 2
UUID=zzzz-zzzz /home/username/drives/backup2 auto defaults 0 2

Drive Failure Recovery

If PRIMARY Drive Fails ⚠️ CRITICAL

You need BOTH backup drives to restore (data is split between them):

# 1. Get new drive (same size or larger)
# 2. Format it
sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdX1

# 3. Mount as primary
sudo mount /dev/sdX1 ~/drives/primary

# 4. Restore from BOTH backups
rclone sync ~/drives/backup1/ ~/drives/primary/ --checksum
rclone sync ~/drives/backup2/ ~/drives/primary/ --checksum

# 5. Update /etc/fstab with new UUID
sudo blkid /dev/sdX1
sudo nano /etc/fstab

If BACKUP Drive Fails

Example: backup1 fails (contained work/ and photos/ backups)

Status:

• ✓ Primary still has work/ and photos/ (original data is safe)
• ✓ backup2 still works (videos/ and music/ still backed up)
• ⚠️ work/ and photos/ have NO backup until backup1 is replaced

Recovery:

# 1. Replace the drive
# 2. Format it
sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdX1

# 3. Mount it
sudo mount /dev/sdX1 ~/drives/backup1

# 4. Update /etc/fstab if needed
sudo nano /etc/fstab

# 5. Run backup script - syncs assigned folders back
sudo /usr/local/bin/backup-scripts/rclone-backup.sh

⚠️ Replace failed backup drives quickly! While a backup is down, those folders have no redundancy.

Verification Commands

Check Backups Match Primary

# Verify backup1 folders
rclone check ~/drives/primary/work ~/drives/backup1/work
rclone check ~/drives/primary/photos ~/drives/backup1/photos

# Verify backup2 folders
rclone check ~/drives/primary/videos ~/drives/backup2/videos
rclone check ~/drives/primary/music ~/drives/backup2/music

If perfect: "0 differences found"

Check Space Usage

# See what's on each drive
du -sh ~/drives/primary/*
du -sh ~/drives/backup1/*
du -sh ~/drives/backup2/*

# Check free space
df -h ~/drives/primary
df -h ~/drives/backup1
df -h ~/drives/backup2

NetBird Setup

# 1. Connect to NetBird (opens browser for auth)
netbird up

# 2. View connected peers
netbird status

# 3. SSH via NetBird (if enabled in dashboard)
netbird ssh peer-name

# 4. Configure ACLs and settings
# Visit: https://app.netbird.io

Samba File Sharing

If you chose to install Samba, it shares your entire primary drive via SMB/CIFS.

Share Details

• Share name: Primary
• Path: ~/drives/primary
• Username: Your system username
• Password: The Samba password you set during installation (suggested to match your system password)
• Permissions: Read/Write access for the configured user

Accessing the Share

From Windows:

1. Open File Explorer
2. In the address bar, type:
   \\hostname\Primary
   Or use IP: \\192.168.1.100\Primary

3. Enter credentials when prompted:
   Username: your_username
   Password: your_samba_password

From macOS:

1. Open Finder
2. Press Cmd+K (or Go → Connect to Server)
3. Enter:
   smb://hostname/Primary
   Or: smb://192.168.1.100/Primary

4. Click Connect and enter credentials

From Linux:

# Browse in file manager
smb://hostname/Primary

# Or mount manually
sudo mkdir /mnt/primary-share
sudo mount -t cifs //hostname/Primary /mnt/primary-share -o username=your_username

Find Your Hostname/IP

# Show hostname
hostname

# Show IP address
hostname -I
ip addr show

Managing Samba

# Restart Samba
sudo systemctl restart smbd nmbd

# Check status
sudo systemctl status smbd

# View share configuration
sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf

# Change Samba password
sudo smbpasswd your_username

# Add additional users
sudo smbpasswd -a new_username

Add Additional Shares

Edit /etc/samba/smb.conf:

sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf

Add new share:

[ShareName]
   comment = Description of share
   path = /path/to/share
   browseable = yes
   read only = no
   writable = yes
   valid users = username
   create mask = 0775
   directory mask = 0775

Restart Samba:

sudo systemctl restart smbd nmbd

Troubleshooting Samba

Can't connect to share:

# Check if Samba is running
sudo systemctl status smbd

# Check firewall (if enabled)
sudo ufw allow samba

# Test configuration
testparm

# View active connections
sudo smbstatus

Permission denied:

# Check share permissions
ls -la ~/drives/primary

# Ensure Samba user exists
sudo pdbedit -L

# Reset Samba password
sudo smbpasswd your_username

Troubleshooting

Docker Permission Denied

# If you get "permission denied" after install
# Log out and back in for group membership to take effect
logout

SSH Key Already Exists

If you see "key already exists" warning:

• Choose 'n' to keep existing key
• Or choose 'y' to overwrite (cannot be undone!)

Drive Won't Mount

# Check if drive is recognized
lsblk -f

# Check filesystem
sudo fsck /dev/sdX1

# Try manual mount
sudo mount -t auto /dev/sdX1 ~/drives/primary

Backup Script Fails

# Check if drives are mounted
df -h | grep drives

# Check log for errors
tail -50 /var/log/rclone-backup.log

# Verify directories exist on primary
ls -la ~/drives/primary/

NetBird Won't Connect

# Check service status
sudo systemctl status netbird

# Restart service
sudo systemctl restart netbird

# Check logs
sudo journalctl -u netbird -f

Samba Share Not Accessible

# Verify Samba is running
sudo systemctl status smbd

# Check share configuration
testparm

# View Samba users
sudo pdbedit -L

# Check if firewall is blocking
sudo ufw status
sudo ufw allow samba

# Restart Samba
sudo systemctl restart smbd nmbd

Split Backup Advantages & Disadvantages

✓ Advantages

• Budget-friendly: 4TB primary = 2TB backup1 + 2TB backup2 (saves money)
• Simpler than RAID: No complex RAID setup or rebuild process
• Easy recovery: Mount points stay the same, just swap drives
• No downtime: Replace drives one at a time
• Flexible: Easily rebalance folders between drives

⚠️ Disadvantages

• Split redundancy: Each folder backed up to ONE drive only (not both)
• Two-drive restore: Need BOTH backups to fully restore primary
• Urgent replacement: Failed backup leaves some folders without redundancy
• Manual balancing: You must divide folders between drives yourself

Files Created by This Script

# Always created
/etc/ssh/sshd_config.backup                     # SSH config backup (if modified)
~/.ssh/id_rsa                                   # Private SSH key (if generated)
~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub                               # Public SSH key (if generated)
~/.ssh/authorized_keys                          # Imported SSH keys (if any)

# If Samba is installed
/etc/samba/smb.conf.backup-TIMESTAMP            # Samba config backup

# If rclone backup system is set up
/usr/local/bin/backup-scripts/rclone-backup.sh  # Backup script
/etc/systemd/system/rclone-backup.service       # Systemd service
/etc/systemd/system/rclone-backup.timer         # Systemd timer
/var/log/rclone-backup.log                      # Backup log
/etc/fstab.backup-TIMESTAMP                     # fstab backup (if modified)
~/drives/primary/                               # Primary mount point
~/drives/backup1/                               # Backup1 mount point
~/drives/backup2/                               # Backup2 mount point

Security Notes

• Private SSH key (~/.ssh/id_rsa): Keep secret! Never share!
• Public SSH key (~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub): Safe to share
• Password authentication: Disabled if keys imported (more secure)
• Docker group: Equivalent to root access - only add trusted users
• Samba password (if installed): Stored separately from system password; change with sudo smbpasswd username
• Samba shares (if installed): Only accessible to configured users; ensure strong passwords
• Network security (if Samba installed): Samba shares are accessible to anyone on your local network who has credentials
• Backup drives (if backup enabled): Consider encrypting sensitive data

Support & Feedback

This script continues even if individual packages fail. Check the output for warnings or errors.

To report issues or improve the script:

• Review log files in /var/log/
• Check systemd service status
• Verify drive mounts with df -h

License

This script is provided as-is for Ubuntu 24.04 Desktop installations.

Changelog

• Initial version: Ubuntu 24.04 Desktop post-installation automation
• Features: SSH (with key generation and import), Docker, Samba file sharing, NetBird, RustDesk, split-backup with rclone