Did you run into any issues setting up dropbear or did you get it working on the first try?
I’m attempting to follow the same guide that you linked to, the only difference being that I haven’t configured a static IP (I don’t think this step is required). Every other instruction, I believe I’ve followed to the letter (for the new version).
Where I’m stuck is after copying the client’s public key to the server, updating initrd, rebooting, waiting for the disk encryption prompt, and issuing ping <server-ip> on the client (replacing <server-ip> and <port-number> with the actual IP and port number):
myuser@client:~$ ping <server-ip>
PING <server-ip> (<server-ip>) 56(84) bytes of data.
From <server-ip> icmp_seq=10 Destination Host Unreachable
From <server-ip> icmp_seq=11 Destination Host Unreachable
Unsurprisingly, I’m unable to ssh in from the client:
myuser@client:~$ ssh -i ~/.ssh/dropbear -p <port-number> -o "HostKeyAlgorithms ssh-rsa" root@<server-ip>
ssh: connect to host <server-ip> port <port-number>: No route to host
Since the server is a laptop, I can physically enter the decryption key on the server itself, and then go back to the client and ping the server successfully.
I have not attempted the steps described on the Debian wiki (networking setup or converting the public keys to PEM). Should I add IP=:::::eth0:dhcp to initramfs.conf? Any pointers on what I should check?
EDIT: I’m attempting all of this over wifi, in case that matters (I have a feeling it matters, but I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do differently).
EDIT 2: I found a guide from 2017 by Marc Fargas (Enable Wireless networks in Debian Initramfs). Also found this thread from 2021 on StackExchange (How can I enable wireless for a dropbear-initramfs), wherein somebody links to this GH gist (Sample files to enable wireless on Debian initramfs ). I’ll attempt to follow these guides and report back.
Extremely. I’ve tried KDE flavors of various distros and one thing that trips me up every single time is the workflow for connecting to my hidden WiFi network. On Gnome and Cinnamon I can do this in a few clicks from the network icon in the task bar. On KDE I always have to spend several minutes fumbling my way around the network settings before I can start using it. Every. Single. Time. I don’t know why, it’s like my brain just works a certain way and because this is such an early and crucial step in setting up a fresh install, I’ve never been able to stick w/ KDE despite all the rave reviews it receives in these types of posts.