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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

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Encryption with separate drives for Root and Home?? (self.linux)

submitted 1 year ago by BluePhantom to c/[email protected]

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I am planning on reinstalling to new drive(s) the next time my distro releases a new version and i am interested in drive encryption, so i was wondering

if i have root and home on two separate SSDs and they are encrypted with the same password, would i have to enter the password twice to boot? and would there be any other downsides of an encrypted two drive setup?

is there anything i should take into account when using or setting up drive encryption? any best practices for drive encryption that i should know?

thanks in advance

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

This seems to be what you're looking for.

You pretty much just use a keyfile instead of a traditional password. Once your root drive is unlocked, your home directory can be automatically unlocked using a keyfile held somewhere in another drive.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yes it's pretty easy with keyfile and /etc/crypttab.

One practical recommendation: As LUKS headers can hold several keys, also add a traditional passphrase in addition to the keyfile. With this it's far easier to decrypt the drive from commandline if you ever need to rescue the system from a USB.

[–] BluePhantom 1 points 1 year ago

thank you for letting me know this is possible to do

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Oh yeah i forgot about doing this, actually way easier than what i suggested

[–] BluePhantom 1 points 1 year ago

ok, ok, thanks for the resource and explanation, will look into it more later