AeThex-OS/VENTOY_DEPLOYMENT.md

10 KiB

AeThex-OS Ventoy Multi-Boot Deployment Guide

🎯 Overview

Ventoy allows you to create a single bootable USB drive containing all 5 AeThex-OS editions. No re-flashing needed - just copy ISOs to the USB and boot.

📦 What You Get

5 ISO Editions on One USB:

Edition Size Pre-Installed Software Use Case
Core 1.5GB Firefox, file manager, terminal General computing, testing
Gaming 3.2GB Steam, Lutris, Discord, OBS, game optimizations Gaming, streaming, esports
Dev 2.8GB VS Code, Docker, Git, Node.js, Python, Rust, Go Software development
Creator 4.1GB OBS, Kdenlive, GIMP, Inkscape, Blender, Audacity Content creation, video editing
Server 1.2GB SSH, Docker, Nginx, PostgreSQL (headless, no GUI) Servers, cloud deployments

Total Size: ~12GB
Recommended USB: 16GB or larger

🔧 Quick Setup (Windows)

Option 1: Automated Script (Easiest)

# Run as Administrator
cd C:\Users\PCOEM\AeThexOS\AeThex-OS
.\script\setup-ventoy-windows.ps1 -DownloadVentoy

The script will:

  1. Download Ventoy automatically
  2. Detect your USB drives
  3. Install Ventoy to selected USB
  4. Copy all 5 ISOs
  5. Configure boot menu

Option 2: Manual Setup

  1. Download Ventoy

    https://www.ventoy.net/en/download.html
    Download: ventoy-1.0.96-windows.zip
    
  2. Install Ventoy to USB

    • Extract ventoy ZIP
    • Run Ventoy2Disk.exe as Administrator
    • Select your USB drive
    • Click "Install"
    • ⚠️ This will erase the USB!
  3. Copy ISOs

    # Copy all AeThex ISOs to USB root
    Copy-Item "aethex-linux-build\AeThex-Ventoy-Package\*.iso" -Destination "E:\"
    Copy-Item "aethex-linux-build\AeThex-Ventoy-Package\ventoy.json" -Destination "E:\"
    

🐧 Quick Setup (Linux/Mac)

Automated Script

cd ~/AeThex-OS
chmod +x script/build-all-isos.sh
sudo ./script/build-all-isos.sh

# Then follow instructions to copy to USB
cd aethex-linux-build/AeThex-Ventoy-Package
sudo ./SETUP-VENTOY.sh

Manual Setup

# 1. Download Ventoy
wget https://github.com/ventoy/Ventoy/releases/download/v1.0.96/ventoy-1.0.96-linux.tar.gz
tar -xzf ventoy-*.tar.gz

# 2. Install to USB (replace /dev/sdX with your USB device)
sudo ./ventoy-*/Ventoy2Disk.sh -i /dev/sdX

# 3. Mount and copy ISOs
sudo mount /dev/sdX1 /mnt
sudo cp aethex-linux-build/AeThex-Ventoy-Package/*.iso /mnt/
sudo cp aethex-linux-build/AeThex-Ventoy-Package/ventoy.json /mnt/
sudo umount /mnt

🚀 Building the ISOs

If you need to build the ISOs from source:

cd ~/AeThex-OS

# Build all 5 editions
chmod +x script/build-all-isos.sh
sudo ./script/build-all-isos.sh

# Wait 20-40 minutes for all ISOs to build
# Output: aethex-linux-build/ventoy-isos/

🎮 Booting from USB

Step 1: Insert USB and Restart

  1. Insert USB drive
  2. Restart computer
  3. Press boot menu key:
    • Dell/HP/Lenovo: F12
    • ASUS: ESC or F8
    • Acer: F12 or F9
    • Mac: Hold Option/Alt
    • Generic: F2, F10, DEL

Step 2: Select Ventoy Boot

You'll see:

╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
║       Ventoy Boot Menu               ║
╠══════════════════════════════════════╣
║ ► AeThex-Core.iso                    ║
║   AeThex-Gaming.iso                  ║
║   AeThex-Dev.iso                     ║
║   AeThex-Creator.iso                 ║
║   AeThex-Server.iso                  ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════╝

Use arrow keys to select, press Enter to boot.

Step 3: First Login

Default Credentials:

  • Username: aethex
  • Password: aethex

⚠️ Change password immediately after first login!

passwd
# Enter new password twice

🌐 Ecosystem Connectivity

All editions automatically connect to the AeThex ecosystem:

  • Web: https://aethex.app
  • Desktop: Syncs with Tauri app
  • Mobile: Syncs with iOS/Android apps
  • Real-time: Via Supabase websockets

First Boot Checklist

  1. Change default password
  2. Connect to WiFi/Ethernet
  3. Login to AeThex account at https://aethex.app
  4. Verify ecosystem sync (check for other devices)
  5. Install additional software (optional)

🔧 Edition-Specific Features

🎮 Gaming Edition

Pre-installed:

  • Steam (download games from library)
  • Discord (voice/text chat)
  • OBS Studio (stream to Twitch/YouTube)
  • Lutris (non-Steam games)
  • Wine/Proton (Windows game compatibility)

Desktop Shortcuts:

Performance:

  • GameMode enabled (automatic boost)
  • Vulkan drivers configured
  • 144Hz/240Hz monitor support

💻 Developer Edition

Pre-installed:

  • VS Code (code editor)
  • Docker (containerization)
  • Git (version control)
  • Node.js, npm, TypeScript
  • Python 3, pip
  • Rust, Cargo
  • Go
  • Java 17
  • PostgreSQL client
  • MySQL client

Desktop Shortcuts:

  • VS Code → Open editor
  • Terminal → Open shell
  • Docker Desktop → Manage containers

Pre-configured:

  • Git defaults (username: AeThex Developer)
  • Rust installed via rustup
  • Global npm packages (vite, tsx, @tauri-apps/cli)
  • VS Code extensions (ESLint, Prettier, Rust Analyzer)

Cloned Repo:

~/Projects/AeThex-OS/  # Pre-cloned AeThex repo

🎨 Creator Edition

Pre-installed:

  • OBS Studio (streaming/recording)
  • Kdenlive (video editing)
  • GIMP (image editing)
  • Inkscape (vector graphics)
  • Blender (3D modeling/animation)
  • Audacity (audio editing)
  • FFmpeg (video conversion)

Desktop Shortcuts:

Project Folders:

~/Videos/Recordings/  # OBS recordings
~/Videos/Projects/    # Video editing projects
~/Pictures/Screenshots/
~/Music/Audio/

🖥️ Server Edition (Headless)

No GUI - SSH access only

Pre-installed:

  • SSH server (enabled on boot)
  • Docker + Docker Compose
  • Nginx (web server)
  • PostgreSQL (database)
  • Node.js (runtime)
  • Fail2Ban (security)
  • UFW firewall (enabled)

Open Ports:

  • 22 (SSH)
  • 80 (HTTP)
  • 443 (HTTPS)
  • 5000 (AeThex server)

SSH Access:

# From another machine:
ssh aethex@<server-ip>
# Password: aethex (change immediately!)

Services:

# Check AeThex server status
sudo systemctl status aethex-server

# View logs
sudo journalctl -u aethex-server -f

🛠️ Customization

Adding More ISOs

Ventoy supports any bootable ISO:

# Just copy more ISOs to USB root
cp ubuntu-24.04.iso /media/ventoy/
cp windows-11.iso /media/ventoy/
cp kali-linux.iso /media/ventoy/

# They'll all appear in boot menu

Custom Boot Menu

Edit ventoy.json on USB:

{
  "theme": {
    "display_mode": "GUI",
    "ventoy_color": "#00FFFF"
  },
  "menu_alias": [
    {
      "image": "/AeThex-Core.iso",
      "alias": "🌐 AeThex Core - Base System"
    },
    {
      "image": "/windows-11.iso",
      "alias": "🪟 Windows 11"
    }
  ]
}

Persistence (Save Data)

Ventoy supports persistence to save changes:

# Create persistence file on USB (4GB example)
dd if=/dev/zero of=/media/ventoy/persistence.dat bs=1M count=4096
mkfs.ext4 /media/ventoy/persistence.dat

# Add to ventoy.json:
{
  "persistence": [
    {
      "image": "/AeThex-Core.iso",
      "backend": "/persistence.dat"
    }
  ]
}

Now changes persist across reboots!

📊 Verification

Check ISO Integrity

# Windows
CertUtil -hashfile AeThex-Core.iso SHA256
# Compare with .sha256 file

# Linux/Mac
sha256sum -c AeThex-Core.iso.sha256

Test in Virtual Machine

Before deploying, test ISOs in VirtualBox/VMware:

# Create VM with:
# - 4GB RAM (minimum)
# - 2 CPU cores
# - 20GB disk
# - Boot from ISO

🐛 Troubleshooting

USB Not Booting

Problem: Computer doesn't detect USB
Solution:

  • Disable Secure Boot in BIOS
  • Enable Legacy Boot / CSM
  • Try different USB port (USB 2.0 ports work better)

Ventoy Menu Not Showing

Problem: Boots to grub or blank screen
Solution:

# Re-install Ventoy in MBR+GPT mode
sudo ./Ventoy2Disk.sh -i -g /dev/sdX

ISO Won't Boot

Problem: Selected ISO shows error
Solution:

  • Verify ISO integrity (sha256sum)
  • Re-download ISO
  • Check USB for errors: sudo badblocks /dev/sdX

Performance Issues

Problem: Slow/laggy interface
Solution:

  • Use USB 3.0 port (blue port)
  • Enable DMA in BIOS
  • Close background apps during boot

📚 Additional Resources

🎯 Use Cases

1. Conference/Demo USB

Carry all AeThex editions to showcase different features:

  • Core for general demo
  • Gaming for performance demo
  • Dev for coding workshops
  • Creator for content creation demo

2. Personal Multi-Tool

One USB for all scenarios:

  • Gaming at friend's house
  • Development at work
  • Content creation at home
  • Server deployment at office

3. Tech Support

Boot any machine to diagnose/repair:

  • Boot to Developer edition → access tools
  • Boot to Core → browser-based fixes
  • Boot to Server → network diagnostics

4. Education

Students/teachers can:

  • Boot school computers to Dev edition
  • No installation needed
  • Personal environment everywhere
  • Assignments saved to USB persistence

🚀 Future Editions (Planned)

  • AeThex-Medical.iso - Healthcare tools (HIPAA compliant)
  • AeThex-Education.iso - Educational software for schools
  • AeThex-Finance.iso - Secure banking/trading environment
  • AeThex-Crypto.iso - Blockchain development tools

All will work with same Ventoy USB!


Built with ❤️ by the AeThex Team
Version 1.0.0 - January 2026