I have several different use cases for my Raspberry Pi 3. Currently I have a configuration for it as a media centre, for streaming audio, for hacking purposes, office workplace, etc. All configurations are based on the default Raspbian distribution.
Those configurations require different (systemd) services and different /etc service config files. For example: my office workplace, I have Network Manager configured with as much wifi network passwords as I need, while for my hacking station, I'd like to disable Network Manager and configure a rotating mac address and static ip. Sometimes I like my Pi headless, and sometimes I need a GUI. Etc.
Key is, that not only the services differ, also the service config files differ, based on the purpose.
My question is: how do I "switch" between configurations (services+ config files) within the same Linux environment? Ideally I'd like to issue a (terminal) command to switch to another "mode".
Already tried:
- Different partitions with multi boot grub: costs a lot of space/overhead. Does not accommodate easy switching.
- Use runlevel to differentiate: does not accommodate different config files.
- Create my own "switch script" that stops services, copies/switches config files and (re)starts services: comes close, but feels like I'm re-inventing the wheel.
Any suggestions for an "out-of-the-box" solution for this? I can't imagine I'm the first or only one with this need.
Best Answer
It sounds like creating targets in systemd, and possibly storing /etc/ in git would create something akin to what you want. Change target, switch git branch, you might want to have an intermediary target that disables most services before switching everything.