Installation aborts unexpectedly

Help
1

Hello,

this is my first attempt at trying to install NixOS.

I have a VPS running that unfortunately does not support to boot from custom ISOs. Therefore I instead try to install from a Ubuntu 18.04 live image. I followed part 2.5.4 of the installation manual. When trying to use nixos-install I ran into this bug but could apply this workaround. Afterwards I retried multiple times to install using this command, which unfortunately fails:

$ sudo PATH="$PATH" NIX_PATH="$NIX_PATH" nohup `which nixos-install` --root /mnt/nix

The strange thing is that the SSH connection is now interrupted and I have to reconnect via SSH to read the output. The last line is:

$ sudo tail -1 nohup.out
error: interrupted by the user

Even stranger is that, if I have a tmux session running, that session is also killed and nowhere to be found after a reconnect.

Full contents of nohup.out 
building the configuration in /mnt/nix/etc/nixos/configuration.nix...
these derivations will be built:
  /nix/store/k1sl8fvfr9g4ab9lapmhnp90c6wwnv1r-nixos-help.drv
  /nix/store/pjyxhki25q8b72rbknsawp3jys0b6w04-nixos-manual.desktop.drv
  /nix/store/4v01zm7qr7j1lqxj81yh8biwhih9f7d0-nixos-help.drv
  /nix/store/vv23rn1fqfx2b7sb6n8z3qpqi9r1m5vw-builder.pl.drv
  /nix/store/xpnk7b6ijqwxr4ln4ssn0b5y5j508146-perl-5.32.1-env.drv
  /nix/store/b7dg0jn2mfyprk3m5rhb81z8q0pcbv3c-nixos-container.drv
  /nix/store/is8xbpxhcylcnqn14zczafp6ymxlighx-nixos-version.drv
  /nix/store/jrgizzzbm5rbhfbcyc1hw6jz1pf2dzi8-nixos-generate-config.drv
  /nix/store/zqvl39wdfllidczk6960hczhp06sgfil-nixos-enter.drv
  /nix/store/l1zkdn8sp40qhg5kby5qwrd3mikqkkkl-nixos-install.drv
  /nix/store/mk5jbpqbjki76lpn18kj582g5cqz1z0r-nixos-build-vms.drv
  /nix/store/qkk9sc1a1c9873vpvm7lar00n8ysl72w-nixos-rebuild.drv
  /nix/store/7nakdqh7q103v5g401cwmxkhg1c3zhj0-perl-5.32.1-env.drv
  /nix/store/w0kk3wckjb6ywbsdg30b2vaglb2cib4r-command-not-found.drv
  /nix/store/0cip97a1klrp1vsc50il5ykdh61syz33-system-path.drv
  /nix/store/2vqpm4fqyzs815ar7wgwyhr4wr2yskhs-udev-path.drv
  /nix/store/5fwznqpzadb0n0ym8b0bck35gan888j2-ipv6-privacy-extensions.rules.drv
  /nix/store/gb5h2b1d91s1ywlxl7jm0lplsy71pl9x-extra-hwdb-file.drv
  /nix/store/j0i5n1qcfqpr5xzpz2k3hb1fs2hyrcv2-ipv6-privacy-extensions.rules.drv
  /nix/store/yzpdlv5xkmwxba49v2wpjhsm91fvpasq-extra-udev-rules.drv
  /nix/store/0d5wk8b1cpgmbrgivvjc8hzr24amwvga-udev-rules.drv
  /nix/store/9nfdkfp6dd3g29i1na93rh4k1q16ln4x-desktops.drv
  /nix/store/7ywyimfcrb1i419y71gqv7mwwd0mw4wj-pam-environment.drv
  /nix/store/0gh0jffr2irjqyddzdvpfsn5ba0mxnlf-vlock.pam.drv
  /nix/store/0xhc4wpw8f422ardgv3y1s7kz7kvzxd1-etc-10-nixos.rules.drv
  /nix/store/bxlh2sa3iq40nmniaqhcs7ncvx3xlrmw-unit-script-prepare-kexec-start.drv
  /nix/store/11pqab7lzlcv0s2b900ljl8i0f1pp951-unit-prepare-kexec.service.drv
  /nix/store/19qq54gq95v08v9v0ddrqdcqzkr2l6yl-unit-script-network-setup-start.drv
  /nix/store/1aj3c15zxcaqbzwxf9wanwvbnimirq7j-etc-resolvconf.conf.drv
  /nix/store/xlaqryrvj60rjf312qfwx08amhcxn5lv-set-environment.drv
  /nix/store/1jwz8151jliwy4k08d50z46ifw3s7pq9-etc-profile.drv
  /nix/store/2445nnk3c9bmqgmla9yv95il9gg73fcl-chfn.pam.drv
  /nix/store/2c1d52zw2pdwnd4nzyrzxw1lvkxn7a5p-firmware.drv
  /nix/store/2hm8csymybwdf474aykbhaymmcglfjxg-userdel.pam.drv
  /nix/store/2mmpcinacd1q2p14prrrqlpvshdm6r5z-unit-script-container_-post-start.drv
  /nix/store/2xwa6m98c63f373wk3y7srqal3b06aac-etc-nixos.conf.drv
  /nix/store/2zp2d1mdn8j24a9lp73hyq9q18j855cp-unit-resolvconf.service.drv
  /nix/store/33ajl5sy6amjwqjhd1srdwbqmyc65d3s-unit-systemd-timedated.service.drv
  /nix/store/34cgra3rjixp1mm0zymdlw9z5y4mgk7d-useradd.drv
  /nix/store/34fd5m9fnsfa97vwcz0bia215z9qx9r3-sudo.pam.drv
  /nix/store/358647pac5n0y4158i1h6nzlj6a0dmyy-issue.drv
  /nix/store/3df56j681pxb3a26k7mkm6dj4sa5imna-dbus-catalog.xml.drv
  /nix/store/3mpnm4jh06s6zmjqyb21wni1r5lcgf12-unit-systemd-fsck-.service.drv
  /nix/store/47plmkz27kn0g2r07k8f15kk3xazng4g-audit-disable.drv
  /nix/store/4hh3r3plcc65a7bi0l7faasyc5ffbvc2-unit-dbus.socket.drv
  /nix/store/4imz0flamyh5yzam19cy8gl9wpw885mj-append-initrd-secrets.drv
  /nix/store/4w7gv8ryvp1bi0bc825c56nxl6i2rm3k-unit-save-hwclock.service.drv
  /nix/store/4wri1pmwls1n6dps48901dng7ahdj7v6-etc-os-release.drv
  /nix/store/4xf9ylib1khslsdr23xdyw03hqz656qa-xlock.pam.drv
  /nix/store/4y3v1j6hk62pslb80mivbnrbdb5c8q2x-unit-script-post-resume-start.drv
  /nix/store/y1i565h4anpwacwrjknd6b6hi4sw5x7v-audit-stop.drv
  /nix/store/516r672id9gl127rkv2ijb9vcp87yi8l-unit-audit.service.drv
  /nix/store/58f6g5n6i6pn6lz778vz41ns9c7xz0n1-sshd.pam.drv
  /nix/store/5i41sm0yajk28gy00sbqqz5wd0x766bj-unit-script-container_-pre-start.drv
  /nix/store/5ji5w31knwxdiivbgksa17zqcynq8321-etc-timesyncd.conf.drv
  /nix/store/5whc24ss2im7kpmfq3qbjri8kxanmm0r-other.pam.drv
  /nix/store/5z9bb4rlbwvld46n1gdr9rlpxv9r8ag3-groupadd.pam.drv
  /nix/store/d3f9426w3vxf7qw81gbad3imnf5hw4zh-unit-script-network-local-commands-start.drv
  /nix/store/6bz8gq65brq3k2f5rr6hv8k3ri5mfj2d-unit-network-local-commands.service.drv
  /nix/store/6ly4ww9zml58d7qgjpx617cz4nci9fgf-local-cmds.drv
  /nix/store/6snyw1v4hrxr5lp1mwlzh9r85y1sj1y0-unit-script-sshd-pre-start.drv
  /nix/store/6vd3xnbg35x5svmxij5kiy8ibcrlz05j-cfg-authorized_keys.drv
  /nix/store/757gy08j15qxyggy8gsjiy6ibzdwh7q7-perl-5.32.1-env.drv
  /nix/store/78v7q90bi69lg6w3d6aw1qk85wiqran3-etc-lvm.conf.drv
  /nix/store/79qjhlw9b3j0rqjilfaplcyspvhmyi4y-unit-multi-user.target.drv
  /nix/store/7nniip6qm2gg18cby19b6vjl7lrfzxva-unit-remote-fs.target.drv
  /nix/store/7qq97cf86hs73vs296nkdvhw9amcn1xi-client.conf.drv
  /nix/store/7rq47aiqa0v5yv0rjk212sr65baf9w52-unit-systemd-random-seed.service.drv
  /nix/store/7yfi8532hy4h3dqry8chcgys5fcl9pxg-etc-registry.json.drv
  /nix/store/801zhm2zprgrfm7rqml806g3blp434sq-unit-network-setup.service.drv
  /nix/store/86fm3ssb0r57wm0fdjqlks3bima35clk-etc-journald.conf.drv
  /nix/store/8giv67hhhlid9vs2fvh4xi4pp6dj6gwg-unit-systemd-importd.service.drv
  /nix/store/8xhqcabkjalqgs275dqg0ca53698bzvs-unit-nix-optimise.service.drv
  /nix/store/90wjb3ixwn1qwh9scggl1waxknqfl6va-etc-user.conf.drv
  /nix/store/9bygd1ahlddysijhylrmwxw4sgf14kkd-unit-network-interfaces.target.drv
  /nix/store/9rl84id50xyl9n2nsjy6578v3hsyj5cg-grub-config.xml.drv
  /nix/store/9s97waixljgvawzy8qrhxsfcz4a1g9xl-unit-fs.target.drv
  /nix/store/9sjlx9v5r7livasrkj1fvqjsg58nvm6q-etc-nsswitch.conf.drv
  /nix/store/af333li4k36b214gcdcigzb9jibgr553-unit-systemd-backlight-.service.drv
  /nix/store/ak3pafpxc8g0mj2hzzx0gy2g5kmkrshq-console-env.drv
  /nix/store/aksccr8z4ji4sv5067jn6dbnzfzisgz9-users-groups.json.drv
  /nix/store/gvbdwv8ifyf3xszq3359xkqpxhdjmib4-nixos.conf.drv
  /nix/store/amj8j1cprpky6araj7509zays3mhzn5y-unit-systemd-modules-load.service.drv
  /nix/store/ays9gh3csghd50xphq4lphkb3yjfz62d-su.pam.drv
  /nix/store/azrbjvwgv8hbgivynqq51b90gah8k3j5-unit-keys.target.drv
  /nix/store/b2129x1jzr5fgaj0y8v0b8k81cbw849c-smb-dummy.conf.drv
  /nix/store/b3sl43ymv3vxv47p76x5xlr17kbvsh61-vconsole.conf.drv
  /nix/store/b44m1pp7ga1yyr8qkxyr5zym16cp5pir-etc-60-nixos.conf.drv
  /nix/store/b4n3596bj5kzhh32v9zr0ahjvs0wmh7z-etc-logind.conf.drv
  /nix/store/r28yax7w5kdxzmawqqhavjl0b4kqvlv5-etc-nscd.conf.drv
  /nix/store/bayxysw83901mjimdr3s33c797qzg301-unit-nscd.service.drv
  /nix/store/bipmgaknq4gh44rd8srb4yg2qk10xw24-kernel-modules.drv
  /nix/store/bkmvh93dn0ld4y5vsbnbckng3if4lv90-etc-host.conf.drv
  /nix/store/bnmyc81hhyp3gf7xm9gbgcan2klg8a44-etc-man_db.conf.drv
  /nix/store/bvyikcm3asbp9lh9yrjsmx5d9qpbycry-unit-script-nixos-activation-start.drv
  /nix/store/c9n6ng2zf61chk0vyiw6a0qrdbzd3624-passwd.pam.drv
  /nix/store/cgkzhjjp9s6wpc71z2dhkxdn3kh9mx1p-etc-sleep.conf.drv
  /nix/store/d3ggrn93fmqs68nabxm18ybbysfdycwb-etc-system.conf.drv
  /nix/store/dhbjl1p26mh0aylkm1269vgkzqpkm73l-dhcpcd.exit-hook.drv
  /nix/store/ny0x7a2xh1icpqzh7lbf8i9i8nnwr2wm-dhcpcd.conf.drv
  /nix/store/d687liq8cs3njfv1qkzrm1zz8v6rbssm-unit-dhcpcd.service.drv
  /nix/store/d72pzc4kb11410psx8zivnc894aa4bnr-groupmod.pam.drv
  /nix/store/d9zdx7pm3fhnsn25mbbgq288s0vq5iyf-login.pam.drv
  /nix/store/dbh0iq6hgsfn7la04hflfw59v7lgfrjx-usermod.pam.drv
  /nix/store/dklid0pc8xz16hd0kfswhvjqpg4j3czv-unit-sshd.service.drv
  /nix/store/dn4hg19dpzmn4s78qj1rwv345fwgk0hy-unit-post-resume.service.drv
  /nix/store/dyjmk7dr84s15k10rs3jz010634npkqc-etc-ssh_config.drv
  /nix/store/dykgy8v3iycr0gmi6mpw27bhpbpgpdip-unit-40-enp0s20.link.drv
  /nix/store/fwkc83rlxi5ysxgh59akf8nvbw9ndxnf-i3lock-color.pam.drv
  /nix/store/h7lcdp90vsyw6hk5s201jpr2f2vng3k8-container-init.drv
  /nix/store/gfk7nrqrm3nd8d12xhylb6kkxlvzlm5m-unit-script-container_-start.drv
  /nix/store/gq8x3zs20xm153jszr0wvd6x8q0g3ll9-unit-getty-.service.drv
  /nix/store/m6sqqz5v2zfspd17n53gsjqk0zfh041j-wait-for-pstore.sh.drv
  /nix/store/gqli9srxkhwg4w0i4i26dshm8971kf8b-unit-mount-pstore.service.drv
  /nix/store/gs7akpim0grxlghrxxs18r0rslh811h9-unit-script-network-addresses-enp0s20-start.drv
  /nix/store/gzppf22hlfqa0x6pxbsh3zadnr1hnr8m-login.defs.drv
  /nix/store/h195ib1aivd56jicx3j67yz0yhvy7xd3-unit-polkit.service.drv
  /nix/store/h1h8c0ikkyvkfmzpvgdnjr8m6c3nmx76-etc-coredump.conf.drv
  /nix/store/h8mxafpsg4kbc5xhiycvyn896hfb5pnw-unit-serial-getty-.service.drv
  /nix/store/ha79igdflhd5flx9gh3i7hgaqx6xycff-perl-5.32.1-env.drv
  /nix/store/skahmd8ckam7q3wdcsfx82dsph44ddgg-mounts.sh.drv
  /nix/store/hbag9wqmydjivwlck7k7yfvj5v1r6rnp-stage-2-init.sh.drv
  /nix/store/hyp87l46zvdzls9i1b3j2ijb0xkq3hsk-fontconfig-etc.drv
  /nix/store/i3br8xm5wvwglpnbn3xgmwrqhb3njx64-perl-5.32.1-env.drv
  /nix/store/vl9jba8bxgysh5iy8jm7i46kfdln44jx-install-grub.pl.drv
  /nix/store/r5bzz6drx309mvbas50w0da9lkzrxgkg-install-grub.sh.drv
  /nix/store/inz1pj44j3a3gbnxfcf6wd1vmbrn5xpl-groupdel.pam.drv
  /nix/store/nc3bzckjh7165jf7g2110wgb5pqwjl02-dbus-1.drv
  /nix/store/mfjz3cwi3vc272vhjpl83108bw9hm1kh-unit-dbus.service.drv
  /nix/store/qr2yv5awylqwlahc0ckxm7r2q0cbvd9d-unit-nixos-activation.service.drv
  /nix/store/xgjmrfc7hywswfb7c6s84q86ficxp27f-unit-graphical-session.target.drv
  /nix/store/m70h609h11d3jg7v18l12g6vl46g236l-user-units.drv
  /nix/store/m9r9h8gq39xawdini6j425m4dpgxcj7r-etc-shells.drv
  /nix/store/n2i1finchjjmynp64sn1h9xmnblirc4k-i3lock.pam.drv
  /nix/store/nrch5czsf52payygzkri52isd4d0nl03-polkit-1.pam.drv
  /nix/store/p0w6j959ilvmf6pbc2ld1cw0v57ydlzc-chpasswd.pam.drv
  /nix/store/p5ip57nvp8vmfl4sdv6pbinkcv7a2iiy-runuser.pam.drv
  /nix/store/pzgvb2vkv4fffyq6yfb3i2hjwy94m9f9-xscreensaver.pam.drv
  /nix/store/qskz30xss85agrvqg76dy7p8090gan0m-etc-fuse.conf.drv
  /nix/store/sd9fzifsvbsrpnmz4lsja9dy6bdyjm6v-etc-ssh_known_hosts.drv
  /nix/store/skfc0d3adydn7x1b2a55ifab2pvhhifw-etc-bashrc.drv
  /nix/store/snl1j7nwg43rq1gkif7i1zgzwgjbnim4-groupmems.pam.drv
  /nix/store/snxq6khc6kxwlx3x4vzbwp1jzq9x1r1x-locale.conf.drv
  /nix/store/w7mwx5la2qmywqlcb4srb6bzlr7rzrqa-systemd-user.pam.drv
  /nix/store/wfqvpq5gx8r8r7qd4mq4mjfcy2i4sh0z-chsh.pam.drv
  /nix/store/qkdybfqqaca9rpfk94drcaq7g42qy001-nixos-tmpfiles.d.drv
  /nix/store/wi9khl97rrvr7d69sk51wk6lm6appgm7-tmpfiles.d.drv
  /nix/store/x1mfkj984wv6ixlnnxayjbb1q8qs2prn-hwdb.bin.drv
  /nix/store/xqjgchmy3fn37sdl18sfppfrm45jyvq4-etc-hostname.drv
  /nix/store/yhy9hy0m7b6zj7xm1nwwhwwb0xigx4nk-etc-netgroup.drv
  /nix/store/ylmsjrl54hrmlvdznig7rmrb75y2n57y-useradd.pam.drv
  /nix/store/ys354wam6yk59yapwds7r2mhhrkwsnli-etc-nanorc.drv
  /nix/store/yy88qhj7gk5wkgmnpmbnf50albby3mi9-etc-fstab.drv
  /nix/store/p1d9wfk8s7rh261lpxa2yhv6ymmyc7r0-unit-script-nix-gc-start.drv
  /nix/store/isbal79n542r13v3wy2pzr02w4vdjxvy-unit-nix-gc.service.drv
  /nix/store/j76w0267n8r5w6nddkj73mq40y49ifvn-unit-systemd-udev-settle.service.drv
  /nix/store/jd4cmw9lbfax77fdy576fb6l4mvdzzdf-unit-dbus.service.drv
  /nix/store/jpnmrpp7ishnzy1h7mjjqgx031qzz6jk-unit-systemd-update-utmp.service.drv
  /nix/store/kvd749ra4mwahapx5lfq4m2hk7z5zpw7-unit-systemd-logind.service.drv
  /nix/store/kz8zqd2k721pfjkaqfc9lk9qqri7kn6l-unit-container-getty-.service.drv
  /nix/store/kz95iq2xx1a1664dkh73fgrhhy6psr11-unit-systemd-nspawn-.service.drv
  /nix/store/lxgpd0wlgx0bfqyrrgvxxahlr5h2lmsi-unit-systemd-timesyncd.service.drv
  /nix/store/zq22ai9qidi4c3pmf3nk52v1nvgryyhm-unit-script-network-addresses-enp0s20-pre-stop.drv
  /nix/store/m3ln61vh3dvzhjvnlyrb5qaibq33mzv2-unit-network-addresses-enp0s20.service.drv
  /nix/store/mhlw7x6h8097ssazyj53f4fni7wnhwrh-unit-systemd-journal-flush.service.drv
  /nix/store/nmh9pmdpc2aihps08n5jbhcn5xqvabz2-unit-user-runtime-dir-.service.drv
  /nix/store/qksnvb1ivsz6gbz17r7v9lv3jhg6i18f-reload-container.drv
  /nix/store/ns113bv8051dyalfdmvd74107wg3zhbn-unit-container-.service.drv
  /nix/store/p0swlx0lc3z5lnj1cp38kss7p1v3s0gh-unit-systemd-pstore.service.drv
  /nix/store/phgjxnqy42zgpnzqg0jsn1sy63fjvsdd-unit-systemd-journal-gatewayd.socket.drv
  /nix/store/pv61ng4wys5fascbyzd7db4mxy4lnd61-unit-network-online.target.drv
  /nix/store/rgm3xld8cz3ksabb045909ilhqmg5crc-unit-systemd-remount-fs.service.drv
  /nix/store/rhj6kdyz6hfzdj7xzl0rx3ymj7r3rl18-unit-reload-systemd-vconsole-setup.service.drv
  /nix/store/rm44732j8y1wv53zb6f6gyzbjqzrljdr-unit-systemd-udevd.service.drv
  /nix/store/lla0kw8xvn7s1xfdlyh0ac8pinfgzkc2-unit-script-pre-sleep-start.drv
  /nix/store/sk1avzj6vlmcwkpn0vsg204li83yjvqc-unit-pre-sleep.service.drv
  /nix/store/vqrlzhgkqkmz3r8z9j4dr7mqa1x5hy6x-unit-nix-daemon.socket.drv
  /nix/store/vw886mz0ck6vbhylw85gxzmq2fk8a8g1-unit-systemd-journald.service.drv
  /nix/store/w99fiszgjh5y6v3l585cmi86szh8ajbc-unit-user-.service.drv
  /nix/store/wa6p6ax9jz21nqwjfdnpssmlpfp73q14-unit-post-resume.target.drv
  /nix/store/xlp7s3m4qwdm45r19gcn77nzfgpqhhyg-unit-systemd-user-sessions.service.drv
  /nix/store/xm1kjm0zwy7a4hj3dh6cs671lwn5cnwb-unit-systemd-sysctl.service.drv
  /nix/store/xpjh10gra1lj7qwxp3w3d24mcj9xfpgq-unit-nix-daemon.service.drv
  /nix/store/yjj2cip72pydar2zly3wllpjizz0l4s6-unit-local-fs.target.drv
  /nix/store/zkl6zm3m8czw3d0mplbf3ggg6nymsf71-unit-console-getty.service-disabled.drv
  /nix/store/z32lh7w104x47jyi5k571gi1m3i1wmyc-system-units.drv
  /nix/store/z56kq4hp5sz2fz40dv5x15aihd5dy1id-runuser-l.pam.drv
  /nix/store/zn35nhrd6ag5m3srb73dkfh7ycwcbkm4-etc.drv
  /nix/store/i1d8hfi068m34r4a9z3xjd0x38zhli6d-nixos-system-flx-21.05.1268.21b696caf39.drv
these paths will be fetched (0.00 MiB download, 115.07 MiB unpacked):
  /nix/store/0r4cb6mpmflm0cym0bx0a7g3nqcyghan-system-shutdown
  /nix/store/18n04zvcv8zgysjbh2km6waxy77l2kx0-grub-2.06-rc1
  /nix/store/1h9mj6m25sq2736389zqk3yr6lh826v6-ntfs3g-2017.3.23
  /nix/store/2a2mkpaba4wcly0dsc4604gpvjhibnf4-systemd-default-tmpfiles
  /nix/store/2jz80yklrvbh15ard7j4j6fck4cbbqq8-volume_key-0.3.11
  /nix/store/3n466jfi2clj863wp7fc0azssmfxq2yl-sshd.conf-validated
  /nix/store/4kxr9ya9kwkd7v9fhscr03adpffnkgaw-openssh-8.6p1
  /nix/store/5c0s24lp136qw8paj1ihg03z63jp7nss-perl5.32.1-Net-DBus-1.2.0
  /nix/store/5l93qgrfnvwb3dyqsiic3abpkz6ha14h-dbus-1.12.20-doc
  /nix/store/6417c02xz6mfk6v21g3d8df04r92hjg9-systemd-247.6
  /nix/store/6snvzsc7hc7xx8s00vmn973bs27wn30h-cryptsetup-2.3.5
  /nix/store/7hd1wcqqndx8ysmvn1n6p17d89qg3lwh-lvm2-2.03.12-lib
  /nix/store/7kpdv7m9w65347aclk2rglkskbmlbi4h-lvm2-2.03.12-bin
  /nix/store/b6v0c14h8ycp56cfpliiq2h6z2bxkfby-udisks-2.8.4
  /nix/store/cy38jl90bll5b1qnv8n11riwal3ylkv4-libusb-1.0.24
  /nix/store/din52y0fa9kyvsgibqwiwmix628bil2w-gpgme-1.15.1
  /nix/store/dpw6sbsd8dvk1k9hq259krcdxj238r2d-dbus-1.12.20-lib
  /nix/store/fn8zhdcgnah1n7xziwnw476h1imvck3i-lvm2with-dmeventd-2.03.12
  /nix/store/h0bvy0n0galxr847v6fhxpr4zgpz7k9a-libfido2-1.7.0
  /nix/store/i12gg5nx1lcvhj23jb40g5n5asmwsfpj-util-linux-2.36.2-bin
  /nix/store/ilyfbm3ax0a842zjv3k4bn36k008r7w7-dhcpcd-8.1.4
  /nix/store/inql4zq7jw110bvrglilsidl7b77g1wf-dbus-1.12.20
  /nix/store/izh2zp1q4wj9d947kah9slnywv538pb3-libndctl-71.1-lib
  /nix/store/j7d11j8mqmjdvwa61j2y9rm42h0583m9-libatasmart-0.19
  /nix/store/jnmfrzfkagqqv89v0f5r8k45l6kynx48-systemd-minimal-247.6
  /nix/store/ly4yxicb20gg5v7pvrgxc4gq6w7ld31i-lvm2-2.03.12
  /nix/store/pc3zfxw9ja08cpjbilcnh86lihb3rclm-libblockdev-2.25
  /nix/store/px6y9665fnfkbdzymnr8rcp18iv114kr-polkit-0.118
  /nix/store/q7qv0fj08jagqwysllwwds2a1d7k82zx-procps-3.3.16
  /nix/store/qdldbgl7m27vwg3bpzw8wv4pkvvk215d-libgudev-236
  /nix/store/qgibc6gd5b23vyki1rprb9cqwh17s7dd-parted-3.4
  /nix/store/qxhr7vcvv1fm8m5q1f2xdqh3nlffgm92-dbus-1.12.20-man
  /nix/store/rk9m66kmviwci9qn3gvqk0dnqq46hhgx-system-generators
  /nix/store/ssk33mgxx7hsqzhy8ar0mri0f2cwhfzb-mount-1003.1-2008
  /nix/store/vnrxadah2rfz0dlp6565w0vkh65ga1ab-dmraid-1.0.0.rc16
  /nix/store/vrfrvvrsqx3nw0jqp5kfbxpghx1951mw-mdadm-4.1
  /nix/store/w8qdn3izafb8lis1pgay1byxcl1xzpa3-gnupg-2.2.27
  /nix/store/xha8ny4savlpc7m1h2h57awx6d8y2dky-polkit-0.118-bin
error: interrupted by the user

I deviated further from the installation manual in the following points:

  • I enabled remote LUKS unlocking.
  • I set up /dev/sda with two partitions /dev/sda{1,2}:
    • /dev/sda1 is formatted as ext4 for /boot.
    • /dev/sda2 is encrypted using cryptsetup/dm-crypt.
      • Contained within is a LVM setup.
  • I mounted the rootfs to /mnt/nix.
  • I used a bind mount to circumvent the storage limitation of the live system:
    • sudo mv /nix /mnt/nix/lolnix; sudo mkdir /nix; sudo mount --bind /mnt/nix/lolnix/nix /nix
    • I first wanted to use a symlink, but then nix-install failed.

Also it appears that the RAID1 of the two underlying disks is exposed by the VPS’ RAID controller as /dev/sda, not /dev/md0.

Has anyone experienced a similar problem? Do you think it has to do with the bind mount? Is there a remedy or way to further debug this?

Unfortunately I have not found anything related to my problem. I hope somebody can help me on the bumpy but enjoyable ride. :slight_smile:

2

I tried to get more details using strace:

$ nohup sudo PATH="$PATH:/usr/sbin:/sbin" NIX_PATH="$NIX_PATH" strace `which nixos-install` --root /mnt/nix
[...]
0x7fff743fca60, 0, NULL)      = ? ERESTARTSYS (To be restarted if SA_RESTART is set)
[...]

It seems that SA_RESTART is defined in POSIX’s sigaction API. Unfortunately I don’t know how to interpret the output correctly (paste of full output).

Is some necessary information missing? Does somebody have an idea for more precise debugging?

3

It was an out of memory error which was detectable by checking memory along the installation:

# watch -tdn1 free -hm

The Ubuntu live medium was quite hungry for memory (3GB+). But friendly people directed me towards the kexec images also available for the latest stable release. After downloading into the decrypted LVM and making sure the correct SSH pubkey was entered in /ssh_pubkey I executed the image and could reconnect via SSH with the given key as the root user. From this new live image I could install via nixos-install --root /mnt after mounting the rootfs to /mnt and the bootfs to /mnt/boot. Only some hundred MBs were in use from the NixOS kexec image and therefore the OOM killer wasn’t triggered. I supposed another method would have been to create a swap file within the decrypted LVM.