Preparation
While still running on Ubuntu, I run some installations of Arch Linux in VirtualBox, just to familiarize myself with the process, and I can affirm what everybody else says, the Arch Linux Wiki is a goldmine of information!
And at the same time I thought about how I prepare my machine for it, what filesystem, bootloader and partition table I want to use as the base for the installation. I searched for articles comparing each and everything until I got all information I needed to make a decision.
Unfortunately one can't (at least to my humble knowledge) simulate a RAID 0 setup in VirtualBox, so this was one unknown factor for the installation process. I had to jump in the cold water :-).
After spending a night with backing up my data locally on an external HDD, I was ready.
Installation
My choices were: GPT, Syslinux and EXT4. Alone to get my workstation to boot into my installation, it took me one day. Because I tried to partition my RAID 0 with the GParted Live CD. I should have done it directly with the Arch Install CD! The installation itself worked like a charm. Thanks again to the wiki!
It was a satisfying moment when my workstation booted finally into Arch Linux.
Customization
Next step was to check everything related to my hardware, all options I can use to speed up my workstation. I fine-tuned the nouveau settings, installed the Cinnamon DE and all necessary software for my work (java, skype, chromium, firefox, etc). Needs a while to get used to Cinnamon though, after so long with Unity.
It is so much fun to install software with Arch Linux; I still need to get used to do the daily upgrades.
What's next?
Now I need to learn more about the internal working of my system, maybe switch my DE to OpenBox in the near future. The installation was just the first step, the real exploration starts now :-).
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