Configure YUM Local Repository Server

[vich00ss]

friends....

I woluld like to set-up a local yum repository server for both Fedora & Redhat... What will be the procedures.. i havefoloowing doubts... my main goal is i want to reduce the band width. if alla re using global repository it making my network slow. so that i am thinking about a local repository.

1. Is fedora repository is compatible for REDHAT????
2. How can I download all the packages from main fedora repository server. ????
3. In India fedora's official repository server is at IIT Kanpur. how can I download all the initial packages from this server????
(Index of /fedora-archive/)
4. If Redhat needs anything else. What will be that.???

[jayd512]

The good folks at the Fedora Forums have a great how-to on that.
And since it's so well spelled out, here ya go:
Create your own local yum repositories - FedoraForum.org

The repos for Fedora and RHEL will have some differences, though. Fedora is a bleeding edge test bed for RH. So there may be a few issues here and there, but you shouldn't have anything major go wrong.

[Irithori]

Pretty much ditto to what jayd512 said, with one exception:
I would never mix the repos of different distributions, because that will lead to update and dependency issues.
Fedora and rhel are different distros, even if fedora is the testbed of rhel.

[jayd512]

...because that will lead to update and dependency issues.

Fedora and rhel are different distros, even if fedora is the testbed of rhel.

Agreed.
That's why I mentioned that there may be some slight problems. Libraries and header differences could cause some issue with SW dependencies.
If you're looking to setup a server to host this software, you'll be okay. Having a server use both repos could be a problem in itself.

[Irithori]

Thanks for clarification

[atreyu]

1. Is fedora repository is compatible for REDHAT????

In case you missed it, NO!

2. How can I download all the packages from main fedora repository server. ????

You can use the FedoraForum how-to jayd512 mentions (it is a good one), or if you find you require more control over the process, you could write your own wget/rsync script (I mirror over a dozen repos/versions so I wanted more control). Also, the guide mentions creating your own repodata (metadata) for the RPMS. I don't like to do that, I just download the exact same metadata hosted on the Fedora servers (I'm already downloading the RPMS...)

3. In India fedora's official repository server is at IIT Kanpur. how can I download all the initial packages from this server????
(Index of /fedora-archive/)

This is one of the reasons why I wrote a custom wget script to sync the data. However, the hosting mirror you've linked to only has archived versions of Fedora. See this releases listed in this directory:

http://mirror.cse.iitk.ac.in/fedora-archive/fedora/linux/releases/

But this directory on the same server has the current and more recent releases:

http://mirror.cse.iitk.ac.in/fedora/releases/

Basically, to mirror Fedora 16, let's say, you need to download all the RPS in this directory:

http://mirror.cse.iitk.ac.in/fedora/releases/16/Everything/i386/os/Packages/

as well as the aforementioned repodata directory (in the same parent dir that contains Packages/), and you also might need PXE kernel/initrd images (in images/pxe).
You should probably use the above guide to get you started, but if you find you need to do it manually for whatever reason, that's pretty much all the stuff you need to know, mirroring-wise.

4. If Redhat needs anything else. What will be that.???

Like it has been said, Red Hat Enterprise Linux uses its own yum repos, with entirely different sets of packages. Mirroring RHEL will be a lot harder, at least for updates. I assume you want updates anyway (for Fedora and Red Hat). Setting up a local repo of RHEL using the install DVD is easy enough, but to get the updates, you'll need RHN and yum running, and have yum configured not to delete RPMS that it downloads. Then you'll have a cache of the udpate RPMS in /var/cache/yum or something. Then you can rsync that dir with wherever you want to host your local copy of the repo. In this case, you'll have to generate the metadata (repodata directory) yourself.

[vich00ss]

In case you missed it, NO!

You can use the FedoraForum how-to jayd512 mentions (it is a good one), or if you find you require more control over the process, you could write your own wget/rsync script (I mirror over a dozen repos/versions so I wanted more control). Also, the guide mentions creating your own repodata (metadata) for the RPMS. I don't like to do that, I just download the exact same metadata hosted on the Fedora servers (I'm already downloading the RPMS...)

This is one of the reasons why I wrote a custom wget script to sync the data. However, the hosting mirror you've linked to only has archived versions of Fedora. See this releases listed in this directory:

Index of /fedora-archive/fedora/linux/releases/

But this directory on the same server has the current and more recent releases:

Index of /fedora/releases/

Basically, to mirror Fedora 16, let's say, you need to download all the RPS in this directory:

Index of /fedora/releases/16/Everything/i386/os/Packages/

as well as the aforementioned repodata directory (in the same parent dir that contains Packages/), and you also might need PXE kernel/initrd images (in images/pxe).
You should probably use the above guide to get you started, but if you find you need to do it manually for whatever reason, that's pretty much all the stuff you need to know, mirroring-wise.

Like it has been said, Red Hat Enterprise Linux uses its own yum repos, with entirely different sets of packages. Mirroring RHEL will be a lot harder, at least for updates. I assume you want updates anyway (for Fedora and Red Hat). Setting up a local repo of RHEL using the install DVD is easy enough, but to get the updates, you'll need RHN and yum running, and have yum configured not to delete RPMS that it downloads. Then you'll have a cache of the udpate RPMS in /var/cache/yum or something. Then you can rsync that dir with wherever you want to host your local copy of the repo. In this case, you'll have to generate the metadata (repodata directory) yourself.

Thanks Alot.... A local repository from a DVD media is very easy i know. But here whats the problem is i need some additional packages like scientific tools. Most of the time what happens is the one who have internet connection he can yum it from the internet. one who is in remote areas he cant able to this. because the don't have internet access. That is why i why i am thinking about a local repository with almost all the updates.

is "#yum update" will do something...????
:P

[atreyu]

But here whats the problem is i need some additional packages like scientific tools. Most of the time what happens is the one who have internet connection he can yum it from the internet. one who is in remote areas he cant able to this. because the don't have internet access. That is why i why i am thinking about a local repository with almost all the updates.

You mention scientific tools, are you referring to ScientificLinux, the Red Hat EL clone? If so, then you can certainly create a mirror of that site, much the same way as you'd mirror a Fedora server. But are your client machines SL boxes or RHEL boxes? I guess it doesn't not matter that much, but I'd probably only want to enable a SL repo on an SL box, not an RHEL box. If you are not talking about ScientificLinux, then to what scientific tools are you referring?

is "#yum update" will do something...????

That yum command will update all packages on your system for which an updated version is available, provided that your yum client is configured to use an "updates" repo for your distro. However, by default, it will download the RPMs, install them, and remove the local copy of the RPM. If you wish to make a repository of these downloaded files, then you have to configure yum to do so. There is a variable you can set in yum.conf, I think it is keepcache that you want to enable. Read up on it with man yum.conf.

Edit: Actually, the default might not be to delete the local copy of the RPM, now that I think about it. The downloaded RPMS go to the directory specified by cachedir in yum.conf