Creating and using a local repository ===================================== If you create a local repository within your cluster directory, TPA will make any packages in the repository available to cluster instances. This is an easy way to ship extra packages to your cluster. Optionally, you can also instruct TPA to configure the instances to use *only* this repository, i.e., disable all others. In this case, you must provide *all* packages required during the deployment, starting from basic dependencies like rsync, Python, and so on. You can create a local repository manually, or have TPA create one for you. Instructions for both are included below. .. Note:: Specific instructions are available for :ref:`Managing clusters in a disconnected or air-gapped environment ` environment. Creating a local repository with TPA ------------------------------------ TPA includes tools to help create such a local repository. Specifically the ``--enable-local-repo`` switch can be used with ``tpaexec configure`` to create an empty directory structure to be used as a local repository, and ``tpaexec download-packages`` populates that structure with the necessary packages. Creating the directory structure ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ To configure a cluster with a local repository, run: :: tpaexec configure --enable-local-repo … This will generate your cluster configuration and create a ``local-repo`` directory and OS-specific subdirectories. See below for :ref:`Local repo layout ` . Populate the repository and generate metadata ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Run :ref:`tpaexec download-packages ` to download all the packages required by a cluster into the local-repo. The resulting repository will contain the full dependency tree of all packages so the entire cluster can be installed from this repository. Metadata for the repository will also be created automatically meaning it is ready to use immediately. Creating a local repository manually ------------------------------------ Local repo layout ----------------- To create a local repository manually, you must first create an appropriate directory structure. When using ``--enable-local-repo`` , TPA will create a ``local-repo`` directory and OS-specific subdirectories within it (e.g., ``local-repo/Debian/12`` ), based on the OS you select for the cluster. We recommend that this structure is also used for manually created repositories. For example, a cluster running RedHat 8 might have the following layout: .. code:: text local-repo/ `-- RedHat |-- 8.5 -> 8 `-- 8 `-- repodata For each instance, TPA will look for the following subdirectories of ``local-repo`` in order and use the first one it finds: - ``/`` , e.g., ``RedHat/8.5`` - ``/`` , e.g., ``RedHat/8`` - ``/`` , e.g., ``Ubuntu/focal`` - ```` , e.g., ``Debian`` - The ``local-repo`` directory itself. If none of these directories exists, of course, TPA will not try to set up any local repository on target instances. Populating the repository and generating metadata ------------------------------------------------- The steps detailed below must be completed before running ``tpaexec deploy`` . To populate the repository, copy the packages you wish to include into the appropriate directory. Then generate metadata using the correct tool for your system as detailed below. .. Note:: You must generate the metadata on the control node, i.e., the machine where you run tpaexec. TPA will copy the metadata and packages to target instances. .. Note:: You must generate the metadata in the subdirectory that the instance will use, i.e., if you copy packages into `local-repo/Debian/12` , you must create the metadata in that directory, not in `local-repo/Debian` . Debian/Ubuntu repository metadata ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ For Debian-based distributions, install the ``dpkg-dev`` package: .. code:: shell $ sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y dpkg-dev Now you can use ``dpkg-scanpackages`` to generate the metadata: .. code:: shell $ cd local-repo/Debian/bookworm # download/copy .deb package files $ dpkg-scanpackages . | gzip > Packages.gz RedHat/SLES repository metadata ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ First, install the ``createrepo`` package: .. code:: shell $ sudo yum install -y createrepo Now you can use ``createrepo`` to generate the metadata: .. code:: shell $ cd local-repo/RedHat/8 # download/copy .rpm package files $ createrepo . How TPA uses the local repository --------------------------------- Copying the repository ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ TPA will use rsync to copy the contents of the repository directory, including the generated metadata, to a directory on target instances. If rsync is not already available on an instance, TPA can install it (i.e., ``apt-get install rsync`` or ``yum install rsync`` ). However, if you have set ``use_local_repo_only`` , the rsync package must be included in the local repo. If required, TPA will copy just the rsync package using scp and install it before copying the rest. Repository configuration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ After copying the contents of the local repo to target instances, TPA will configure the destination directory as a local (i.e., path-based, rather than URL-based) repository. If you provide, say, ``example.deb`` in the repository directory, running ``apt-get install example`` will suffice to install it, just like any package in any other repository. Package installation ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ TPA configures a repository with the contents that you provide, but if the same package is available from different repositories, it is up to the package manager to decide which one to install (usually the latest, unless you specify a particular version). (However, if you set ``use_local_repo_only: yes`` , TPA will disable all other package repositories, so that instances can only use the packages that you provide in ``local-repo`` .)