From f9a8dfcd51e481a49355d94a3e74f2762519378f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: rhatto Date: Sun, 11 Feb 2007 14:29:54 +0000 Subject: changed repository layout to trunk/, tags/ and branches/ scheme git-svn-id: svn+slack://slack.fluxo.info/var/svn/simplepkg@181 04377dda-e619-0410-9926-eae83683ac58 --- trunk/doc/README | 258 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 258 insertions(+) create mode 100644 trunk/doc/README (limited to 'trunk/doc/README') diff --git a/trunk/doc/README b/trunk/doc/README new file mode 100644 index 0000000..50b0e9d --- /dev/null +++ b/trunk/doc/README @@ -0,0 +1,258 @@ +Simplepkg: installation manager and metapackage system +------------------------------------------------------ + +Author: Silvio Rhatto +Licence: GPL + +Simplepkg is a non-intrusive package management system running on top of pkgtool. +It uses templates -- lists of installed packages, scripts and configuration files +-- allowing the creation of installation profiles that can be used do install a +complete and configured slackware system in another partition or to create chroot +environments. The same templating scheme extends slackware packaging system, adding +metapackages: a list of packages installed or removed with a single command. + +Documentation +------------- + + English documentation: README | http://slack.sarava.org/node/15 + Portuguese documentation: REAMDE.pt_BR | http://slack.sarava.org/node/12 + +Description +----------- + +All GNU/Linux distributions comes with a well developed packaging system. The question now +is how pratical is the way to install, configure and control any changes in a system. + +As an example, suppose you should keep a list of about 200 slackware machines, some +of them used as desktops, others as mail or webservers. If you lost some hardrives +or usually need to re-install or update some of those boxes. + +Using the slackware installation cd and configuring by hand all the time you got a crash +is a time loss activity and you'll never know if something remained missconfigured. An +alternative is to keep a complete backup of a machine or some parts of the tree, but for +a large number of different boxes this procedure costs a lots of resources. + +Simplepkg offers an alternative sollution for this and other problems related to installation +management, allowing you to keep templates of each machine and install a custom slackware +system with just one or a few commands. Creating and upgrading chroot and vservers is easy +with simplepkg. + +Architecture +------------ + +Simplepkg is a set of scripts wrote in the KISS philosophy. Its a pretty simple system, composed +by the following commands: + + - mkjail: build a slackware jail/installation in a folder + - metapkg: install or remove a metapackage + - templatepkg: create or update a package list of an installation template + - lspkg: show installed packages and its contents + - jail-upgrade: upgrade all or some of the jails/installations + - jail-update: update all configuration files of a template + - rebuildpkg: rebuild a package based on its /var/log/packages entry + - simplaret: package retrieval tool + - createpkg: donwload, compile and package creationg script based on http://slack.sarava.org/slackbuilds + +Simplepkg configs are placed at /etc/simplepkg. Templates are .template files containing an one-by-line +package list. A template can be something like this: + + aaa_base + aaa_elflibs + apache + bash + bin + coreutils + findutils + +Slackware's tagfile format can be used too as a template. + +Installation +------------ + +The latest version of simplepkg is locate at http://slack.sarava.org/packages/noarch/. +Install it with the usual way: + + installpkg simplepkg-VERSION-noarch-BUILD.tgz + +If you have a working swaret on your system, add this line on you swaret.conf: + + REPOS_ROOT=SlackMidiataticaNoarch%http://slack.sarava.org/packages/noarch + +and then issue those commands: + + swaret --update + swaret --install simplepkg + +Configuration +------------- + +As an example, we'll create a jail based on the packages installed in your slackware +system. Edit the config file /etc/simplepkg/simplepkg.conf: + + # /etc/simplepkg/simplepkg.conf + JAIL_ROOT="/vservers" # where jails are placed + SIMPLARET="simplaret" # package grabber program (can be swaret if you have it installed) + SIMPLARET_CLEAN="1" # clean package cache before installation + SIMPLARET_DELETE_DOWN="1" # clean package cache after the installation + SIMPLARET_UPDATE="0" # issue an simplaret --update before install the jail + SIMPLARET_PURGE_WEEKS="N" # delete packages older than N weeks from the cache + PATCHES_DIR="/storage/package/patches" # where patches are placed + DEFAULT_ARCH="i386" + DEFAULT=VERSION="10.2" + STORAGE="/storage/packages" # where simplepkg store packages + PASSIVE_FTP="1" + +You should also put in /etc/simplepkg/repos.conf all package repositories you use, like this: + + ROOT-i386="http://slack.sarava.org/packages/slackware" + REPOS-i386="slack-sarava%http://slack.sarava.org/packages/slackware/slackware-10.2/" + ROOT-x86_64-10.2="http://darkstar.ist.utl.pt/pub/slamd64/" + REPOS-x86_64-10.2="slamd-sarava%http://slack.sarava.org/packages/slamd64/slamd64-10.2/" + +Instead of simplaret you can use swaret to fetch packages and them your swaret.conf must +be configured to use the same place as STORAGE to the package cache. In this case you cant +keep installations and jails with multiple arquitetures and for that reason the use of +simplaret is recommended. + +Creating jails and replicating installations +-------------------------------------------- + + templatepkg my-slackare + mkjail jail my-slackware + +The previous commands creates a template called my-slackware from based on your installed +softwares listed in /var/log/packages and then creates a completely new slackware +tree with all those packages in the folder /vservers/jail (depending on the value of JAIL_ROOT from +your simplepkg.conf). + +If you want that some config files get copied or some scripts executed after install this jail, +place in the folder /etc/simplepkg/my-slackware.d all your config files (preserving the file +system hierarchy, i.e, /etc/simplepkg/my-slackware/etc/apache/httpd.conf) and the scripts at +/etc/simplepkg/my-slackware.s/. The template vserver, which comes in the simplepkg package, has +an example script to use with mkjail. + +You can specify an alternative destination for your jail with a command like + + ROOT=/mnt mkjail hda2 my-slackware + +This does exactly what you think: installs slackware in /mnt/hda2 with exactly the same packages +you have on your system, replacing the need of the slackware installer! + +In case no template specified, mkjail uses the one called /etc/simplepkg/default.template. + +If you keep your jails in JAIL_ROOT with the same name as the template you used to create it, its +possible to use the command jail-update to copy all modifications made in the files which their +counterparts are placed at /etc/simplepkg/jail-name.d. Then you can copy all configuration files +you edited to the template folder and leave a crontab entry to everyday seek for changes and update +the template. When you issue the command + + jail-update + +all jails listed in /etc/simplepkg/jaillist are updated. This command also updates the package list +of the template. + +To add or remove packages from a template, you can just edit by hand the template file or use the +command templatepkg with the -a (append) flag, which adds just the new installed packages in the +template file. + +If you want to create a template from a jail, use + + templatepkg jail /vservers/jail + +Metapackages +------------ + +Another use for the templates is the creation of metapackegs: new users have lots of difficulties +to track dependencies when installing a software. Using a template containing the name of all +packages needed by some program allow users to easily install it through the command + + metapkg --install program-name + +This seems like swaret or slapt-get, with the only difference in the way metapkg deals with +dependence resolution. Slapt-get support the slack-required file, wich comes or not with the +package. Swaret has its own tool for dependence matching. + +Simplepkg doesn't wish to substitute those two dependence checking modes, but offer an alternate +way to distribute packages where dependences are resolved without an specific tool or a change +in the package itself. + +A metapackage, i.e, all installed packages from a template, can be removed with + + metapkg --remove program-name + +Upgrading jails +--------------- + +Both the main installation (your root system) and your jails are upgraded with the command +jail-upgrade: just adjust simplepkg.conf's PATCHES_DIR to where you store slackware patches +(that can be rsync'ed everyday) and do a + + jail-upgrade + +This will upgrade your main system and all jails living in JAIL_ROOT. To specify another +folder, use + + ROOT=/otherroot jail-upgrade + +If you want to upgrade just one specific jail, + + jail-upgrade jail-name + +To use a patches folder other than PATCHES_DIR, e.g when you have jails with different +slackware versions, use + + PATCHES=/alternative/patches/folder jail-upgrade jail-name + +Different archs and versions +---------------------------- + +Simplepkg was idealized to permit a template to create jails from any architecture and version +of a slackware-like system. Upgrading tasks also are unified. This feature just works if you +use simplaret and not swaret as the package retrieval tool. + +As another example, to create an slack 10.1 installation (assuming your /etc/simplepkg/repos.conf with +the right configuration), just type + + VERSION=10.1 mkjail my-jail server-template + +Different archs can be used too. If you have a x86_64 system and wants to install a slack 10.2 +in a partition, try something like + + ARCH=i386 VERSION=10.2 ROOT=/mnt mkjail hda2 my-slackware + +Note that the templates are arch and version independent, as they just contain package names, +configuration files and scripts. For this reason, the commands templatepkg, metapkg, lspkg and +jail-update can be used normaly. + +To upgrade jails with othes archs and versions, jail-upgrade checks this information through +/etc/slackware-version for each jail and applies the correspondent patches grabed from +simplaret (see the proper documentation). + +By this way, doesn't matter which versions and archs each of your jails has, jail-upgrade remains +the same since your patches are sorted by arch an version, as explained in simplaret documentation +found at http://slack.sarava.org/node/17. + +Auxiliar applications: rebuildpkg and createpkg +----------------------------------------------- + +Simplepkg comes with an additional helper tool that recover installed packages which the original +.tgz file was lost. The command rebuildpkg rebuilds a package from their entry in /var/log/packages. +As an example, + + rebuildpkg coreutils + +rebuilds the coreutils package using the files, scripts and metainformations stored in +/var/log/packages/ and /var/log/scripts/. + +If you want to build you own packages using the scripts available from http://slack.sarava.org/slackbuilds, +use the createpkg script: + + createpkg package-name + +Source +------ + +Source code for simplepkg and its package builder can be fetched via subversion: + + svn checkout svn://slack.sarava.org/simplepkg + -- cgit v1.2.3