ubuntu linux set up local repository

[John Kittel]

This is my first foray into Ubuntu linux. Ive just installed 9.10 karmic server edition. This server will have no internet connection. It's an HP proliant DL360 G6. I want to install the Proliant Support Pack. It has missing dependencies, i.e. libc6-i386. In order to install the dependencies I want to set up a repository on local disk. I followed instructions (as much as possible) from here: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/AptGet/Offline/Repository
On another system that has an internet connection I downloaded all the files Release, Release.gpg, Content files for my architecture, Packages.bz2, Packages.gz, Release, etc. for main, restricted universe, for karmic, karmic-security, karmic-updates.I downloaded everything from ubuntu website repositories into parallel directory structure on USB hard drive, then mounted the USB drive in /mnt on the new karmic 9.10 server where I want to install. I added the appropriate stements in sources.list. Using either aptitude or apt-get update from the command line (there's no GUI, it's server edition), it looks like I successfully updated the package list. It now shows 27000+ uninstalled packages.

But I can't install anything from the repository. It always fails to find files in .../repository/pool/...

Of course, since I never created the directory .../repository/pool/. The instructions don't mention it. Can't find any documentation anywhere that says anything about the /pool/ directory. I could create the directory, but what is supposed to be in there?

Thanks for any help.

Here is output of apt-get install libc6-i386:

# apt-get install libc6-i386
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
The following extra packages will be installed:
libc-bin libc6
Suggested packages:
glibc-doc
The following NEW packages will be installed:
libc6-i386
The following packages will be upgraded:
libc-bin libc6
2 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 97 not upgraded.
Need to get 0B/8,661kB of archives.
After this operation, 9,392kB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue [Y/n]? Y
Err file: karmic-updates/main libc-bin 2.10.1-0ubuntu16
File not found
Err file: karmic-updates/main libc6 2.10.1-0ubuntu16
File not found
Err file: karmic-updates/main libc6-i386 2.10.1-0ubuntu16
File not found
Failed to fetch file:///mnt/Ubuntu/repository/pool/main/e/eglibc/libc-bin_2.10.1
-0ubuntu16_amd64.deb File not found
Failed to fetch file:///mnt/Ubuntu/repository/pool/main/e/eglibc/libc6_2.10.1-0u
buntu16_amd64.deb File not found
Failed to fetch file:///mnt/Ubuntu/repository/pool/main/e/eglibc/libc6-i386_2.10
.1-0ubuntu16_amd64.deb File not found
E: Unable to fetch some archives, maybe run apt-get update or try with --fix-mis
sing?

[Michal Kapalka (mikap)]

hi,

check this link :

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=20217

advice from "izut"

mikap

[John Kittel]

Thanks Michal, I'd seen that thread before. Not terribly helpful. It's from 2005 for an older version of ubuntu. 3 respondents say they got it working, but they refer to dead hyperlinks, unspecified other threads (no links provided), links to pages labelled "obsolte documentation", debian links, and instructions that refer to files and commands that don't exist in the newer version, 9.10.

However, I will continue following up on some of those hints as far as possible, until and unless I can find something else more helpful.

[Mike Stroyan]

The 'pool' directory contains all of the actual packages that are on the repository.
The 'dists' directory just has lists of packages for various releases.
The 'pool' directory is very big. It may have many different releases and many different architectures.
You could carefully copy just the files referenced by the release and architecture you will use.
But it will still be very large because of packages that you won't want to use.

[John Kittel]

Ah, thanks Mike. I had another look and now I see the pools directory where I can download from on the ubuntu site. Somehow I'd not seen that before.

Also, thanks again Michal, I missed your direction to the specific response in that thread from "izut".

With these two bits of information I'll have another go at getting what I need.

[John Kittel]

OK, got it working. Got the proliant support pack and the 12 packages on which it depends installed. Rough outline of what I did:

- as mentioned in the original post, I started by following instructions (as much as possible) from: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/AptGet/Offline/Repository. Downloaded all the files Release, Release.gpg, Content files for my architecture, Packages.bz2, Packages.gz, Release, etc. for main, restricted universe, for karmic, karmic-security, karmic-updates, from ubuntu website repositories into parallel directory structure on USB hard drive, then mounted the USB drive in /mnt on the new karmic 9.10 server where I want to install. I added the appropriate statements in sources.list. Using either aptitude or apt-get update from the command line I updated the package list. But that was insufficient. Trying to install at that point it always failed to find files in .../repository/pool/...

- next, use apt-get install hp-health (the name of the proliant support pack), to find the (high level) names of the dependencies it needs. It still can't install at this point. Then for each dependency, use apt-get show -v pkg-name to find the (lower level) names of the actual .deb package files and the paths to them (in the appropriate pool subdir) on the ubuntu web site (file tree starting with http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/ .

- Take the USB drive back to system with internet connection, download those appropriate bits onto parrallel structure on the USB drive.

- Take the USB drive back to the Ubuntu system. Then apt-get install hp-health was able to find all the dependencies on the USB drive and install them.

Maybe there is an easier way, but this worked.