ubuntu 18.04 apt repository creation (server and client)

gistfile1.txt

# Intro
There are two machines, Machine A (repository) and Machine B (client)
These machines are reachable on the same network via IP, but they don't have to be; it is possible to do DNS resolution etc. 
I assume the machine you are working on has SSH access and SUDO access to both Machine A and Machine B. 

First download the appropriate deb(s) you need, such as microsoft teams or google chrome:
- Chrome (https://www.google.com/intl/en_uk/chrome/) called google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb
- Microsoft Teams (https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/microsoft-365/microsoft-teams/download-app) called teams_1.3.00.5153_amd64.deb

SCP These files to your Repository machine via:

scp google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb MachineA:/home/ubuntu/
scp teams_1.3.00.5153_amd64.deb MachineA:/home/ubuntu/


Install apache2, configure repo 

# sudo as root
sudo su

# install apache2
apt-get install apache2 -y

#install dpkg-dev for generating metadata
apt-get install dpkg-dev -y

# create amd64 dir
mkdir /var/www/html/amd64

# move the debs
mv /home/ubuntu/*.deb /var/www/html/amd64/

# generate metadata 
cd /var/www/html/amd64
dpkg-scanpackages . | gzip -9c > Packages.gz 

# make sure ownership is good of directories and files
chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/*

# get the checksum for verification: 
sha256sum /var/www/html/debs/teams_1.3.00.5153_amd64.deb 
c928d01831b2ae9afd871172a6b56edf1d1c848655482973358f3d206375878d  /var/www/html/debs/teams_1.3.00.5153_amd64.deb


Then we setup client 2: 

sudo vi /etc/apt/sourcesa.list

# at the bottom of the list, add either: 
deb [trusted=yes] http://252.23.174.1/debs/ ./
# OR 
deb [trusted=yes] http://252.23.174.1/ debs/

# Then save the file. 

# Run update:
sudo apt-get update

# Download or install one of the packages to test
sudo apt-get install teams -y 
# OR
sudo apt-get install --download-only teams

# the second command will download the deb to the current directory. 
# We can then verify it matches the repo: 

sha256sum teams_1.3.00.5153_amd64.deb 
c928d01831b2ae9afd871172a6b56edf1d1c848655482973358f3d206375878d  teams_1.3.00.5153_amd64.deb