I was wondering whether it was possible to share downloaded Arch Linux packages in my home network, so that not every of my 5 hosts downloads from the mirrors. Advantages: saves bandwidth, no package duplicates, faster "download" of packages which are already the package cache to the client. (Note that pacman will actually not download packages which are already in the package cache).
The CacheDir directive in /etc/pacman.conf holds the path to the (original) pacman package cache.
Default /var/cache/pacman/pkg/.
Sharing the package cache path over NFS, mounting it on the clients, and defining the NFS path in the client's /etc/pacman.conf should cater for a central pacman package cache.
The CacheDir directive can be used more than once, so should the central pacman package cache be down, or should the client not be connected to the Local Area Network during a pacman -Syu, the updated packages will be downloaded to the second CacheDir.
Since I have an always-on server in my LAN, I will use this server to share a central pacman package cache.
-
on the server: create a directory for the pacman package cache
I could use the original
/var/cache/pacman/pkg/, but I decided to use a directory on an HDD drive rather than the system SSD. -
on the server: share the directory; in my case: via NFS; SMB/CIFS or sshfs should probably also work
-
on the server: tell pacman to use the new directory as
CacheDir. -
on the clients: mount the NFS share, in my case using
/etc/fstab(but you could usesystemd mount units or manual mounts or shell scripts or... or...)
-
on the clients: tell pacman to use the NFS share as
CacheDir, and the original path as secondaryCacheDir
-
create a directory for the pacman package cache
mkdir -p /media/data/var/cache/pacman/pkg -
share the directory in
/etc/exports, add the line/media/data/var/cache/pacman/pkg 192.168.1.0/24(fsid=1,crossmnt,rw,async,no_root_squash,no_subtree_check,insecure)use
no_root_squash, because pacman, as root, has to be able to write to that directoryrun
exportfs -rav -
tell pacman to use the new directory as
CacheDirin
/etc/pacman.conf, add the lineCacheDir=/media/data/var/cache/pacman/pkgon top of
CacheDir=/var/cache/pacman/pkg
-
mount the NFS share
create the mountpoint:
sudo mkdir -p /mnt/pkgcachein
/etc/fstab, add a line192.168.1.1:/media/data/var/cache/pacman/pkg /mnt/pkgcache nfs noauto,nofail,x-systemd.automount,x-systemd.device-timeout=30,_netdev 0 0reboot, use
sudo mount -aorsudo mount /mnt/pkgcache -
tell pacman to use the NFS share as
CacheDir, and the original path as secondaryin
/etc/pacman.conf, add the lineCacheDir=/mnt/pkgcacheon top of
CacheDir=/var/cache/pacman/pkgNote: this does not work as expected. If
/mnt/pkgcacheis unreachable, for example because of working abroad, pacman will stall. Current workaround to this problem:/usr/local/bin/update.shwhich determines the IP address, and uses a different/etc/pacman*.confif the local area network is not reachable.
[jan@md1qk4sc ~]$ checkupdates
electrum 3.3.4-1 -> 3.3.4-2
[jan@md1qk4sc ~]$ ll /mnt/pkgcache/electrum*
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 3,1M 1. Mär 22:38 /mnt/pkgcache/electrum-3.3.4-1-any.pkg.tar.xz
[jan@md1qk4sc ~]$ sudo pacman -Syu
[sudo] password for jan:
:: Synchronizing package databases...
core is up to date
extra is up to date
community 4,9 MiB 5,49M/s 00:01 [###################################################] 100%
multilib is up to date
:: Starting full system upgrade...
warning: zeitgeist: local (1.0+1+g1bcc8585-2) is newer than extra (1.0.1-1)
resolving dependencies...
looking for conflicting packages...
Packages (1) electrum-3.3.4-2
Total Download Size: 3,04 MiB
Total Installed Size: 9,08 MiB
Net Upgrade Size: 0,00 MiB
:: Proceed with installation? [Y/n] y
:: Retrieving packages...
electrum-3.3.4-2-any 3,0 MiB 5,15M/s 00:01 [###################################################] 100%
(1/1) checking keys in keyring [###################################################] 100%
(1/1) checking package integrity [###################################################] 100%
(1/1) loading package files [###################################################] 100%
(1/1) checking for file conflicts [###################################################] 100%
(1/1) checking available disk space [###################################################] 100%
:: Processing package changes...
(1/1) upgrading electrum [###################################################] 100%
New optional dependencies for electrum
python-hidapi: Digital Bitbox hardware wallet support
python-pycryptodomex: use PyCryptodome AES implementation instead of pyaes [installed]
python-qdarkstyle: optional dark theme in graphical mode
python-rpyc: send commands to Electrum Python console from an external script
:: Running post-transaction hooks...
(1/2) Arming ConditionNeedsUpdate...
(2/2) Updating the desktop file MIME type cache...
[jan@md1qk4sc ~]$ ll /mnt/pkgcache/electrum*
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 3,1M 1. Mär 22:38 /mnt/pkgcache/electrum-3.3.4-1-any.pkg.tar.xz
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 3,1M 7. Mär 18:03 /mnt/pkgcache/electrum-3.3.4-2-any.pkg.tar.xz
[jan@md1qk4sc ~]$
#!/bin/bash
inetint=wlp2s0
ipaddress=$(ip -4 -o addr show dev $inetint | awk '{split($4,a,"/");print a[1]}')
configpath=/etc
echo "IP address is $ipaddress"
if [[ $ipaddress != 192.168.0.* ]]
then
configfile=pacman-remote.conf
else
configfile=pacman-local.conf
fi
echo "using config $configfile"
pacman --config=$configpath/$configfile -Syu
# pacman-local.conf
[options]
# set CacheDir to NFS share
CacheDir = /mnt/pkgcache/
# include remaining configuration items
Include = /etc/pacman-include.conf
#pacman-remote.conf
[options]
# set CacheDir to local ssd
CacheDir = /var/cache/pacman/pkg/
# include remaining configuration items
Include = /etc/pacman-include.conf
# pacman-include.conf
#
# /etc/pacman.conf
#
# See the pacman.conf(5) manpage for option and repository directives
#
# GENERAL OPTIONS
#
[options]
# The following paths are commented out with their default values listed.
# If you wish to use different paths, uncomment and update the paths.
#RootDir = /
#DBPath = /var/lib/pacman/
# commented out, CacheDir set in pacman-remote.conf / pacman-local.conf
#CacheDir = /mnt/pkgcache/
#CacheDir = /var/cache/pacman/pkg/
#LogFile = /var/log/pacman.log
#GPGDir = /etc/pacman.d/gnupg/
#HookDir = /etc/pacman.d/hooks/
HoldPkg = pacman glibc
#XferCommand = /usr/bin/curl -C - -f %u > %o
#XferCommand = /usr/bin/wget --passive-ftp -c -O %o %u
#CleanMethod = KeepInstalled
#UseDelta = 0.7
Architecture = auto
# Pacman won't upgrade packages listed in IgnorePkg and members of IgnoreGroup
#IgnorePkg =
#IgnoreGroup =
#NoUpgrade =
#NoExtract =
# Misc options
#UseSyslog
#Color
#TotalDownload
CheckSpace
#VerbosePkgLists
# By default, pacman accepts packages signed by keys that its local keyring
# trusts (see pacman-key and its man page), as well as unsigned packages.
SigLevel = Required DatabaseOptional
LocalFileSigLevel = Optional
#RemoteFileSigLevel = Required
# NOTE: You must run `pacman-key --init` before first using pacman; the local
# keyring can then be populated with the keys of all official Arch Linux
# packagers with `pacman-key --populate archlinux`.
#
# REPOSITORIES
# - can be defined here or included from another file
# - pacman will search repositories in the order defined here
# - local/custom mirrors can be added here or in separate files
# - repositories listed first will take precedence when packages
# have identical names, regardless of version number
# - URLs will have $repo replaced by the name of the current repo
# - URLs will have $arch replaced by the name of the architecture
#
# Repository entries are of the format:
# [repo-name]
# Server = ServerName
# Include = IncludePath
#
# The header [repo-name] is crucial - it must be present and
# uncommented to enable the repo.
#
# The testing repositories are disabled by default. To enable, uncomment the
# repo name header and Include lines. You can add preferred servers immediately
# after the header, and they will be used before the default mirrors.
#[testing]
#Include = /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
[core]
Include = /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
[extra]
Include = /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
#[community-testing]
#Include = /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
[community]
Include = /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
# If you want to run 32 bit applications on your x86_64 system,
# enable the multilib repositories as required here.
#[multilib-testing]
#Include = /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
[multilib]
Include = /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
# An example of a custom package repository. See the pacman manpage for
# tips on creating your own repositories.
#[custom]
#SigLevel = Optional TrustAll
#Server = file:///home/custompkgs