Chapter #29: Setting Up a Network Repository on Ubuntu
Learn how to set up a local or network-based Ubuntu 24.04 repository using the DVD ISO for offline package management.
Installing, updating, and removing packages are core responsibilities of a system administrator. On Ubuntu, this is usually done with apt or dpkg for .deb files.
However, when a machine is offline, we need alternative methods, which could be to save Internet bandwidth, compile packages locally, or follow legal rules for some software, and this is where a network repository becomes useful.
In this chapter, we’ll set up an Ubuntu 24.04 server as a repository (IP: 192.168.0.18) and a client machine that uses it.
Install and Configure the Repository Server
We’ll serve the repository over HTTP, which allows clients to access packages and browse them in a web browser.
sudo apt update
sudo apt install apache2
sudo systemctl enable --now apache2
Next, create directories to store .deb packages, organizing them by Ubuntu version and architecture.
sudo mkdir -p /var/www/html/repos/ubuntu/24.04/{main,universe,restricted,multiverse}
Add .deb Packages to the Repository
After creating the repository directories, you need to populate them with .deb packages, which are the actual software packages that your clients will install.
The easiest source for this is the Ubuntu DVD ISO, which contains a comprehensive set of packages for the release.
Download Ubuntu DVD ISO
Download the Ubuntu 24.04 DVD ISO from the official Ubuntu releases page, which contains the pool directory, which holds all .deb packages for the main, universe, and other components.
Mount Ubuntu DVD ISO
Mount the ISO to a temporary mount point so its contents can be accessed by the filesystem:
sudo mkdir -p /mnt/ubuntu-dvd
sudo mount -o loop ~/Downloads/ubuntu-24.04-dvd.iso /mnt/ubuntu-dvd
-o looptells the system to treat the ISO file as a block device./mnt/ubuntu-dvdbecomes the accessible root directory of the ISO contents.
Copy .deb Packages to Repository Directories
Copy the .deb files from the ISO into the repository directories you created:
# Core (main) packages
sudo cp /mnt/ubuntu-dvd/pool/main/*/*.deb /var/www/html/repos/ubuntu/24.04/main/
# Optional universe packages
sudo cp /mnt/ubuntu-dvd/pool/universe/*/*.deb /var/www/html/repos/ubuntu/24.04/universe/
Notes:
- The ISO organizes packages under
pool/<component>/<package>/. The glob pattern*/*.debensures that all.debfiles in the subdirectories are included. - Maintaining the separation between
main,universe, and other components are recommended to reflect the Ubuntu repository structure and simplify client configuration.
Generate the Repository Metadata
APT requires a Packages index file to locate and resolve dependencies for the .deb files. Use dpkg-scanpackages to generate this metadata:
cd /var/www/html/repos/ubuntu/24.04/main
sudo dpkg-scanpackages . /dev/null | gzip -9c > Packages.gz
cd /var/www/html/repos/ubuntu/24.04/universe
sudo dpkg-scanpackages . /dev/null | gzip -9c > Packages.gz
- The
dpkg-scanpackagescommand recursively scans the directory for.debfiles and creates a Packages file with package metadata (name, version, architecture, dependencies, etc.). gzip -9c > Packages.gzcompresses the index for efficient access by APT clients.- Repeat this for each component (
main,universe,multiverse, etc.) that you include in your repository.
After this step, your repository is fully populated and ready to be served over HTTP to client systems.
Configure the Ubuntu Client
To make the locally hosted repository available to an Ubuntu client, you must register it with the APT package manager, which involves creating a repository configuration file under /etc/apt/sources.list.d/.