Our software repository isn't working.

B

baronobeefdip

we set up (what we think is the correct way) our FreeBSD software package repository, Like the ftp.freebsd.org mirror. we put in the "8.2 RELEASE" and "packages-8.2-release" folders in the root directory. We set it up on our ftp server. But we have a problem, Whenever we go try to access it for our software packages through the sysinstall method it doesn't work instead it gives us a prompt that says "unable to get packages/INDEX file from selected media". what do we have to do to the files on the server to make it work. This is a local software server.
 
Based on the error message, you need to build the index file.
# cd /usr/ports && make index

That's for ports, there may be another procedure for packages.
 
I have one faster machine and several old, slow machines. I build packages on the fast machine, so that the old machines don't have to compile. Here is the procedure that works for me.

On the fast machine I supply the -g switch when I build my ports with ports-mgmt/portmaster. This causes packages to be build and written under /usr/ports/packages/. When I look in /usr/ports/pacakges/ I see a hierarchy with the directories All, Latest, audio, databases, etc. Under the root of my web space I create a soft link like:
% sudo ln -s /usr/ports/packages /www/pkg.

Make sure the permissions for /usr/ports/pacakges/ make it web accessible.

On the old, slow machines I do something like

% sudo env PACKAGESITE=http://fast.machine.com/pkg/ portmaster -P [some big port].
 
If it helps, We placed all of the packages and index files that came with them (I downloaded the entire "packages-8.2-release" folder so whatever is in it we have to work with unless we need to download anything additional) on an ftp server running on Ubuntu Linux. The file that contains all of the software packages is at the root directory "/packages-8.2-release". So all we had to do was type in the ip address of the ftp server to pick up on the packages and the index files but it wasn't working, It was asking for the "8.2-RELEASE" file for some reason so we downloaded it (ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/releases/i386/8.2-RELEASE/) and placed it along side of the file that contains the packages (ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/ports/i386/packages-8.2-release/) which is all in the root directory,But we get the error I mentioned earlier. What exactly is going on here now? What do we need to do to get to to read the index files that are in there. And i noticed in the ftp server on the internet that contains all of the packages i downloaded has shortcuts in the "8.2-RELEASE" folder into the packages folder and into itself. how do we create these file shortcuts like in the ftp server on the internet.
 
I just found the problem. I think I did. I visited the FTP server from nautilus and i found that the symbolic links in the 8.2-RELEASE folder are broken maybe because they were made in Ubuntu. I have privileges to edit the contents of the directories in the ftp server. Whats the easiest way to create a symbolic link on an ftp server?
 
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