

.. _using_tar_mirror:

Creating and using a tar mirror
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
This is an example of how to create a tar mirror using 
`lighttpd <https://redmine.lighttpd.net/projects/1/wiki/TutorialConfiguration>`_.


Prerequisites
=============
You will need `lighttpd` installed.


I will be using gnome-modulesets as an example, which can be cloned from
`http://gnome7.codethink.co.uk/gnome-modulesets.git`.


Starting a tar server
=====================


1. Set up a directory containing mirrors
----------------------------------------
Choose a suitable directory to hold your mirrored tar files, e.g. `/var/www/tar`.

Place the tar files you want to use as mirrors in your mirror dir, e.g.

.. code::

   mkdir -p /var/www/tar/gettext
   wget -O /var/www/tar/gettext/gettext-0.19.8.1.tar.xz https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/gettext/gettext-0.19.8.1.tar.xz


2. Configure lighttpd
---------------------
Write out a lighttpd.conf as follows:

::

   server.document-root = "/var/www/tar/" 
   server.port = 3000
   
   dir-listing.activate = "enable"

.. note::

   If you have your mirrors in another directory, replace /var/www/tar/ with that directory.

.. note::

   An example lighttpd.conf that works for both git and tar services is available
   :ref:`here <lighttpd_git_tar_conf>`


3. Start lighttpd
-----------------
lighttpd can be invoked with the command-line ``lighttpd -D -f lighttpd.conf``.


4. Test that you can fetch from it
----------------------------------
We can then download the mirrored file with ``wget 127.0.0.1:3000/tar/gettext/gettext-0.19.8.1.tar.xz``.

.. note::

   If you have set server.port to something other than the default, you will need
   to replace the '3000' in the command-line.


5. Configure the project to use the mirror
------------------------------------------
To add this local http server as a mirror, add the following to the project.conf:

.. code:: yaml

   mirrors:
   - name: local-mirror
     aliases:
       ftp_gnu_org:
       - http://127.0.0.1:3000/tar/


6. Test that the mirror works
-----------------------------
We can make buildstream use the mirror by setting the alias to an invalid URL, e.g.

.. code:: yaml

   aliases:
     ftp_gnu_org: https://www.example.com/invalid/url/

Now, if you build an element that uses the source you placed in the mirror
(e.g. ``bst build core-deps/gettext.bst``), you will see that it uses your mirror.


Further reading
===============
If this mirror isn't being used exclusively in a secure network, it is strongly
recommended you `use SSL <https://redmine.lighttpd.net/projects/1/wiki/HowToSimpleSSL>`_.

Lighttpd is documented on `its wiki <https://redmine.lighttpd.net/projects/lighttpd/wiki>`_.
