Today, at work, I began building something very interesting. An Ubuntu mirror. Virtually.
So what exactly is an Ubuntu mirror? In simplest terms, an Ubuntu mirror contains all the packages necessary to run the open-source free Ubuntu operating system. Mirrors are typically run by universities and research organizations for the benefit of the users of Ubuntu. Mirrors can also be run for home users that want a faster connection to Ubuntu packages.
I am experimenting with apt-mirror, which is Ubuntu-specific (mirror-type systems exist for a lot of things). Apt-mirror was pretty easy to install, and simple to configure. Once it pulls its initial set of packages (on the order of 50GB), I can start using it to update our Ubuntu servers.
Now as far as the virtually part goes, this computer doesn’t actually exist. It’s running on a virtual machine server, using shared resources, and shared drive space. Virtual machines are a really nice way to utilize every clock cycle and every ounce of hard drive space. They can save a lot of money in the long run.
I do apologize for the short post. I really should work on this a lot more. I’m busy though, just like everyone else.