Site-Local Mirrors
This page describes how you can easily configure a Fedora mirror for your local network, and have Fedora yum on your local network use it automatically.
Two Types of Mirrors
- RSYNC Mirror
These are the "normal" mirrors where you use rsync to sync the Fedora tree to a local filesystem.
Pros: Only way to provide the tree via NFS (necessary for PXE), only way to have automatic local DVD ISO's
Cons: Requires significantly more storage and bandwidth resources. They also require time to sync over the Internet, so there are periods in which your mirror could be out of sync (i.e. broken). covers how to configure this type of mirror. Do this if you have hundreds of gigabytes of storage and VERY large bandwidth. Typically this would be a University, ISP or large business.
- Reverse Proxy Mirror (RECOMMENDED)
These use a HTTP proxy server like Squid in "reverse" or "accelerator" mode to present what appears to be a HTTP mirror on your local network. In reality it is forwarding all requests to an origin HTTP server (like download.fedora.redhat.com). Downloaded files are cached on the server's disk so subsequent requests are very rapid. Pros: Requires far less bandwidth and server resources. Works great for yum updates and HTTP network installs. Very easy to configure. Works instantly, no waiting for sync.Cons: HTTP only. Cannot mirror DVD ISO's (unless the originating HTTP server has fixed the >2GB problem). Requires complicated sync management considerations. covers how to configure this type of mirror.
After you have configured a mirror using one of these two methods and are serving via HTTP, follow the next step.
Yum Autoconfiguration
NOTE: This is only possible if your network has static IP addresses on the Internet.
The default configuration of Fedora yum asks the MirrorManager for a list of mirrors to use. The mirror server looks at the source IP address of your yum client request and uses GeoIP to provide you several mirrors likely nearest to your country or region. Using the MirrorManager Administrative Interface you can configure a Site-Local Netblock. You specify a netblock of one or more static IP addresses written in CIDR notation. Thereafter any yum client coming from that source IP address will be directed *only* to the site-local mirror. This enables a quick and convenient way to create a mirror for your own local network and have all Fedora clients use it without manual configuration.