APPLIES TO:

Release notes

A mirror - is a web site available via HTTP, which can be used as a source for installing/upgrading Parallels Plesk Panel family products using autoinstaller. A mirror can be used in either of the following ways:

• by changing DNS resolving and setting up the mirror web host so that http://autoinstall.plesk.com (for Plesk Linux) or http://autoinstall-win.pp.parallels.com/ (for Windows) would point to the mirror;
• by specifying the URL to the mirror in the SOURCE variable of the /root/.autoinstallerrc file on the machine where autoinstaller is launched;
  [root@container ~]# cat  /root/.autoinstallerrc
SOURCE=http://uri.of.local.mirror/here/
• by specifying the mirror URL in the --source option when launching autoinstaller in interactive mode.

The main feature set of the Mirror Setup Tool allows providers to manage selected PP versions and OSes.
The tool also offers an interface for managing pre-launch testing of upcoming PP releases.

The tool should be launched on Linux system. 
The mirror (rsync) can be running on Linux or Windows systems.

Prerequisites

1. Virtual host used for mirror should have all script handlers (php, pl, cgi, py, fcgi etc) disabled;
2. Virtual host or directory used for mirror should have option +FollowSymLinks set;
3. Unless other sources are specified, rsync://rsync.autoinstall.plesk.com/autoinstall and rsync://autoinstall-win.pp.parallels.com/autoinstall for Plesk Windows must be accessible from the machine where the script is being run and from the destination machine;
4. PHP must be compiled with support of the below extensions on the machine where the script is being run (see http://www.php.net/manual/en/ssh2.installation.php):

• ssh2_connect
• simplexml
• XML DOM

Below are example instructions on compiling PHP with the required extensions (they can be different depending on the operating system version):

Centos-5

Ubuntu10.04

Debian5.0

Download

Please click the link mirrorctl.zip to download the tool.

User Interface (Syntax)

Note: If you are going to Mirror Plesk for windows you need to specify --win option for all commands you use (see below); If the below descriptions are not clear, try reading the "Use Case Examples" section below.

Options for working with an external source repository:

   
    product-list: obsoleted by show-all-releases. is not shown in help anymore
    os-list --release=<product release>: List available OSes for the selected product version

Options for configuring a local repository:

    cfg --add [--win] --release=<product release> --os=<product os> [--cfg-file=<path to config file>]: Add OS for selected version of product to repository
    cfg --remove [--win] --release=<product release> --os=<product os> [--cfg-file=<path to config file>]: Remove OS for selected version of product from repository
    cfg --check [--win] [--cfg-file=<path to config file>]: Check validity of config file, including compliance of the required product versions and operating systems with their presence in plesk.inf3
    cfg --import --path=<repository path>: Get configuration from local repository
    cfg --export --path=<repository path>: Save configuration to local repository

Options for synchronizing the local repository:

    update [--win] --path=<repository path>: Sync current state of repository according to changes in configuration

Note: The update command only works with the default repository ( rsync://autoinstall.plesk.com ). If you need to synchronize your mirror with another mirror you need to use the push command below.

    push [--win] --src-host=<URL to source reposity> --path=<repository path> [--cfg-file=<config>] [--private-key=<key> --public-key=<key>]: Merge local repository to main repository and apply changes to configuration of main repository

Note: To avoid confusion when synchronizing the main repository it is recommended that the configuration file used for the push command is different from the one used for the update command.

Common options:

    version – display the tool version
    help, -h, --help – list available commands

Miscellaneous options:

    --path: is used to specify path to the receiving host. May include login, password, hostname, port and path in the file system

Format:

--path=[login[:password@][host:][port]/path/to/repository

Note: The path must exist, and the user with specified login must have "rwx" access to it.

Examples:
                  Using all parameters:
                      --path=root:blabla@myhost.com:344/path/to/repository

                  Specifying username:
                       --path=root@myhost.com:/path/to/repository

                  Specifying port. Current username will be used along with corresponding ssh keys:
                      --path=myhost.com:4322/path/to/repository

                  Specifying username and password. Default port will be used:
                      --path=root:blabla@myhost.com:/path/to/repository

                  Specifying local repository:
                      --path=/path/to/repository

    --src-host: Used to specify parameters for a source repository in the format of rsync command (see "man rsync").

Format:

Using rsync daemon as a source:
    --src-host=rsync://[user@]host[:port]/path

Note: When using rsync protocol you need to start rsyncd daemon on the source host and configure it to be accessible from both the target server and the server where the tool is being run.

Get data through an SSH connection:
    --src-host=[user@]host:/path

Note: When using SSH protocol for synchronizing data from the specified repository you need to set up authorization via SSH keys so that the user specified in --path option could login without a password to the source host as a user specified in the --src-host option. Additionally, the user under which the tool is being run on the local machine should be able to authorize to the needed host without a password using SSH keys as a user specified in --src-host option.

             Get data from the local disk:
                 --src-host=/path

Note: Local source host for push command can be specified only in combination with local --path (i.e. when source and destination repositories are physically located on the same machine).

Workflow

1. Download the archive;
2. Unzip it;
3. Select required products and OSes for them that you would like to mirror. You may use the show-all-releases command to view available products and os-list command to view OSes supported by a particular product.
4. Create configuration of repository on local server with cfg --add and cfg --remove options.
5. You have ability to save the current configuration for the repository with the help of the cfg --export option. It will be saved to a mirror.xml file at the specified path.
6. Using cfg --import option you can load an earlier saved configuration or an existing mirror configuration which was created with mirrorctl utility and saved to path/mirror.xml.
7. Create a mirror for needed product versions and OSes using update command. Note that from this repository you will be able to install only the product versions and OSes which were specified in the mirror configuration. All other versions will not be available on this repository to autoinstaller utility.
8. If you need to mirror a server different from the official repository you may use the push command. Using that command you can upload product versions and OSes specified in a configuration file to an existing mirror specified using --path. (This command may work incorrectly with a mirror which was created _not_ by means of the mirrorctl tool).

Use Case Examples

Common precondition:

Download latest available tool version, unzip it and go to the mirrorctl directory:

$ wget http://kb.parallels.com/Attachments/18911/Attachments/mirrorctl.zip
$ unzip mirrorctl.zip 
$ cd mirrorctl

Use Case 1 - Creating a mirror for a limited list of product versions/OSes

I would like to create a mirror where only these product versions/OSes will be available:

• PP 10.4.4 for Deb 5.0 i386 & Ubuntu 8.04 i386,
• PPP 9.5.4 for CentOS5 x86_64,
• SiteBuilder 4.5 for Ubuntu 8.04 i386
• PP 10.4.4 for Windows

Instructions:

1) Create mirror configuration by adding the needed OSes for the needed product versions:

2) Create a directory for the mirror:


3) Synchronize the mirror with the official repository:


4) Check the list of releases available in the created mirror:


5) Check the list of mirrored OSes for a particular release:

Use Case 2 - Setting up periodic updates for your mirror

I would like my mirror (where only a limited list of product versions/OSes is available) to get periodically updated with the latest product releases.

Instructions:

1) Create mirror configuration by adding the needed OSes for the needed product versions:


2) Configure crontab to automatically update the mirror:

Use Case 3 - Adding OSes

I want to add a particular OS for a particular product version to my mirror.

Instructions:

1) Import the current configuration of the repository which you earlier created using mirrorctl utility:


2) Add the needed OS for the needed product version:


3) Synchronize the mirror:

Use Case 4 - Downloading a particular OS/version

I want to download a particular OS for a particular product version to my mirror from the official repository without downloading other mirrored versions/OSes.

Instructions:

1) Generate a configuration file containing ony the OSes/product versions that you wish to download:


2) Download the specified OSes to an existing repository using push command:

Use Case 5 - Creating a mirror for testing new product versions

I want to create a test mirror for a new product version, test that version and upload only that tested version (without the latest Parallels updates which I have not yet tested) to the main repository.

Instructions:

1) Create a test mirror for all OSes of the new product version:


2) Test the new version;

3) Upload the whole product version to the main repository.


Warning: If --src-host option is not used, then the new product version will be uploaded from the official repository and may be different from the one you have tested.

Use Case 6 - Creating a mirror for testing product releases for new OSes

I want to create a test mirror with a particular list of OSes for already mirrored product versions with the latest updates, test those OSes and then upload some of the tested OSes to the main repository.

Instructions:

1) Create a test mirror where several OSes will be available for PLESK_10_4_4:


2) Get the list of available product releases and OSes from the test mirror created above:


3) Generate a new configuration file containing only those releases and OSes from the test mirror which you would like to add to the main mirror:


4) Check the created configuration file on the availability of the releases/OSes in the test repository:


 
5) Upload the selected releases and OSes from the test mirror to the main repository:


 
Warning: If --src-host option is not used, then the new product version will be uploaded from the official repository and may be different from the one you have tested.

Warning: If the --cfg-file option is not specified, the default configuration file BUILD/config.xm (relatively to the directory where the tool is located) will be used. I.e. only the versions/OSes from that configuration file will be uploaded to the main repository.

Warning: If the --cfg-file option is specified incorrectly, then the configuration file specified for the push command will be used.

Managing Remote Mirrors

The tool can work with remote repositories, but with certain limitations. Below you may find examples of using --path and --src-host options in cases when remote destination mirror or remote destination and source mirrors are used.

Examples of using --path option for a remote destination mirror:

1. Using a particular user, password and host:

--path=user:UserSecurePassword@mymirror.tld:344/var/www/html/
--path=user:UserSecurePassword@192.168.100.100:22/var/www/html/
--path=root:RootSecurePassword@localhost:/var/www/html/

2. Using SSH keys authorization (both private and public keys are required):

--path=192.168.100.100:/var/www/html/

If default RSA pair (id_rsa & id_rsa_pub) for current user does not exist, then default DSA pair (id_dsa & id_dsa.pub) from $HOME/.ssh/ folder will be used.

--path=user@mymirror.tld:344/var/www/html/

3. Using particular SSH keys as additional options for mirrorctl utility:

--path=root@mymirror.tld:344/var/www/html/ --private-key=~/.ssh/id_mirror --public-key=~/.ssh/id_mirror.pub

 Examples of using --src-host option for a remote source mirror:

1. Using rsync via SSH protocol:

--src-host=test@192.168.100.100:/var/www/html/test-mirror/
--src-host=mytestmirror.tld:/var/www/html/test-mirror/

• In the above case it is forbidden to specify a user password or SSH port (22).
• In case --src-host option is used, the user who launches the tool must have SSH keys authorization set up for him to be able to connect to the host specified under --src-host option and under the user specified via that option.
• If the --src-host option is used along with the --path option, then again the user specified in the --path option must have SSH keys authorization set up for him to be able to connect from the host specified in the --path option to the host specified under --src-host  option and under the user specified via --src-host option.

2. Using rsync daemon on the source host:

--src-host=rsync:// mytestmirror.tld:873/testmirror

Example of rsync configuration:

Configure mirror as a source for EZ templates.

The mirror created with Mirror Setup Tool can be easily configured as a source for EZ templates.

Step 1. Configure your virtual host with the mirror to be an alias for http://autoinstall.plesk.com:
In apache just add:
   
into the VirtualHost section.
If the domain used for mirror is controlled by Parallels Plesk Panel just add domain alias to the domain with enabled Web service.

Step 2. Make host autoinstall.plesk.com resolved to your mirror IP.
Configure DNS severs used for resolving on your VZ nodes to resolve host autoinstall.plesk.com to your mirror IP.
Or add "<mirror IP> autoinstall.plesk.com" to the end of /etc/hosts file on your VZ nodes:
   

Step 3. Make symlinks used by EZ templates to point to the mirrored releases.
In console: change directory to the mirror root and create symlinks pointed to the mirrored releases (for example PP 10.4.4):


Note: In some cases its needed to add read/execute permissions to all for the mirror recursively: