= Software Repositories Management =
[[TracNav]]

[[TOC(inline)]]


SCDB provides an optional, lightweight alternative to Quattor SWrep used to serve software packages (RPMs or Solaris PKGs). It requires no additional component to the base SCDB, relying on http server to serve RPMs.

SCDB Software repositories are implemented through directories associated with templates describing directories contents. These templates are maintained through SCDB standard management tool, based on `ant`.

This page describes SCDB software repositories layout and management operations related to them.

== RPM Repositories Layout ==

=== Repository Directories ===

A `software repository`is a container for an arbitrary set of software packages (usually grouped by topic, e.g. OS, middleware...). One repository can contain several version of the same package. There is no limit in the number of repositories that can be configured and used at the same time.

In SCDB, every repository corresponds to one specific directory in http server document area. For example, if your Quattor http server is configured with document root `/www/quattor`, you can create a directory `/www/quattor/packages` to store software repositories. In this directory, you could create the following repositories :
 * {{{ca}}} : production version of CA RPMs
 * {{{grid/glite-xxx}}} and {{{grid/lcg-xxxx}}} : RPMs for gLite version `xxx` and LCG version `xxx`. For gLite, the recommendation is to create 3 repositories (as subdirectories of `grid/glite-xxx`) matching the 3 APT repositories : `External`, `Release-xxx`, `updates`.
 * {{{lemon}}} : RPMs for Lemon
 * {{{os}}} : directory root for OS related RPMs. The recommendation is to use one subdirectory for each OS version/architecture combination and for each version/architecture, to create 2 sub-directories `base` (to receive a copy of the OS standard distribution, e.g. CD-Rom) and `updates` to receive updates to base RPMs. Base RPMs repository will be the the directory containing RPMs in standard distribution.
 * {{{quattor}}} : Quattor related RPMs, except ncm-components. This is generally the root for Quattor related repositories, with one repository per Quattor version/archicture.
 * {{{ncm-components}}} : ncm-components RPMS.
 * {{{site}}} : Miscellanous RPMs used at local site.

This is the [source:templates/trunk/sites/example/repository repository layout] used in examples provided with QWG templates.

=== Associated Templates ===

`PAN` need to know about repositories contents to be able to check if required packages are available at compile time. Thus for each software repository, there is an associated ''structure'' template describing the packages available in the repository. For PAN to know about repository content changes, the template `must` be [wiki:Doc/SCDB/SWRepositories#UpdatingRPMRepositories updated]. This is done with `ant`, SCDB management tool.

Generally, templates associated with software repositories are grouped in one directory of SCDB. Recommandation is to put them in a directory called `repository` in your `site` sub-directory. e.g. [source:templates/trunk/sites/example/repository cfg/sites/example/repository].

When adding a new repository, you need to create manually the base template for the repository. This template must contain only the initial comment describing where the software repository is located, what is its associated URL... The easiest is to copy an existing repository template, remove every thing starting at `contents` and update the remaining lines to match the new repository. An example for the required comments is :
{{{
# 
# Generated by RepositoryTask on 9/17/06 3:22 PM 
# 
# name = lal_glite_3_0_0_updates 
# owner = grid.support@lal.in2p3.fr 
# url = http://quattor.web.lal.in2p3.fr/packages/glite-3.0.0-i386/updates/ 
#

structure template repository_lal_glite_3_0_0_updates;
}}}
 
== Updating RPM Repositories ==

A repository update can consist of :
 * Creating a new repository
 * Adding a new package in an existing repository
 * Removing a package from an existing repository

In every case, the management operations required are the same :
 * Update of directory contents for the repository
 * If this is a new repository, [wiki:Doc/SCDB/SWRepositories#AssociatedTemplates creation of associated template].
 * Update of associated templates for all existing repositories. This done with `ant` tool, using `update.rep.templates` task. For this, you need to have a valid working copy of your SCDB. The command to execute is :
{{{
ant update.rep.templates
}}}

The result of this command is a new set of templates associated with software repositories in your '''working area'''. As every template modification, this has no impact until the new version of these templates are committed to the CDB repository. And until commit, the changes can be reverted with `svn revert`.