From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Wed Dec 17 18:13:53 2008 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 1797F1065670 for ; Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:13:53 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from scode@hyperion.scode.org) Received: from hyperion.scode.org (cl-1361.ams-04.nl.sixxs.net [IPv6:2001:960:2:550::2]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id CCF628FC1D for ; Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:13:52 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from scode@hyperion.scode.org) Received: by hyperion.scode.org (Postfix, from userid 1001) id 7E75023C453; Wed, 17 Dec 2008 19:13:51 +0100 (CET) Date: Wed, 17 Dec 2008 19:13:51 +0100 From: Peter Schuller To: "Dr. Jennifer Nussbaum" Message-ID: <20081217181351.GA10330@hyperion.scode.org> References: <829861.58495.qm@web53407.mail.re2.yahoo.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/signed; micalg=pgp-sha1; protocol="application/pgp-signature"; boundary="IJpNTDwzlM2Ie8A6" Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: <829861.58495.qm@web53407.mail.re2.yahoo.com> User-Agent: Mutt/1.5.18 (2008-05-17) Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Copying system/ports configuration? X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:13:53 -0000 --IJpNTDwzlM2Ie8A6 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable > The last time i did this it took a lot of time to get the VM set up--inst= alling all the right ports, getting the database configuration right, etc. >=20 > Are there any shortcuts for this, e.g. a way i can automatically install = the same ports on the new "machine"? I didnt see anything in the handbook o= r FAQ about this, but id think that people need to do this all the time. An= y other advice for mirroring the system? Opinions definitely vary on what the best method is. What I do nowadays is to: * First of all, never ever interactively configure any ports. * Maintain any necessary global options in /etc/make.conf * Maintain port specific options in /usr/local/etc/ports.conf, and have it applied by ports-mgmt/portconf. * Keep a list of packages that I want installed (NOT including dependencies). I then build packages based on this information in a clean environment; typically a dedicated jail. Because all configuration is declarative, and nothing is a function of interactive dialogs, I know I can reproduce the package set + config at any time. The upgrade on the target machine is a matter of pkg_delete -a to remove all packages, and then re-installing all the built binaries. I have some tools to help me do this that are semi-public, but not really in a nice state at this time. Let me know off-list if you would be interested. --=20 / Peter Schuller PGP userID: 0xE9758B7D or 'Peter Schuller ' Key retrieval: Send an E-Mail to getpgpkey@scode.org E-Mail: peter.schuller@infidyne.com Web: http://www.scode.org --IJpNTDwzlM2Ie8A6 Content-Type: application/pgp-signature Content-Disposition: inline -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2.0.9 (FreeBSD) iEYEARECAAYFAklJQV8ACgkQDNor2+l1i30GegCfbba0cvJunLAeew/zhuQilb88 29sAn38YlXzgZaLuM0Fjs2qdK5UgYsOX =g36h -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- --IJpNTDwzlM2Ie8A6--