Maintaining a local mirror of Plesk Autoinstall Servers helps you to avoid wasting a lot of time and traffic on downloading the same files again and again when installing or updating multiple Plesk servers. Local mirrors are available via HTTP, and can be specified as sources for downloading Plesk packages in the course of installation or upgrade.

Prerequisites for a Local Mirror Repository

1. Virtual host used for mirroring should have all script handlers (php, pl, cgi, py, fcgi etc) disabled.
2. Virtual host or directory used for mirroring should have option +FollowSymLinks set.
3. Unless the other sources are specified, the following must be accessible from the machine, where the script is being run, and from the destination machine:
   • rsync://rsync.autoinstall.plesk.com/autoinstall for Plesk for Linux,
   • rsync://autoinstall-win.plesk.com/autoinstall for Plesk for Windows.
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.
5. Plesk for Windows and Plesk for Linux mirrors can not be located in the same folders. Mirrors must be created in separate paths.

Configuring a Local Mirror Repository

1. Download and unzip the Plesk Mirror Setup tool

   # wget https://support.plesk.com/hc/en-us/article_attachments/12388062580887/mirrorctl-3.1.4.zip
   # unzip mirrorctlv2.0.1.zip
   # cd mirrorctl
   

2. Check for available product versions

   Use the show-all-releases command to view available products and os-list command to view OSes supported by particular product:

   # ./mirrorctl show-all-releases
   

   

   # ./mirrorctl os-list --release=PLESK_12_0_18
   

   

3. Select product versions you want mirrored

   Use cfg --add and cfg --remove to edit the list of product versions that are to be mirrored:

   # ./mirrorctl cfg --add --release=PLESK_12_0_18 --os=cos5_i386
   # ./mirrorctl cfg --add --win --release=PANEL_12_0_18_WIN --cfg-file=./plesk_win_mirror
   

4. Save the configuration of the local mirror repository to a file

   Use cfg --export to save the created configuration to a file:

   # ./mirrorctl cfg --export --path=./
   

   The configuration will be saved to a file mirror.xml at the specified location.

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
   <xml>
       <release name="PLESK_12_0_18" version="12.0.18">
           <os name="cos5_i386"/>
       </release>
   </xml>
   

   To load a saved configuration from a file, use cfg --import:

   # ./mirrorctl cfg --import --cfg-file=./mirror.xml
   

5. Create the mirror repository

   First, create a directory for the mirror:

   # mkdir /var/www/html/mirror/
   # mkdir /var/www/html/mirror_windows/
   

Then, use the update command to synchronize the mirror with the official repository:

# ./mirrorctl update --path=/var/www/html/mirror/
# ./mirrorctl update --win --path=/var/www/html/mirror_windows/ --cfg-file=./plesk_win_mirror

Check the list of product versions available in the created repository:

# ./mirrorctl show-all-releases --src-host=/var/www/html/mirror/
# ./mirrorctl show-all-releases --win --src-host=/var/www/html/mirror_windows/

The local mirror repository can now be used in the process of installing and upgrading Plesk.

Using a Local Mirror Repository

A mirror can be used in either of the following ways:

• by changing DNS resolving and setting up the mirror web host so that https://autoinstall.plesk.com (for Plesk Linux) or http://autoinstall-win.plesk.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.

Maintaining Remote Mirror Repositories

Plesk Mirror Setup tool can manage repositories that are located on the same file system as well as on remote servers. To specify remote source and remote destination mirrors, the --path and --src-host options are used.

Use --path to specify the 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
   

Use --src-host to specify the 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 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:

# head /etc/rsyncd.conf
[testmirror]
path = /var/www/html/test-mirror/
comment = Test repository

# cat /etc/xinetd.d/rsync
service rsync
{
# disable = yes
socket_type = stream
wait = no
user = root
server = /usr/bin/rsync
server_args = --daemon
log_on_failure += USERID
}

Example 1: Setting up periodic updates for the local mirror repository

Goal: make sure my mirror with selected product versions is up to date.

1. Create the mirror configuration by adding the needed product versions and operating systems:

   # /home/user/mirrorctl/mirrorctl cfg --add --release=PLESK_12_0_18 --os=cos5_i386 --cfg-file=/var/www/html/mirror/myconfig.xml
   # /home/user/mirrorctl/mirrorctl cfg --add --release=PLESK_12_0_18 --os=rhel5_i386 --cfg-file=/var/www/html/mirror/myconfig.xml
   # /home/user/mirrorctl/mirrorctl cfg --add --release=PLESK_11_5_30 --os=cos5_i386 --cfg-file=/var/www/html/mirror/myconfig.xml
   # /home/user/mirrorctl/mirrorctl cfg --add --win --release=PANEL_12_0_18_WIN --cfg-file=/var/www/html/mirror/windows_myconfig.xml
   

2. Configure crontab to automatically update the mirror:

   $ crontab -l
   # m h dom mon dow command
   59 23 * * * cd /home/user/mirrorctl/ && ./mirrorctl update --path=/var/www/html/mirror/ --cfg-file=/var/www/html/mirror/myconfig.xml > ./mirror-cron.log 2>&1
   59 22 * * * cd /home/user/mirrorctl/ && ./mirrorctl update --win --path=/var/www/html/mirror_windows/ --cfg-file=/var/www/html/mirror/windows_myconfig.xml > ./mirror-cron-win.log 2>&1
   

Example 2: Adding new operating systems

Goal: add another operating system for a particular product version to my mirror.

1. Import the current configuration of the repository that you created earlier using mirrorctl utility:

   # ./mirrorctl cfg --import --path=/var/www/html/mirror/ --cfg-file=myconfig
   

2. Add the new OS for a product version:

   # ./mirrorctl cfg --add --release=PLESK_12_0_18 --os=deb6.0_i386 --cfg-file=myconfig
   

3. Synchronize the mirror:

   # ./mirrorctl update --path=/var/www/html/mirror/ --cfg-file=myconfig
   

Example 3: Downloading a particular OS/version

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

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

   # ./mirrorctl cfg --add --release=PLESK_12_0_18 --os=cos5_i386 --cfg-file=./temp-config
   # ./mirrorctl cfg --add --release=PLESK_12_0_18 --os=cos5_x86_64 --cfg-file=./temp-config
   

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

   # ./mirrorctl push --path=/var/www/html/mirror/ --cfg-file==./temp-config
   

Example 4: Creating a mirror for testing new product versions

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

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

   # ./mirrorctl cfg --add --release=PLESK_12_0_18 --os=all --cfg-file=./test-config
   # ./mirrorctl update --path=/var/www/html/test-mirror/ --cfg-file=./test-config
   

2. Test the new version;

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

   # ./mirrorctl push --src-host=/var/www/html/test-mirror/ --path=/var/www/html/mirror/ --cfg-file=./test-config
   

Example 5: Creating a mirror for testing product releases for new OSes

Goal: create a test mirror with a list of particular 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.

1. Create a test mirror where several OSes will be available for selected product version:

   # ./mirrorctl cfg --add --release=PLESK_12_0_18 --os=cos5_i386 --cfg-file=./test-config
   # ./mirrorctl cfg --add --release=PLESK_12_0_18 --os=cos5_x86_64--cfg-file=./test-config
   # ./mirrorctl update --path=/var/www/html/test-mirror/ --cfg-file=./test-config
   

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

   # ./mirrorctl show-all-releases --src-host=/var/www/html/test-mirror/
   # ./mirrorctl os-list --release=PLESK_12_0_18 --src-host=/var/www/html/test-mirror/
   

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:

   # ./mirrorctl cfg --add --release=PLESK_12_0_18 --os=cos5_i386 --src-host=/var/www/html/test-mirror/ --cfg-file=push.xml
   

4. Check the created configuration file for the availability of the releases/OSes in the test repository:

   # ./mirrorctl cfg --check --src-host=/var/www/html/test-mirror/ --cfg-file=push.xml
   

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

   # ./mirrorctl push --src-host=/var/www/html/test-mirror/ --path=/var/www/html/mirror/ --cfg-file=push.xml