NAME
approx - proxy server for Debian archive files
SYNOPSIS
approx [OPTION]...
DESCRIPTION
approx responds to HTTP requests made by apt-get(8). It maintains a cache of Debian archive files that have been previously downloaded, so that it can respond with a local copy when possible. If a file not in the cache is requested, approx will download it from a remote Debian repository and deliver the contents to the client, simultaneously caching it for future use.
OPTIONS
-c file, --config file
Specify an additional configuration file. May be used multiple times.
USAGE
approx is invoked by inetd(8).
EXAMPLES
Suppose that a client machine’s /etc/apt/sources.list file contains the following lines:
deb
http://apt:9999/debian testing main
deb http://apt:9999/debian-security testing-security main
deb-src http://apt:9999/debian unstable main
In this example, apt is the hostname of the approx server machine on the local network. Each distribution, such as "debian" or "debian-security", is mapped to a remote repository in the approx server’s configuration file.
For example, the approx.conf file on the approx server might contain the lines
debian
http://ftp.debian.org/debian
debian-security
http://security.debian.org/debian-security
The mapping scheme is very simple. If the approx.conf file contains the line
repository |
then any request to the approx server of the form
http://approx-server/repository/rest/of/URL
is rewritten to
http://remote-host/initial/path/rest/of/URL
when there is a "cache miss", and that file is cached as
/var/cache/approx/repository/rest/of/URL
(Note that the repository name on the left-hand side is not included in the rewritten URL unless it is explicitly mentioned in the right-hand side’s initial path.)
FILES
/etc/approx/approx.conf
Configuration file for approx and related programs.
/var/cache/approx
Default cache directory for archive files.
SEE ALSO
approx.conf(5), inetd(8), approx-import(8), apt-get(8), sources.list(5)
AUTHOR
Eric Cooper <ecc [AT] cmu.edu>