Metadata-Version: 1.2
Name: apt-mirror-updater
Version: 7.3
Summary: Automated, robust apt-get mirror selection for Debian and Ubuntu
Home-page: https://apt-mirror-updater.readthedocs.io
Author: Peter Odding
Author-email: peter@peterodding.com
License: MIT
Description: apt-mirror-updater: Automated Debian/Ubuntu mirror selection
        ============================================================
        
        .. image:: https://travis-ci.org/xolox/python-apt-mirror-updater.svg?branch=master
           :target: https://travis-ci.org/xolox/python-apt-mirror-updater
        
        .. image:: https://coveralls.io/repos/xolox/python-apt-mirror-updater/badge.svg?branch=master
           :target: https://coveralls.io/r/xolox/python-apt-mirror-updater?branch=master
        
        The `apt-mirror-updater` package automates robust apt-get_ mirror selection for
        Debian_ and Ubuntu_ by enabling discovery of available mirrors, ranking of
        available mirrors, automatic switching between mirrors and robust package list
        updating (see features_). It's currently tested on Python 2.7, 3.5+ and PyPy
        (although test coverage is still rather low, see status_).
        
        .. contents::
           :local:
        
        .. _features:
        
        Features
        --------
        
        **Discovery of available mirrors**
         Debian_ and Ubuntu_ mirrors are discovered automatically by querying the
         `Debian mirror list <https://www.debian.org/mirror/list>`_ or the `Ubuntu
         mirror list <https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+archivemirrors>`_ (the applicable
         mirror list is automatically selected based on the current platform).
        
        **Ranking of available mirrors**
         Discovered mirrors are ranked by bandwidth (to pick the fastest mirror) and
         excluded if they're being updated (see `issues with mirror updates`_).
        
        **Automatic switching between mirrors**
         The main mirror configured in ``/etc/apt/sources.list`` can be changed with a
         single command. The new (to be configured) mirror can be selected
         automatically or configured explicitly by the user.
        
        **Robust package list updating**
         Several apt-get_ subcommands can fail if the current mirror is being updated
         (see `issues with mirror updates`_) and `apt-mirror-updater` tries to work
         around this by wrapping ``apt-get update`` to retry on failures and
         automatically switch to a different mirror when it looks like the current
         mirror is being updated (because I've seen such updates take more than 15
         minutes and it's not always acceptable to wait for so long, especially in
         automated solutions).
        
        .. _status:
        
        Status
        ------
        
        On the one hand the `apt-mirror-updater` package was developed based on quite a
        few years of experience in using apt-get_ on Debian_ and Ubuntu_ systems and
        large scale automation of apt-get (working on 150+ remote systems). On the
        other hand the Python package itself is relatively new: it was developed and
        published in March 2016. As such:
        
        .. warning:: Until `apt-mirror-updater` has been rigorously tested I consider
                     it a proof of concept (beta software) so if it corrupts your
                     system you can't complain that you weren't warned! I've already
                     tested it on a variety of Ubuntu systems but haven't found the
                     time to set up a Debian virtual machine for testing. Most of the
                     logic is exactly the same though. The worst that can happen
                     (assuming you trust my judgement ;-) is that
                     ``/etc/apt/sources.list`` is corrupted however a backup copy is
                     made before any changes are applied, so I don't see how this can
                     result in irreversible corruption.
        
        I'm working on an automated test suite but at the moment I'm still a bit fuzzy
        on how to create representative tests for the error handling code paths (also,
        writing a decent test suite requires a significant chunk of time :-).
        
        Installation
        ------------
        
        The `apt-mirror-updater` package is available on PyPI_ which means installation
        should be as simple as:
        
        .. code-block:: sh
        
           $ pip install apt-mirror-updater
        
        There's actually a multitude of ways to install Python packages (e.g. the `per
        user site-packages directory`_, `virtual environments`_ or just installing
        system wide) and I have no intention of getting into that discussion here, so
        if this intimidates you then read up on your options before returning to these
        instructions ;-).
        
        Usage
        -----
        
        There are two ways to use the `apt-mirror-updater` package: As the command line
        program ``apt-mirror-updater`` and as a Python API. For details about the
        Python API please refer to the API documentation available on `Read the Docs`_.
        The command line interface is described below.
        
        .. contents::
           :local:
        
        .. A DRY solution to avoid duplication of the `apt-mirror-updater --help' text:
        ..
        .. [[[cog
        .. from humanfriendly.usage import inject_usage
        .. inject_usage('apt_mirror_updater.cli')
        .. ]]]
        
        **Usage:** `apt-mirror-updater [OPTIONS]`
        
        The apt-mirror-updater program automates robust apt-get mirror selection for
        Debian and Ubuntu by enabling discovery of available mirrors, ranking of
        available mirrors, automatic switching between mirrors and robust package list
        updating.
        
        **Supported options:**
        
        .. csv-table::
           :header: Option, Description
           :widths: 30, 70
        
        
           "``-r``, ``--remote-host=SSH_ALIAS``","Operate on a remote system instead of the local system. The ``SSH_ALIAS``
           argument gives the SSH alias of the remote host. It is assumed that the
           remote account has root privileges or password-less sudo access."
           "``-f``, ``--find-current-mirror``","Determine the main mirror that is currently configured in
           /etc/apt/sources.list and report its URL on standard output."
           "``-b``, ``--find-best-mirror``","Discover available mirrors, rank them, select the best one and report its
           URL on standard output."
           "``-l``, ``--list-mirrors``",List available (ranked) mirrors on the terminal in a human readable format.
           "``-c``, ``--change-mirror=MIRROR_URL``",Update /etc/apt/sources.list to use the given ``MIRROR_URL``.
           "``-a``, ``--auto-change-mirror``","Discover available mirrors, rank the mirrors by connection speed and update
           status and update /etc/apt/sources.list to use the best available mirror."
           "``-u``, ``--update``, ``--update-package-lists``","Update the package lists using ""apt-get update"", retrying on failure and
           automatically switch to a different mirror when it looks like the current
           mirror is being updated."
           "``-x``, ``--exclude=PATTERN``","Add a pattern to the mirror selection blacklist. ``PATTERN`` is expected to be
           a shell pattern (containing wild cards like ""?"" and ""\*"") that is matched
           against the full URL of each mirror."
           "``-m``, ``--max=COUNT``","Don't query more than ``COUNT`` mirrors for their connection status
           (defaults to 50). If you give the number 0 no limit will be applied.
           
           Because Ubuntu mirror discovery can report more than 300 mirrors it's
           useful to limit the number of mirrors that are queried, otherwise the
           ranking of mirrors will take a long time (because over 300 connections
           need to be established)."
           "``-v``, ``--verbose``",Increase logging verbosity (can be repeated).
           "``-q``, ``--quiet``",Decrease logging verbosity (can be repeated).
           "``-h``, ``--help``",Show this message and exit.
        
        .. [[[end]]]
        
        .. _issues with mirror updates:
        
        Issues with mirror updates
        --------------------------
        
        Over the past five years my team (`at work`_) and I have been managing a
        cluster of 150+ Ubuntu servers, initially using manual system administration
        but over time automating ``apt-get`` for a variety of use cases (provisioning,
        security updates, deployments, etc.). As we increased our automation we started
        running into various transient failure modes of ``apt-get``, primarily with
        ``apt-get update`` but incidentally also with other subcommands.
        
        The most frequent failure that we run into is ``apt-get update`` crapping out
        with 'hash sum mismatch' errors (see also `Debian bug #624122`_). When this
        happens a file called ``Archive-Update-in-Progress-*`` can sometimes be found
        on the index page of the mirror that is being used (see also `Debian bug
        #110837`_). I've seen these situations last for more than 15 minutes.
        
        My working theory about these 'hash sum mismatch' errors is that they are
        caused by the fact that mirror updates aren't atomic, apparently causing
        ``apt-get update`` to download a package list whose datafiles aren't consistent
        with each other. If this assumption proves to be correct (and also assuming
        that different mirrors are updated at different times :-) then the command
        ``apt-mirror-updater --update-package-lists`` should work around this annoying
        failure mode (by automatically switching to a different mirror when 'hash sum
        mismatch' errors are encountered).
        
        Publishing `apt-mirror-updater` to the world is my attempt to contribute to
        this situation instead of complaining in bug trackers (see above) where no
        robust and automated solution is emerging (at the time of writing). Who knows,
        maybe some day these issues will be resolved by moving logic similar to what
        I've implemented here into ``apt-get`` itself. Of course it would also help if
        mirror updates were atomic...
        
        Contact
        -------
        
        The latest version of `apt-mirror-updater` is available on PyPI_ and GitHub_.
        The documentation is hosted on `Read the Docs`_ and includes a changelog_. For
        bug reports please create an issue on GitHub_. If you have questions,
        suggestions, etc. feel free to send me an e-mail at `peter@peterodding.com`_.
        
        License
        -------
        
        This software is licensed under the `MIT license`_.
        
        © 2020 Peter Odding.
        
        
        .. External references:
        .. _apt-get: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Packaging_Tool
        .. _at work: http://www.paylogic.com/
        .. _changelog: https://apt-mirror-updater.readthedocs.io/changelog.html
        .. _Debian bug #110837: https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=110837
        .. _Debian bug #624122: https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=624122
        .. _Debian: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debian
        .. _documentation: https://apt-mirror-updater.readthedocs.io
        .. _GitHub: https://github.com/xolox/python-apt-mirror-updater
        .. _MIT license: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIT_License
        .. _per user site-packages directory: https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0370/
        .. _peter@peterodding.com: peter@peterodding.com
        .. _PyPI: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/apt-mirror-updater
        .. _Read the Docs: https://apt-mirror-updater.readthedocs.io
        .. _Ubuntu: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_(operating_system)
        .. _virtual environments: http://docs.python-guide.org/en/latest/dev/virtualenvs/
        
Platform: UNKNOWN
Classifier: Development Status :: 4 - Beta
Classifier: Environment :: Console
Classifier: Intended Audience :: Developers
Classifier: Intended Audience :: Information Technology
Classifier: Intended Audience :: System Administrators
Classifier: License :: OSI Approved :: MIT License
Classifier: Natural Language :: English
Classifier: Operating System :: POSIX :: Linux
Classifier: Programming Language :: Python
Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: 2
Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: 2.7
Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: 3
Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: 3.5
Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: 3.6
Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: 3.7
Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8
Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: CPython
Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: PyPy
Classifier: Topic :: Software Development
Classifier: Topic :: Software Development :: Libraries :: Python Modules
Classifier: Topic :: System :: Shells
Classifier: Topic :: System :: System Shells
Classifier: Topic :: System :: Systems Administration
Classifier: Topic :: Terminals
Classifier: Topic :: Utilities
Requires-Python: >=2.7, !=3.0.*, !=3.1.*, !=3.2.*, !=3.3.*, !=3.4.*
