install from rsync tree on local partition possible?

[Michal Jaegermann]

On Thu, Mar 27, 2008 at 06:14:05PM -0400, Todd Denniston wrote:
> Michal Jaegermann wrote, On 03/27/2008 05:36 PM:
> >On Thu, Mar 27, 2008 at 07:48:19PM +0100, Gianluca Cecchi wrote:
> >>I have an rsync tree of rawhide on a local f8 partition.
> >>I would like to install rawhide to another partition.
> >>Is there a way without generating iso images?
> >
> >I did not look yet at the latest anaconda but it used to have
> >among installation methods "from a local disk partition"
> >(or something to that effect).  That is what you are trying to find.
> >
> 
> Unfortunately some folks believe it causes too many bug reports against 
> anaconda
> https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=435976

Bummer!

> I was wondering (have not had time to play) if you could tell it you were 
> doing an install from the web/ftp and when giving the URL give it 
> file:///where/my/repo/is/

My expectations would be that anaconda will try to find that URL
with a help of a protocol you specified (http/ftp/nfs) and it will
fail unless you are running a corresponding local server (and
that is not there on standard installation images).

Maybe to get around you can find where anaconda keeps a local
cache of packages retrieved via http or ftp, fill up that cache
with copies of what you have on a local disk and point anaconda
to some remote server?  What you already have likely will be
not retrieved again.  Sounds like a very roundabout hack.

If you have another machine which you can use as an NFS server
then a cross ethernet cable works just fine (or a "normal" hookup on
LAN).  With the layout described by OP you can boot from a local
disk.  That is likely the simplest and I used such approach a number
of times; in particular when performing distro updates.

> Like you I don't understand why it is so much harder to support the 
> Everything directory on the local hard drive vs NFS|HTTP|FTP.

I have no idea.  One would think that a "null" protocol would
be the simplest thing to do but what I imagine how things work
and reality could be quite divergent.

   Michal