Configuring Local Package and Parcel Repositories

Cloudera hosts two types of software repositories that you can use to install products such as Cloudera Manager or Cloudera Runtime—parcel repositories and package repositories. These repositories are effective solutions in most cases, but custom installation solutions are sometimes required.

For example, using the Cloudera-hosted software repositories requires client access over the Internet. Typical installations use the latest available software. In some scenarios, these behaviors might not be desirable, such as:
  • You need to install older product versions. For example, in a Runtime cluster, all hosts must run the same Runtime version. After completing an initial installation, you may want to add hosts. This could be to increase the size of your cluster to handle larger tasks or to replace older hardware.
  • The hosts on which you want to install Cloudera products are not connected to the Internet, so they cannot reach the Cloudera repository (for a parcel installation, only the Cloudera Manager Server needs Internet access, but for a package installation, all cluster hosts require access to the Cloudera repository). Most organizations partition parts of their network from outside access. Isolating network segments improves security, but can add complexity to the installation process.
In both of these cases, using an internal repository allows you to meet the needs of your organization, whether that means installing specific versions of Cloudera software or installing Cloudera software on hosts without Internet access.