What we do · Operations
Our own package builds and mirror
When a serious flaw is published, every server on the internet reaches for the same public mirrors at the same moment. Our servers do not have to. We run our own package mirror inside our datacenter, and when a fix exists upstream but has not been packaged yet, we build it ourselves.
What it is
Two things that work together.
Our own mirror. A complete local copy of the Oracle Linux repositories our servers use, the community repositories we depend on (including Remi's PHP repositories), and the installation images for new builds. It lives inside our own network, is reachable only from our own address space, and is what our servers patch from.
Our own builds. When a fixed release is out at the source but not yet in the distribution's repositories, we build the package ourselves from the distribution maintainer's own package specification and make it available on the mirror, so your servers are patched now and move back onto the official package the moment it arrives.
How we build it
The mirror stays consistent while it syncs. Each repository is synchronised in two phases: the packages first, then the repository metadata fetched into a separate place and swapped in at once. A server that patches mid-sync sees either the old repository or the new one, never a half-updated mix.
Full history, not just the latest. We keep the full package history of the operating system repositories, so a server can be rebuilt to a known state or a package rolled back to the previous release from our own copy.
A status page shows the freshness of every repository at a glance.
Builds in a clean room. Our builds run in a fresh container from the maintainer's own source package and specification, with the source checksum verified against the project's official release. We change nothing else.
Built to step aside. Every in-house build is versioned so that the official package from the distribution replaces it automatically on the next normal update. Nobody has to remember to undo anything.
What it protects you from
- A public mirror timing out on the one day you most need it.
- An actively exploited flaw left open after its fix has been published.
- A server that cannot be patched because it is deliberately cut off from the internet.
- Home-made builds left running long after the official fix exists.
In practice
Same-day runtime builds. When an upstream PHP security fix is released before public distribution mirrors have packaged it, we build the patched packages in-house from the maintainer's specification within hours of the upstream release and roll them out across managed customer servers that same evening.
Patching the servers that cannot see the internet. Servers that are deliberately isolated from the internet, such as backup and management systems, patch from the mirror inside our network like any other server. Isolation never becomes an excuse to stay unpatched.
Why EuroVPS
- Our own package mirror, inside our own datacenter.
- Patched packages built in-house from the maintainer's own specification, the same day the fix is published.
- Official packages take over automatically when they arrive.
- Patching of isolated servers is never blocked by the outside world.
FAQ
Will my servers use your mirror? The servers we manage are pointed at it. Patching then comes from inside our network, quickly, whatever the state of the public mirrors.
Do you change the software you build? No. We build the upstream release from the maintainer's own specification. The only difference is the version tag that lets the official package replace ours.
What happens when the official package is released? Your server moves onto it on the next normal update, automatically.
Can my own servers use the mirror? Servers inside our network can. Ask us and we will set it up for yours.
If you want patching that waits for nobody, Talk to an engineer.
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