setting up an apt repository

[Renai LeMay <renail@ausisp.net>]

Hi Guys,

a tricky question for you today.

At our company, I administer a network of Unix/Linux machines. Basically, 
we're looking at setting up a series of debian machines in many different 
locations, providing services to local users.

What we'd like to do, is set up one machine as a debian template, if you 
like. We'd like to be able to create other machines from this machine, with a 
certain package set, and every time this template machine gets updated with 
security patches etc, the rest of the machines should be able to download 
those patches from the template machine. I think this can be done somehow 
with apt and apt-able package repositories, but I'm not sure of the 
specifics. The template machine must be able to handle debian source packages 
also.

The machines must be based on a 2.2 kernel, so we're thinking of using potato 
as a base, and loading only the packages we need onto this template machine.

can anyone suggest a method by which this can be done, and point me to 
relevant URLs or HOWTO's?

kind regards,

Renai

(and keep up the good work developers, there are many grateful linux admins 
out here!)