Install i2util with Homebrew, apk, apt

Project links

• Homepage
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• aespasswd
• pfstore

Project history

The in-tree README says I2util began from utility code distributed with UCAR's volsh code and was reused because it was freely distributed. Internet2 then added local support for random numbers and hash tables, and the older ChangeLog shows the library being split and generalized for OWAMP and BWCTL-related code.

The ChangeLog records an import in April 2002, early work on error logging and command-line options, hash-table support, random-device handling, and later additions such as aespasswd, PBKDF2, HMAC-SHA1, SHA-1 tests, socket/address helpers, and standalone installability.

The GitHub repository was created in 2015 under the perfSONAR organization and uses tags in the v5.x series. The configure script identifies the package as I2util and points bug reports to the OWAMP/Internet2 side of the ecosystem.

Adoption history

i2util's adoption is mostly indirect. The GitHub repository description says it is the command-line parsing, error logging, and threading library used by BWCTL, OWAMP, and other tools. It appears in package managers because those network-measurement packages and their helper commands need a shared utility layer.

Homebrew exposes aespasswd and pfstore, making the otherwise library-oriented package visible as a small CLI package for users working with perfSONAR or Internet2 measurement stacks.

How it is used

Developers use i2util as a support library inside measurement tools. Operators encounter it through helper commands, especially aespasswd for managing key files and pfstore for passphrase storage workflows used by related Internet2 software.

The package is not a general-purpose end-user network tool; it is infrastructure glue for the perfSONAR and Internet2 family.

Why package nerds care

i2util is package-nerd significant precisely because it is glue. It is the sort of small, old, C utility library that lets larger measurement tools remain consistent about logging, options, randomness, threading, and key handling across Unix-like systems.

Its history also preserves an older network-research packaging path: CVS-era ChangeLogs, autoconf, static libraries, manpages, RPM/package work, and later migration into GitHub and Homebrew formulas.

Timeline

• 2002: I2util was imported from volsh-derived utility code and began as a reusable library.
• 2003: aespasswd support was added for managing key files.
• 2007: ChangeLog entries describe making I2util a standalone installable library for BWCTL and OWAMP packaging.
• 2015: The perfSONAR GitHub repository was created.
• 2026: Homebrew tracked the v5.2.5 source tag.

Related projects

• Related projects include perfSONAR, BWCTL, OWAMP, Internet2's historical measurement tools, UCAR volsh, and the perfSONAR unibuild packaging system.

Sources

• https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/i2util
• https://github.com/perfsonar/i2util
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/perfsonar/i2util/master/I2util/I2util/ChangeLog
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/perfsonar/i2util/master/I2util/I2util/README.md
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/perfsonar/i2util/master/I2util/I2util/configure.ac