Installing multiple instances: cache downloads? best practices?

[sgw]

Forgive me for asking this once more, there has been discussion somewhere already, but I still look for a clever way to speed this up:
I have to install 10 new boxes with pfSense-CE in the near future (once again).
And I look for the most efficient way to do that.

If I use the installer from a USB stick, I have to download the same stuff 10 times.
This takes time: I sit in Europe, with a rather slow line (60 Mbit/s) ... and as mentioned elsewhere sometimes even the upgrades take a long time for me (we hadn't found the real issue).

I think of using some kind of proxy for caching these downloads, maybe on my pfSense-Plus in my LAN or maybe with a docker container somehow (squid as docker container?)

For Debian there is something like apt-cacher-ng ... something like that would be cool.
Cloning and restoring the storage is too much action in my opinion.

The second step is the configuration: each box gets an individual openvpn-tunnel-setup to a main site. Last time I set up all 10 or so tunnels on the first box, exported the whole config.

Then I put it on the installer stick, restored at installation time (saves some steps) and then delete the unneeded tunnels via GUI (plus edited stuff like hostname and individual root-pwd).

Not exactly super efficient, but OK: after the first phase I don't have to think much anymore, it gets repetitive and easier.

I can do it that way this time again, but I am open to any clever suggestions!

Something like ansible, with pfsensible: yes, but ... / as long as the boxes are here in my office they don't have individual and static IPs, so this adds complexity etc / IMO it's not the tool for that initial part of preparation.

[patient0]

@sgw the lack of an answer is probably telling you everything you need to know ;).

I'd make a raw copy (clonezilla or similar) after setting up one machine. That is probably faster then setting up 10 devices by downloading the files over and over again. Or depending on the devices and what storage they use, use a SSD/NVMe/SATA duplicator. I don't think anyone wrote about a procedure to cache the downloads, not sure it's possible.

And ansible maybe able to configure it but won't help in downloading the install files over and over again.