Maven Eclipse plugin installation - eclipse

Question

Is there any where i can download the maven eclipse plugin so that i can install it manually without using an update site?
The download site for the plugin http://eclipse.org/m2e/download/ only provides information of how to download it directly from the Eclipse IDE but not how to download it as a Zip file.
I need to install it on a Server that has no connectivity to the outside world so i need to download it as a zip archive then install it manually.
Thanks
Edit
I also found out that the Maven plugin comes pre-packaged with Eclipse for JAVA developers but not Eclipse for JAVA EE developers. (Which is the one i am using).
Edit
#Soulcheck - I tried your suggestion but it is coming up with an error. The command i used is
java -jar -DproxySet=true -DproxyHost=myproxyHost -DproxyPort=8080 plugins/org.eclipse.equinox.launcher_1.2.0.v20110502.jar -application org.eclipse.update.core.standaloneUpdate -command mirror -from http://download.eclipse.org/technology/m2e/releases -to C:\wresource\home\res.nosynch\temp.todel\m2e
I added the options for the proxy as that is required to get an external connection. The error is shown below: Do you think that maybe the URL is wrong?
!SESSION 2012-02-01 16:14:08.581 -----------------------------------------------
eclipse.buildId=M20110909-1335
java.version=1.6.0_29
java.vendor=Sun Microsystems Inc.
BootLoader constants: OS=win32, ARCH=x86, WS=win32, NL=en_GB
Framework arguments: -application org.eclipse.update.core.standaloneUpdate -command mirror -from http://download.eclipse.org/technology/m2e/releases -to C:\wresource\home\res.nosynch\temp.todel\m2e
Command-line arguments: -application org.eclipse.update.core.standaloneUpdate -command mirror -from http://download.eclipse.org/technology/m2e/releases -to C:\wresource\home\res.nosynch\temp.todel\m2e
!ENTRY org.eclipse.update.core 4 0 2012-02-01 16:14:12.213
!MESSAGE Unable to access "http://download.eclipse.org/technology/m2e/releases".
!STACK 1
org.eclipse.core.runtime.CoreException: Error parsing site stream. [The XML stream is not a valid default "site.xml" file. The root tag is not site.]
at org.eclipse.update.core.Utilities.newCoreException(Utilities.java:225)
at org.eclipse.update.core.Utilities.newCoreException(Utilities.java:256)
at org.eclipse.update.core.model.SiteModelFactory.parseSite(SiteModelFactory.java:95)
at org.eclipse.update.internal.core.SiteURLFactory.createSite(SiteURLFactory.java:80)
at org.eclipse.update.internal.core.InternalSiteManager.createSite(InternalSiteManager.java:334)
at org.eclipse.update.internal.core.InternalSiteManager.createSite(InternalSiteManager.java:326)
at org.eclipse.update.internal.core.InternalSiteManager.createSite(InternalSiteManager.java:298)
at org.eclipse.update.internal.core.InternalSiteManager.attemptCreateSite(InternalSiteManager.java:222)
at org.eclipse.update.internal.core.InternalSiteManager.getSite(InternalSiteManager.java:162)
at org.eclipse.update.core.SiteManager.getSite(SiteManager.java:82)
at org.eclipse.update.internal.mirror.MirrorCommand.run(MirrorCommand.java:78)
at org.eclipse.update.standalone.ScriptedCommand.run(ScriptedCommand.java:66)
at org.eclipse.update.standalone.StandaloneUpdateApplication.run(StandaloneUpdateApplication.java:49)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Unknown Source)
at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Unknown Source)
at org.eclipse.equinox.internal.app.EclipseAppContainer.callMethodWithException(EclipseAppContainer.java:587)
at org.eclipse.equinox.internal.app.EclipseAppHandle.run(EclipseAppHandle.java:198)
at org.eclipse.core.runtime.internal.adaptor.EclipseAppLauncher.runApplication(EclipseAppLauncher.java:110)
at org.eclipse.core.runtime.internal.adaptor.EclipseAppLauncher.start(EclipseAppLauncher.java:79)
at org.eclipse.core.runtime.adaptor.EclipseStarter.run(EclipseStarter.java:344)
at org.eclipse.core.runtime.adaptor.EclipseStarter.run(EclipseStarter.java:179)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Unknown Source)
at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Unknown Source)
at org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.Main.invokeFramework(Main.java:622)
at org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.Main.basicRun(Main.java:577)
at org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.Main.run(Main.java:1410)
at org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.Main.main(Main.java:1386)
Caused by: org.xml.sax.SAXException: The XML stream is not a valid default "site.xml" file. The root tag is not site.
at org.eclipse.update.core.model.DefaultSiteParser.handleInitialState(DefaultSiteParser.java:393)
at org.eclipse.update.core.model.DefaultSiteParser.startElement(DefaultSiteParser.java:198)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.parsers.AbstractSAXParser.startElement(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.impl.XMLNSDocumentScannerImpl.scanStartElement(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.impl.XMLNSDocumentScannerImpl$NSContentDriver.scanRootElementHook(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.impl.XMLDocumentFragmentScannerImpl$FragmentContentDriver.next(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.impl.XMLDocumentScannerImpl$PrologDriver.next(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.impl.XMLDocumentScannerImpl.next(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.impl.XMLNSDocumentScannerImpl.next(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.impl.XMLDocumentFragmentScannerImpl.scanDocument(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.parsers.XML11Configuration.parse(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.parsers.XML11Configuration.parse(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.parsers.XMLParser.parse(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.parsers.AbstractSAXParser.parse(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.jaxp.SAXParserImpl$JAXPSAXParser.parse(Unknown Source)
at javax.xml.parsers.SAXParser.parse(Unknown Source)
at org.eclipse.update.core.model.DefaultSiteParser.parse(DefaultSiteParser.java:154)
at org.eclipse.update.core.model.SiteModelFactory.parseSite(SiteModelFactory.java:83)
... 28 more
!SUBENTRY 1 org.eclipse.update.core 4 0 2012-02-01 16:14:12.216
!MESSAGE Error parsing site stream. [The XML stream is not a valid default "site.xml" file. The root tag is not site.]
!STACK 0
org.xml.sax.SAXException: The XML stream is not a valid default "site.xml" file. The root tag is not site.
at org.eclipse.update.core.model.DefaultSiteParser.handleInitialState(DefaultSiteParser.java:393)
at org.eclipse.update.core.model.DefaultSiteParser.startElement(DefaultSiteParser.java:198)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.parsers.AbstractSAXParser.startElement(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.impl.XMLNSDocumentScannerImpl.scanStartElement(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.impl.XMLNSDocumentScannerImpl$NSContentDriver.scanRootElementHook(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.impl.XMLDocumentFragmentScannerImpl$FragmentContentDriver.next(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.impl.XMLDocumentScannerImpl$PrologDriver.next(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.impl.XMLDocumentScannerImpl.next(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.impl.XMLNSDocumentScannerImpl.next(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.impl.XMLDocumentFragmentScannerImpl.scanDocument(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.parsers.XML11Configuration.parse(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.parsers.XML11Configuration.parse(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.parsers.XMLParser.parse(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.parsers.AbstractSAXParser.parse(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.jaxp.SAXParserImpl$JAXPSAXParser.parse(Unknown Source)
at javax.xml.parsers.SAXParser.parse(Unknown Source)
at org.eclipse.update.core.model.DefaultSiteParser.parse(DefaultSiteParser.java:154)
at org.eclipse.update.core.model.SiteModelFactory.parseSite(SiteModelFactory.java:83)
at org.eclipse.update.internal.core.SiteURLFactory.createSite(SiteURLFactory.java:80)
at org.eclipse.update.internal.core.InternalSiteManager.createSite(InternalSiteManager.java:334)
at org.eclipse.update.internal.core.InternalSiteManager.createSite(InternalSiteManager.java:326)
at org.eclipse.update.internal.core.InternalSiteManager.createSite(InternalSiteManager.java:298)
at org.eclipse.update.internal.core.InternalSiteManager.attemptCreateSite(InternalSiteManager.java:222)
at org.eclipse.update.internal.core.InternalSiteManager.getSite(InternalSiteManager.java:162)
at org.eclipse.update.core.SiteManager.getSite(SiteManager.java:82)
at org.eclipse.update.internal.mirror.MirrorCommand.run(MirrorCommand.java:78)
at org.eclipse.update.standalone.ScriptedCommand.run(ScriptedCommand.java:66)
at org.eclipse.update.standalone.StandaloneUpdateApplication.run(StandaloneUpdateApplication.java:49)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Unknown Source)
at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Unknown Source)
at org.eclipse.equinox.internal.app.EclipseAppContainer.callMethodWithException(EclipseAppContainer.java:587)
at org.eclipse.equinox.internal.app.EclipseAppHandle.run(EclipseAppHandle.java:198)
at org.eclipse.core.runtime.internal.adaptor.EclipseAppLauncher.runApplication(EclipseAppLauncher.java:110)
at org.eclipse.core.runtime.internal.adaptor.EclipseAppLauncher.start(EclipseAppLauncher.java:79)
at org.eclipse.core.runtime.adaptor.EclipseStarter.run(EclipseStarter.java:344)
at org.eclipse.core.runtime.adaptor.EclipseStarter.run(EclipseStarter.java:179)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Unknown Source)
at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Unknown Source)
at org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.Main.invokeFramework(Main.java:622)
at org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.Main.basicRun(Main.java:577)
at org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.Main.run(Main.java:1410)
at org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.Main.main(Main.java:1386)
!SUBENTRY 1 org.eclipse.update.core 4 0 2012-02-01 16:14:12.218
!MESSAGE Error parsing site stream. [The XML stream is not a valid default "site.xml" file. The root tag is not site.]
!STACK 0
org.xml.sax.SAXException: The XML stream is not a valid default "site.xml" file. The root tag is not site.
at org.eclipse.update.core.model.DefaultSiteParser.handleInitialState(DefaultSiteParser.java:393)
at org.eclipse.update.core.model.DefaultSiteParser.startElement(DefaultSiteParser.java:198)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.parsers.AbstractSAXParser.startElement(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.impl.XMLNSDocumentScannerImpl.scanStartElement(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.impl.XMLNSDocumentScannerImpl$NSContentDriver.scanRootElementHook(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.impl.XMLDocumentFragmentScannerImpl$FragmentContentDriver.next(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.impl.XMLDocumentScannerImpl$PrologDriver.next(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.impl.XMLDocumentScannerImpl.next(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.impl.XMLNSDocumentScannerImpl.next(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.impl.XMLDocumentFragmentScannerImpl.scanDocument(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.parsers.XML11Configuration.parse(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.parsers.XML11Configuration.parse(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.parsers.XMLParser.parse(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.parsers.AbstractSAXParser.parse(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.jaxp.SAXParserImpl$JAXPSAXParser.parse(Unknown Source)
at javax.xml.parsers.SAXParser.parse(Unknown Source)
at org.eclipse.update.core.model.DefaultSiteParser.parse(DefaultSiteParser.java:154)
at org.eclipse.update.core.model.SiteModelFactory.parseSite(SiteModelFactory.java:83)
at org.eclipse.update.internal.core.SiteURLFactory.createSite(SiteURLFactory.java:80)
at org.eclipse.update.internal.core.InternalSiteManager.createSite(InternalSiteManager.java:334)
at org.eclipse.update.internal.core.InternalSiteManager.createSite(InternalSiteManager.java:326)
at org.eclipse.update.internal.core.InternalSiteManager.createSite(InternalSiteManager.java:298)
at org.eclipse.update.internal.core.InternalSiteManager.attemptCreateSite(InternalSiteManager.java:222)
at org.eclipse.update.internal.core.InternalSiteManager.getSite(InternalSiteManager.java:162)
at org.eclipse.update.core.SiteManager.getSite(SiteManager.java:82)
at org.eclipse.update.internal.mirror.MirrorCommand.run(MirrorCommand.java:78)
at org.eclipse.update.standalone.ScriptedCommand.run(ScriptedCommand.java:66)
at org.eclipse.update.standalone.StandaloneUpdateApplication.run(StandaloneUpdateApplication.java:49)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Unknown Source)
at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Unknown Source)
at org.eclipse.equinox.internal.app.EclipseAppContainer.callMethodWithException(EclipseAppContainer.java:587)
at org.eclipse.equinox.internal.app.EclipseAppHandle.run(EclipseAppHandle.java:198)
at org.eclipse.core.runtime.internal.adaptor.EclipseAppLauncher.runApplication(EclipseAppLauncher.java:110)
at org.eclipse.core.runtime.internal.adaptor.EclipseAppLauncher.start(EclipseAppLauncher.java:79)
at org.eclipse.core.runtime.adaptor.EclipseStarter.run(EclipseStarter.java:344)
at org.eclipse.core.runtime.adaptor.EclipseStarter.run(EclipseStarter.java:179)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Unknown Source)
at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Unknown Source)
at org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.Main.invokeFramework(Main.java:622)
at org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.Main.basicRun(Main.java:577)
at org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.Main.run(Main.java:1410)
at org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.Main.main(Main.java:1386)
Edit
Ok i got it to work with the following command:
eclipse.exe -application org.eclipse.equinox.p2.artifact.repository.mirrorApplication -source http://download.eclipse.org/technology/m2e/releases -destination file:C:\temp\m2e\
The above will put the contents into c:\temp\m2e. To install it manually on eclipse,
- click on "Help" >> "install new Software".
- On the window that pops up click "Add" on the top right corner and on the next window that pops up click on "Local" and specify the path C:\temp\m2e\ and click OK and you are done! :)

Answer 1

m2e doesn't provide zipped update site, but you can try to mirror the official one locally and then use the mirror to install the features you need. According to this doc it should be as simple as:
java -jar plugins/org.eclipse.equinox.launcher_<version>.jar
-application org.eclipse.update.core.standaloneUpdate
-command mirror
-from update_site_url
-featureId id_of_the_feature
-to your_local_dir
edit2 eclipse indigo, etc
Ok looks like they changed things a bit. Now one should use p2 repository mirroring:
eclipse -nosplash -verbose
-application org.eclipse.equinox.p2.artifact.repository.mirrorApplication
-source http://download.eclipse.org/releases/indigo
-destination file:/destination_dir
-ius org.eclipse.m2e.feature.feature.group
As far as I can see -ius parameter doesn't work, so the whole repo is going to be mirrored.
It looks like p2 ant tasks are the preffered way of creating mirrors, and supposedly they allow fine grained control on what is mirrored.