How can I package a program compiled from source to easily install on similar machines

Question

I compiled php5 from source (for Ubuntu) so that I could work with pthreads, and now I need to copy that install to other virtual machines. I compiled it with pretty much all the same options as come by default when installing the official repo package, and install the package first to resolve any dependencies. They are all based on the same image, so I don't need to worry about changes in architecture or anything. I'm automating the install with opscode chef. The options I am guessing are available are

1. Zip compiled source folder from the working machine, unzip it on the target, and make install it
2. Package it as a .deb somehow, copy the .deb to the target machine and install
3. Package it as a .deb somehow, set up a single-version/single-package repository on the chef server, modify the target's apt sources, and install php with apt
4. Other

Are options 2 and 3 feasible? Difficult? If feasible and relatively easy, how is it done? Is there another good option?

All of the research I've found is about more complex cases, worrying about maintaining packages, different architectures, and making the repository public. I only need it to work internally.

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Edit: checkinstall works for now, though it isn't ideal since I have to manually install the dependencies before using dpkg -i. If there is a better way, let me know

Answer 1

The checkinstall package is made exactly for this purpose. You build your package and instead of running make install, you run checkinstall. More info at https://help.ubuntu.com/community/CheckInstall