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Idea #3085: Add "Update from Local Network Server" to Adept package sources list



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Written by apogee the 4 Mar 08 at 14:18. Category: Internet & Networking.
Related to: Nothing/Others. Status: New
Description
I have 4 Linux machines on my local network: 2 Kubuntu machines, 1 Xubuntu and 1 UbuntuStudio.

They use packages common to all, and they each have specific packages. When an update is available, I have to download the same update 4 times on a single day. That wastes my bandwidth and reduces my productivity.

Via Google I did locate a page that explained how to set-up a server and link networked machines to first update from the network server, if not found then update from web. But that was incredibly difficult for me to follow (kinda newbie / GUI lover.)

Should any of the networked machines download an update first, it stores it and makes it available for the other machines to update without having to download again.

For instance, when I plug my lap-top into the network in the morning, it updates from the already updated desktop machine first instead of directly from the web.

Once all machines are satisfied that they are properly updated, the .deb files can be marked for removal to free up space again.
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Attachments
spec Blueprint apt-zeroconf: Ubuntu


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Comments
Auzy wrote on the 7 Mar 08 at 05:59
OSX can do this but a pretty lame sync entire repo solution, but its easy to do.


We can do better. +1

Great idea, compliments mine. http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/3221/

ptn107 wrote on the 12 Mar 08 at 15:01
I've used debmirror to set up a Gutsy repository on a local machine. It's relatively easy to use.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Debmirror

nerd65536 wrote on the 12 Mar 08 at 17:48
debmirror is not really practical for home users. It will mirror all the packages in the repository. most people don't want to spend ~27G on to fully mirror feisty-i386 (plus I have some x64 machines too. That requires another mirror).

apt-cacher is the appropriate choice for a home user. It will make copies only of files that the user requests, and stream them in realtime while being downloaded to the server.

A simpler interface for setting up apt-cacher and clients may be warranted if demand is high enough.

http://www.debuntu.org/how-to-set-up-a-repository-cache-with-apt-cacher

apogee wrote on the 13 Mar 08 at 18:04
apt-cacher sounds great, Tried it, apt-get downloaded perfectly, apt-cacher just won't initialize. Which confirms my need for a simple yet powerful solution that "just works".

How can we achieve the motto "Linux for human beings" when the only human beings that can use it, are geeks with an intimate relationship with the terminal?

I honestly can't see us winning converts or brownie points with newbies when you need a degree in the terminal and a black-belt in Google in order to learn how to achieve the same results that all these "how-to" sites proclaim.

madjr wrote on the 13 Mar 08 at 20:44
solution: aptoncd

it comes by default in linuxmint, ubuntu should too

po3ts wrote on the 18 Mar 08 at 10:52
I suggest apt-proxy!

Eldmannen wrote on the 20 Mar 08 at 20:50
Yeah, Windows can already do this with "Windows Server Update Services".

We should be able todo it too.

Imagine on a company you have 1000 Ubuntu computers.
Then you would save 1000x bandwidth by download it only once to a server, and let the computers update from the server locally.

FuturePilot wrote on the 5 May 08 at 20:35
+1 for this. I have 4 Ubuntu computers on a network and it would be great if I only had to download updates once and then all the other computers would retrieve them from a local cache on the network.

Brean wrote on the 19 May 08 at 07:53
I suggest apt-zeroconf.
It automatically finds other apt-zeroconf instances on the LAN, similar to Apple's Rendezvous/Bonjour/Zeroconf technology, it is easy to install and it gets the packages over the internet if there is no other apt-zeroconf in the LAN.

See also
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=796883
and
http://trac.phidev.org/trac/wiki/AptZeroconf

gazilla wrote on the 19 May 08 at 08:11
As po3ts suggested 2 months ago, use apt-proxy. This is precisely the purpose of apt-proxy. You run it on one PC, point your sources.list on that machine to localhost, and all the other PCs to it. The first time each package is requested apt-proxy fetches it and caches it for future requests. I maintain 10 instances of Ubuntu on my LAN, all slightly different. Apt-proxy saves me heaps of bandwidth.

Had a look at apt-zeroconf. Seems promising, except for known issue #64 Apt-Zeroconf not working on Ubuntu Hardy. :-(

This idea should be flagged as "Already implemented".


Mishtal wrote on the 11 Jul 08 at 13:51
Take a look @ http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/7792/
Using BitTorrent to download package updates and installs. Saves bandwidth for multiple machines on a single network, contributes back to the community.

skip wrote on the 6 Aug 08 at 09:00
I saw an install from torrent idea. It would solve this problem somehow.
(torrent in local is super fast)


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