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Re: Package distribution, a concept for a modern package distribution



Otto Wyss <otto.wyss@orpatec.ch> writes:

> Since around last October, I've considered to make my concept for a
> modern package distribution public but I wanted to wait until
> Debian/sarge was released which is now the case. And since the Debconf5
> in Helsinki is just around the corner it's about the right time.
>
> The concept is based on an LDAP server (or simiar) as a replacement for
> the Packages file and on a P2P network for package distribution (see
> http://wyodesktop.sourceforge.net/index.php?page=pkgdist.html). IMO it
> would make a lot sense if this concept is discussed at the Debconf5.

For some time now (as in around a year) you can update your Packages
files by downloading only the differences (ed script format diff) to
your local file. Using that daily updates go down from the full 3+MB
(2+Mb with bz2 now) to ~10K per day.

It is long overdue that this is added to the DAK but with it I would
hardly call the Packages/Sources file a bottleneck.

That said and from my experience with P2P software I doubt you can
design anything as efficient as the current mirror network. P2P is
good for dynamic topography and distribution, adapting to changing
bandwith, sources and downloaders on the fly. But that will never beat
a static setup such as the mirror network in efficiency.

[Efficient for the internet, not neccesarily every user. E.g. it might
be faster (you wish :) for 1000 australians to leech files from a
million US peers but an australian mirror will use 1/1000th of the
sparse Australian-US bandwith.]

> I'm not actively work on this concept and its implementation since I've
> _no_ time, sorry. If someone else is interested just say so.
>
> O. Wyss

MfG
        Goswin



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