Questions on code distribution

[Michel Deriaz <Michel.Deriaz@cui.unige.ch>]

Hello,

I am working on a research project on dependency and consistency 
management related to the distribution of large-scale open-source software.

I have a couple of short questions, that you might be able to help me with.

- How many mirror servers do you rely on for the distribution of your 
Linux distributions, and how many belong to you?
We found for instance that Mandrake depends on around 100 mirror sites, 
and none are under their control.

- How are the mirror servers organized (hierarchically (i.e., mirror x 
always downloads from mirror y), P2P, ...)?

- What is the complete size of the distribution?

- How often are mirrors updated on average (e.g., once a day, variable)?

- How much time can elapse between the moment you publish a new version 
to the moment all mirror servers are up-to-date?

- How do you assure the compatibility between the different packages?

Thank you very much in advance for taking the time to answer my questions.

Best regards.

Michel Deriaz,
University of Geneva