Re: apt is killing my machine

On 2/21/08, Zach <netrek@gmail.com> wrote:

Do you know if it's expected for installing packages to take longer
the more total packages one has installed? In recent months I notice
sometimes when I install packages (sometimes one, sometimes many) the
machine will be in nearly unusable state while it read's the package
database.

Such as just happened:

enetrek:~# apt-get upgrade
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
The following packages have been kept back:
  mplayer
The following packages will be upgraded:
  linux-libc-dev
1 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 1 not upgraded.
Need to get 0B/720kB of archives.
After unpacking 32.8kB disk space will be freed.
Do you want to continue [Y/n]? Y
(Reading database ... << At this point it hung for 20 minutes!

<< It then proceeded:

316137 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to replace linux-libc-dev 2.6.22-6 (using
.../linux-libc-dev_2.6.22-6.lenny1_i386.deb) ...
Setting up linux-libc-dev (2.6.22-6.lenny1) ...
[ Rootkit Hunter version 1.3.0 ]
File updated: searched for 151 files, found 131

I'm  going to start using the time command with apt so I can get some
hard data. My xload spiked up to near the very top for this entire
time and then when apt finished it went back down to the bottom. I
don't know if it is CPU or disk IO or a combination. I wonder if I can
do anything to optimize apt so it will stop doing this?

My machine is a P3/700MHz.

Zach

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