[plug] Mirrors - Tony

[James Elliott]

Thanks Tony

James

----- Original Message -----
From: "Anthony J. Breeds-Taurima" <tony at cantech.net.au>
To: <plug at plug.linux.org.au>
Sent: Friday, February 14, 2003 3:07 PM
Subject: Re: [plug] Mirrors


> On Fri, 14 Feb 2003, James Elliott wrote:
>
> > How do mirrors work (not the glass ones but the ones we download from)?
> >
> > I gather the major downloads are not only stored on the source server
but
> > also on "mirrors" in other countries.
> >
> > 1.  Since we pay no more for Internet use if we download from within
> > Australia as distinct from overseas, why use mirrors? - what is the
> > advantage?
>
> The first reason mirroring happend was becuase there was more than one
person
> in a given institute that wanted access to something.  so It was
downloaded
> once onto the local network and everyone that wanted it got it.  It was
purely
> financial.  Now days mirroring is still driven by cost factors BUT it also
> has the huge advantage of reduceing load (CPU and Network) on the master
> servers.  Imagine the size of machine required if _all_ debian users had
to
> update from 1 server eeeek.
>
> Australia (and a few other countires) is in the ugly position of having to
> pay much more for data that comes in externally.  Hence the
mirror.aarnet.edu
> project.
>
> > 2.  Who pays for the mirror sites if the downloads are free?
>
> That depends on exactly where the data comes from.  BUT probably it is the
> first Austalian host for the data.
>
> comsider:
> 1) ftp.debian.org
> 2) ftp.au.debian.org
> 3) ftp.wa.au.debian.org  (WAIX)
>
> I want to create debian.cantech.net.au.
>
> If I mirror from site 1 I pay the cost as I'm pulling the data fom OS
> If I mirror from site 2 Then again I pay BUT less as the data is
"australian"
> If I mirror from site 3 then I get it for free :)
>
> Now, If you move up the scale ie pretend I'm now "ftp.wa.au.debian.org"
>
> If I mirror from site 1 I pay the cost as I'm pulling the data fom OS
> If I mirror from site 2 Then again I pay BUT less as the data is
"australian"
> Of course it is possible that there is a peering exchange on this level.
>
> etc etc.  So the untimat cost centre varies.
>
> HTH
>
> Note, I don't speak for any site listed here, and I have no knowledge of
> there business arrangements.
>
> Yours Tony.
>
> /*
>  * "The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the
>  * same level of thinking we were at when we created them."
>  * --Albert Einstein
>  */
>