LinuxQuestions.org
Welcome to the most active Linux Forum on the web.
Go Back   LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Software
User Name
Password
Linux - Software This forum is for Software issues.
Having a problem installing a new program? Want to know which application is best for the job? Post your question in this forum.

Notices


Reply
  Search this Thread
Old 08-30-2003, 06:22 PM   #1
rvijay
Member
 
Registered: Aug 2003
Location: Quebec, Canada
Distribution: Debian HD install of Knoppix 5.0.1
Posts: 921
Blog Entries: 24

Rep: Reputation: 64
Thumbs down Linux/GNU Software Download Speed.


Does it take a lot of time to download most GNU/Linux Software usually ? There are several small distros of Linux at ibiblio.org, however the server is so slow and a 50MB download takes like 3 hours. Moreover, it gets disconnected sometimes.

Vijay
 
Old 08-30-2003, 06:42 PM   #2
Zb7
Member
 
Registered: Jul 2003
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Distribution: Slackware 9 (current), Gentoo 1.4, Redhat shrike
Posts: 86

Rep: Reputation: 15
Have you tried looking at mirrors? There are plenty of mirrors to the GNU public FTP. Personally I always use Ibiblo and it works fine. Are all other downloads working at full speed?


I ususally use http://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/ and get fine speeds.
 
Old 08-30-2003, 06:55 PM   #3
rvijay
Member
 
Registered: Aug 2003
Location: Quebec, Canada
Distribution: Debian HD install of Knoppix 5.0.1
Posts: 921

Original Poster
Blog Entries: 24

Rep: Reputation: 64
I tried to download the Damn Small Linux as well as the llx BBC Linux from ibiblio. My Modem is 56K. For 14 to 20 MB it used to take like 20 minutes. so 50 Megs should take like 1 hour at the most. 3 hours is too much. The chances for disconnection and errors increase greatly. All mirrors for these also seem to be slow. Hence my original question.

Vijay
 
Old 08-31-2003, 01:36 AM   #4
Shade
Senior Member
 
Registered: Mar 2003
Location: Burke, VA
Distribution: RHEL, Slackware, Ubuntu, Fedora
Posts: 1,418
Blog Entries: 1

Rep: Reputation: 46
Dude... With dial up, you can't download a Meg a Minute... That's an insane speed for dial-up.. Aroud 16 KiloBytes a second -- not generally reachable with a 56K modem....

and you were saying you'd download 20 megs in 20 minutes?

I'd like to know what modem/ISP you were using, bro

-Shade
 
Old 08-31-2003, 01:37 AM   #5
Shade
Senior Member
 
Registered: Mar 2003
Location: Burke, VA
Distribution: RHEL, Slackware, Ubuntu, Fedora
Posts: 1,418
Blog Entries: 1

Rep: Reputation: 46
Adding: I'd say your speed is above average with dial-up, if anything.

3 Hours for 50 megs ain't bad with dialup

-Shade
 
Old 08-31-2003, 05:48 AM   #6
rvijay
Member
 
Registered: Aug 2003
Location: Quebec, Canada
Distribution: Debian HD install of Knoppix 5.0.1
Posts: 921

Original Poster
Blog Entries: 24

Rep: Reputation: 64
I have got excellent speeds when downloading from Zdnet. I was also using a proxy then.

Have a 56K modem, use a good proxy, and then at Zdnet you can compare/estimate the download speeds before download.

Vijay
 
Old 08-31-2003, 07:00 AM   #7
kev82
Senior Member
 
Registered: Apr 2003
Location: Lancaster, England
Distribution: Debian Etch, OS X 10.4
Posts: 1,263

Rep: Reputation: 51
a bit of simple math here should help out, a 56K modem can transfer 56 kilobits per second(theoretical maximum), assuming all of this goes on data ie no stop/parity/flow control bits and the tcp/ip headers are negligable then the maximum amount of data flow is 56 kilobits per second, there are 8 bits in a byte giving a theoretical maximum of 7 kilobytes per second which would be (50*1024)/(7*60)=121.9 minutes to download 50MB, if its compressed before it comes down the line the best ratio you can get for lossless compression is 1/2 so that gets it down to an hour but that really is absolute theoretical minimum. and isnt really achieveable in the real world. i would say about 2.5 hours is average-good for 50MB on 56K dialup
 
Old 08-31-2003, 07:13 AM   #8
rvijay
Member
 
Registered: Aug 2003
Location: Quebec, Canada
Distribution: Debian HD install of Knoppix 5.0.1
Posts: 921

Original Poster
Blog Entries: 24

Rep: Reputation: 64
Thanks for the helpful explanation. This helps to get a better picture.

An hour or an hour and a half is much bettter than 3 hours. I just wish that the server was faster. That is all. The faster it can be done, the better as less chances for error.

Vijay
 
  


Reply


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off



Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
where can i download linux software jojojo Linux - Newbie 7 05-15-2005 02:08 PM
Software to check up/download speed satimis Linux - Networking 13 01-30-2005 04:34 AM
Software to create booklets for GNU/Linux? cfw Linux - General 2 10-28-2004 04:00 AM
what is GNU/Linux Source Code tivo 5.1 software for? rjwright Linux - Software 2 12-10-2003 12:04 PM
POLL: The worst Linux GNU / GPL Software moeminhtun General 57 02-28-2003 08:15 PM

LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Software

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:34 PM.

Main Menu
Advertisement
My LQ
Write for LQ
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute content, let us know.
Main Menu
Syndicate
RSS1  Latest Threads
RSS1  LQ News
Twitter: @linuxquestions
Open Source Consulting | Domain Registration