[Aptitude-devel] Bug#357707: feature request: Mark packages as Download Only

[Manuel A. Fernandez Montecelo]

Control: tags -1 - moreinfo + wontfix
Control: close -1


Hi Micha,

2015-10-01 18:09 To Micha:
>Control: tags -1 + moreinfo
>
>
>Hi Micha,
>
>2006-03-19 03:57 Micha:
>>Package: aptitude
>>Version: 0.4.1
>>
>>Hello,
>>
>>I use aptitude to control a cache that is a repository (or proxy cache).
>>On a LAN of several laptops and PCs, i use aptitude with apt sources
>>pointing to a dedicated 'apt-proxy' packages server, within the LAN,
>>which delivers packages from a cache, requesting them from internet
>>sources only if necessary.
>>
>>The proxy allows fine-tuning of the versions to keep available locally,
>>and is speeding up download very much for any further than the first one.
>>It is very confortable to update different laptops this way, at LAN speed.
>>Especially if your download link is only ADSL1000, which is quite widepsread
>>nowadays in Europe.
>>
>>Another cool thing is, i can install apt-proxy on a laptop, too, and use that to do
>>updates or even installations on boxes which have no internet connection at
>>all (or maybe only modem dialup per phoneline).
>>
>>I think it would be possible to do nearly the same with a simple /var/cache/apt
>>only, configuring that as LAND repository for the other machines.
>>
>>Anyway. The problem is i have to provide all necessary packages on this laptop,
>>which menas o have top keep lots of installed which i never there.
>>I
>>i could mark packages in aptitude on the PC with the main packages server
>>as 'Download Only' then i could mark anything i ever may need, on any laptop
>>or machine to install, and then just copy the cache to a laptop (eventually running
>>apt-proxy too) when i need it anywhere else, at places with no [fast] connection.
>>
>>Another benefit is, i could do the 'slow' regular update from the internet sources
>>once at one computer, where updating laptops would always run at LAN speed.
>>It also relieves much load from the WAN link, too (this is a WLAN behind a router,
>>shaed by several parties).
>>
>>The 'download only' marker would imply that it is not installed, so it's a kind of
>>special 'update' flag, with no dependency trigger: Of course, only a previously
>>installed version would be relevant for depencency management.
>>I don't know how that could be implemented in the aptitude package database.
>>Best would be, not at all :) just add the flag and regard this when performaing
>>any update actions.
>
>Possibly I am missing something, but isn't it more practical to have a
>simple list of packages that you want to download in a text file, and
>"aptitude download"them on demand, to keep them fresh (or the same with
>apt)?
>
>Additionally, if you use /var/cache/apt/archives as download area, the
>auto-clean commands will clean older versions, and should you need to
>install them in the machine where you download them, they will be
>already there.
>
>As I said, possibly I am missing something, but I don't see the need of
>more special machinery in this case.
>
>If you need more complex solutions there are also apt-cacher,
>apt-cacher-ng, approx and probably many others to use as proxys/caches
>-- I don't have experience with them, but many people use them for
>similar use cases.

Almost 10 year old wishlist bug report, with no seconds/nobody else
interested, and not clear if the use-case is useful enough to be
implemented for more general use, and (understandably after a decade) no
reply for 2 months to clarify those questions.

Please reopen if you can provide more information.


Cheers.
-- 
Manuel A. Fernandez Montecelo <manuel.montezelo at gmail.com>