# Portsnap from slow connections



## Miklos (Feb 26, 2015)

I have a bunch of FreeBSD servers and VMs in different locations around the developing world, common for all of them is that running portsnap is a chore and the bandwidth available is very low.

I've tried setting up a squid specifically for portsnap (and freebsd-update) that catches everything and stores is for an extended period of time but it doesn't work, only if the portsnap commands are run close to each other are there hits in the squid but start it a few minutes after and there are no hits at all.

Are there no other way than a proxy to have a local portsnap and freebsd-update mirror? Unfortunately bandwidth aren't readily available everywhere and is still quite expensive in some places (~$500 USD per megabit) so just upgrading the connection isn't an option.


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## woodsb02 (Feb 26, 2015)

This guide will hope you host your own freebsd-update(8) server:
http://james-woods.github.io/freebsd-update-server.html


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## Miklos (Feb 26, 2015)

woodsb02 said:


> This guide will hope you host your own freebsd-update(8) server:
> http://james-woods.github.io/freebsd-update-server.html


Thanks, that helps a little but the main problem is portsnap - on a good day it takes 2-3 hours to update (not fresh, just update) portsnap


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## sidetone (Mar 7, 2015)

Are you using a switch instead of a hub? Also, check that the proper ethernet cables aren't patch cables or cross-over cables. An ethernet cable that runs far and doesn't have power over ethernet can also slow down internet within a house or building. A combination of these can make high speed internet perform worse than dial-up, throughout the local area network.

csup, which is obsolete now, had the option of compressing files before sending them. I'm not aware if portsnap has this option. Another thing that can be done, is create packages from ports on one computer, then distribute that to the other servers.


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## Miklos (Mar 7, 2015)

No, as I wrote they are in emerging markets where network quality is 15 years behind.


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## sidetone (Mar 7, 2015)

I got that. My point was, those things on the hardware level can affect performance significantly, and that is important especially on a slow connection. Ok then.
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I'm not discouraging you from building your own server, in fact, keep trying. I just suggested to make the most out of the physical layer of your network, which can reduce performance of available resources.


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