From: Shawn Walker [[email protected]]
>pkg(5) optimises for update performance over initial install
>performance.  I have no doubt that the retrieval of single archive
>package files is superior for initial installs.

Personally, I count "installing additional packages, after initial OS install", 
as "updates" also.

Lately, especially with the new so-called "fast lookup database", seems like 
pkg's update performance isnt so great in that area either.
after running "pkg install image/gnuplot" on an x4100 with S11.1, Here are some 
timing results:

time  pkg uninstall image/gnuplot
real    0m20.940s

And then reinstalling JUST that package, with no dependencies needed any more:
time  pkg install image/gnuplot
real    0m20:340s

In contrast, doing an install of gnuplot on  "Oracle Linux"(aka redhat) on an 
ultra 20:
# time yum install gnuplot
real    0m16.513s
# time yum remove gnuplot
real    0m5.707s


In the real world, it seems like IPS's approach of "deal with individual files 
instead of full package tarballs", is a lot like HTTP pipelining.  A great idea 
in theory, but providing little to no benefit most of the time, and sometimes 
making things even slower. very noticably slower.


"well, the environment isnt tuned right" isnt an acceptable reply to this, btw. 
A robust OS should not require OracleDB level tuning skills to run well. It 
should tune itself to gracefully handle non-optimal deployments. That's sort of 
the definition of robust.
I didnt have to do any "tuning" to the redhat/oraclelinux box.


Even in your original case, where you may have been arguing about an existing 
package, getting a revision update:
If packages are suitably granular, then even for pathelogical cases of "1 file 
in 100 has been changed", the speed difference between the two approaches isnt 
going to be bad, with high speed internet

However, for the *common* case, where lots of files out of 100 have been 
touched... downloading a single packaged update would seem to be pretty 
efficient in theory. Opening a single connection, and then getting max 
throughput out of it, instead of having to use 20 connections to attempt to get 
over the latency problems of requesting 50 separate files, merely to update 
*one* package.

You guys seem to be happy with IPS's performance in some kind of synthetic 
tests you are running. Unfortunately, when it comes to real world usage, the 
actual performance is lacking.
Are you going to stick to your "tests", or are you going to do something about 
it?

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