Arch Linux

p_schott

Member

Registered: 2006-11-23

Posts: 54

pacman rankmirrors

At every pacman upgrade I get this :

>>> PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING!
>>> Use of the new rankmirrors script on your /etc/pacman.d/ files is
>>> highly recommended. Python is required, and read rankmirrors --help
>>> for details. In addition, mirrors are now listed by country, so
>>> move those that are geographically close to you to the top and
>>> remove the others BEFORE running rankmirrors.

but I don't understand what I shall do. I tried

rankmirrors /etc/pacman.d/current

but it didn't help.
I didn't find any help in the wiki. Can someone clarify this point ?

lucke

Member

From: Poland

Registered: 2004-11-30

Posts: 4,018

Re: pacman rankmirrors

If you have your servers properly set up, just ignore that message.

ozar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2005-02-18

Posts: 1,686

Re: pacman rankmirrors

I tried

rankmirrors /etc/pacman.d/current

but it didn't help.
I didn't find any help in the wiki. Can someone clarify this point ?

What do you mean it didn't help?  Did you get errors?  What messages if any did rankmirrors throw?

It's working fine here.

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oz

p_schott

Member

Registered: 2006-11-23

Posts: 54

Re: pacman rankmirrors

What do you mean it didn't help?  Did you get errors?  What messages if any did rankmirrors throw?
It's working fine here.

I mean that I still obtain the message about rankmirrors when I upgrade pacman.
"rankmirrors /etc/pacman.d/current" output some commented lines like "#United States" and I have to type ctrl-C to exit.
Excepted this recurrent message, everything seems to work flawlessly, it is just that I would like to understand, obviously there are some basis that I am missing.

ozar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2005-02-18

Posts: 1,686

Re: pacman rankmirrors

I mean that I still obtain the message about rankmirrors when I upgrade pacman.
"rankmirrors /etc/pacman.d/current" output some commented lines like "#United States" and I have to type ctrl-C to exit.
Excepted this recurrent message, everything seems to work flawlessly, it is just that I would like to understand, obviously there are some basis that I am missing.

Yeah, I get that too, but I'm pretty sure that's normal behavior.  It's put there so that anyone downloading pacman that's not already familiar with it will know how to properly setup their mirrors list.

There are a number of other packages in the repos that give the same kind of informational notices each time, when upgraded.  I simply ignore them.

Maybe someone will correct me if the messages aren't supposed to be there.

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oz

Magician21

Member

Registered: 2007-03-23

Posts: 45

Re: pacman rankmirrors

Maybe I'm missing the point of what you're asking, or I don't know how to use the tool properly, but...

When I run rankmirrors, I use the -v option.  This shows me the score for each mirror that it queries.  Once the script has gone through the mirrors in North America (my area of interest), I CTRL-C the program and hand-modify the repository file to make the best mirror be first.

Hope this helps.

If I'm using the script wrongly, anyone who can correct me is welcome to do so.

HydroDiOxide

Member

Registered: 2007-10-06

Posts: 103

Re: pacman rankmirrors

Sorry about the kick.

I was wondering about this as well. Does the script generate a serverlist somewhere that pacman checks, or should I use the info to manually edit the files in /etc/pacman.d (or /etc/pacman.conf).

Also, if I have to do it manually, what would be the bash command for backing up the repository and saving the output to a new file?
Something like

cat rankmirrors /etc/pacman.d/core > /etc/pacman.d/core

but with the option that the original file gets saved to something like core.bak.

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"Overspecialize and you breed in weakness..." Major Motoko Kusanagi

tlaloc

Member

From: Lower Saxony

Registered: 2006-05-12

Posts: 359

Re: pacman rankmirrors

It is a simple python-script, and the output just shows you which server responds most quickly from your place (NOTE: This server may not be the best for you, as they all sync at different rates - you gain nothing with a quick-responding, but out-of-date mirror).

It just helps you to pick a good mirror. You will have to grant priority to that particular mirror in /etc/pacman.d. Please use ONE mirror for any official repos you have enabled.

PS: You may safely delete all mirrors in the default-lists which are not from your own continent.

Last edited by tlaloc (2008-01-02 21:14:09)

rson451

Member

From: Annapolis, MD USA

Registered: 2007-04-15

Posts: 1,233

Website

Re: pacman rankmirrors

Sorry about the kick.

I was wondering about this as well. Does the script generate a serverlist somewhere that pacman checks, or should I use the info to manually edit the files in /etc/pacman.d (or /etc/pacman.conf).

Also, if I have to do it manually, what would be the bash command for backing up the repository and saving the output to a new file?
Something like

cat rankmirrors /etc/pacman.d/core > /etc/pacman.d/core

but with the option that the original file gets saved to something like core.bak.

mv /etc/pacman.d/core /etc/pacman.d/core.bak && rankmirrors /etc/pacman.d/core.bak > /etc/pacman.d/core

or an alias to something similar should work fine.

Last edited by rson451 (2008-01-02 22:03:02)

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