Aloha, I ran across an alternative to the Redhat network up2date server. Transfer time averaged around 240kB/sec. The below link provides directions for configuring a RH8/9 up2date client to query and download updated rpms from Florida International University. I imagine there are other "free" up2date servers, but I thought that I would pass along the link. The rhn monitor does not seem to work with this server, so you will need to check for updates by launching up2date.
http://current.cs.fiu.edu/client-config/setup-rh80.html Steve A.
