|-----Original Message-----
|From: Gil Baron W0MN [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
|Sent: Monday, July 17, 2000 11:20 PM
|To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]
|Subject: RE: [newbie] UPDATE from 7.0 to 7.1 is Ridiculously SLOW
|
|
|Would it be faster if I used the SCSI CD drive (my CD-RW) as the install
|device?
Probably as the SCSI devices handle I/O via their own processor, off loading
the host.
|WHY then is it slow on update but faster on new install? The hardware does
|not change.
The update must scan the entire installed RPM database.
On my system this database is over 64 Megs in size. It is scanned for
dependancies and other associated files upon each and every software
"update".
|My slower system which has 2 IDE CDROMS is faster by far.
|My CDROM drives are not on the same cable, they are on the auxiliary IDE
|controllers. Definitely NOT on the same cable for the IDE and of course the
|SCSI is a different adapter altogether. I don't know what the
|problem is but
|that is not the answer.
|
A new install creates a new RPM database as it goes. Since prior entries do
not exist it is much faster.
The rest becomes dependant upon the speed of your system.
If installing an updated RPM (prior to the installation upgrade) causes
Linux to go off for awhile scanning the RPM database, then an upgrade is
indeed going to take hours.
It's doubtful that your "slower" system is indeed faster in a similiar
setting, rather you either have it more lightly loaded with RPM's or you
performed a clean installation on it.
Linux (rather RPM) must also scan the RPM's in the current
"installation/upgrade" directory as it goes along. Anything which ties up
the processor (I.E. IDE drive access) will adversely affect this process.
In several reported cases which I've seen, problems with the CD-ROM drives
have resulted in upgrade times of over eight hours.
Though your milage may vary.
-JMS
