Approx is a caching proxy server for

Debian Debian (), also known as Debian GNU/Linux, is a Linux distribution composed of free and open-source software, developed by the community-supported Debian Project, which was established by Ian Murdock on August 16, 1993. The first version of D ...

archive files. It is an

HTTP The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is an application layer protocol in the Internet protocol suite model for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems. HTTP is the foundation of data communication for the World Wide Web, ...

-based proxy server for Debian-style package archives. It fetches files from remote repositories on demand, and caches them for local use.

Memory and time saver

Approx can save time and

network bandwidth In computing, bandwidth is the maximum rate of data transfer across a given path. Bandwidth may be characterized as network bandwidth, data bandwidth, or digital bandwidth. This definition of ''bandwidth'' is in contrast to the field of signal p ...

if .deb packages need to be installed or upgraded for a number of machines on a

local network A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that interconnects computers within a limited area such as a residence, school, laboratory, university campus or office building. By contrast, a wide area network (WAN) not only covers a larger ...

. Each package is downloaded from a remote site only once, regardless of how many local clients install it. The approx cache typically requires a few

gigabyte The gigabyte () is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. The prefix ''giga'' means 109 in the International System of Units (SI). Therefore, one gigabyte is one billion bytes. The unit symbol for the gigabyte is GB. This defini ...

s of disk space.

Administration

Approx can simplify the

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...

of client machines; repository locations need only be changed in approx's

configuration file In computing, configuration files (commonly known simply as config files) are computer file, files used to configure the Parameter (computer programming), parameters and Initialization (programming), initial settings for some computer programs. T ...

, not in every client's /etc/apt/sources.list file.

Apt-proxy replacement

Approx can be used as a replacement for apt-proxy, with no need to modify clients' /etc/apt/sources.list files, or as an alternative to apt-cacher."Debian site: http://packages.debian.org/sid/approx

References

Debian {{software-stub