Arch-delta Saves 80% Of Bandwidth On Upgrades
10 days ago
- #Rust
- #Package Management
- #Arch Linux
- Arch-delta reduces bandwidth usage by 83.97% by downloading only the differences between package versions.
- The project was initiated in 2023 as a replacement for Arch Linux's discontinued delta upgrade feature in pacman.
- Uses ddelta algorithm, which outperforms xdelta3, for generating deltas on-demand.
- Client-side recreation of packages ensures bit-exact matches, leveraging pacman's signature checks.
- Server design includes caching and concurrent processing to efficiently handle delta requests.
- Development strategies included aggressive forking of dependencies and small, manageable todo notes.
- Challenges with async programming led to considerations for a threaded solution in future iterations.
- Client features include parallel downloads, retry logic, and a responsive UI with progress tracking.
- Database deltas significantly reduce bandwidth for update checks, though this feature is less tested.
- Future improvements may focus on better compression parameter handling and memory leak fixes.