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**claydoh** · Jan 23, 2020, 10:49 AM

The problem with choosing the fastest server is that it changes regularly, depending on user load and other factors. Today's fast server could be this evening's slowpoke.
Years ago I gave up on picking the fastest server as it was always a crapshoot, and I would have to change it most every day some times. The system seems to do a good job of getting me a consistently fast server every time I use it. I am sure it is not the same one every time.

The server as broken down by country is usually actually a pool of them, not one place, so the usual US 'server' http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ will be one of a pool of a very large number of servers, including the one you found. Many are on college and universities, but many are on both commercial and government servers, donated to the pool as a way to support the open source tools and projects that everyone uses. So seeing a company like Evowise hosting mirrors of Linux archives is not at all unusual. It is extremely common. And not only for Ubuntu, but often for many different ones. They are based out of Romania, but have offices California and Ireland , and probably have servers all over the place.

Now, when overseas, using this option is extremely useful in some places. In rural Australia, where many to most people are using mobile data for their internet, and there is a significantly smaller number of servers, finding the one that is more stable might be useful.

Never used Mint much, and of course never used their server thingy. Heck, I haven't used Ubuntu's Software Sources tool in a number of years, other than my three month trip down under. Even then, my speed was more an issue of how many people were online at the same time, as there is only one cell tower where I was.

**Nasty7** · Jan 23, 2020, 11:21 AM

They seem pretty consistent in Mint as to which is the fastest, evowise can is the fastest every time I look. And I think the server I was using in Mint has a different address than this one, but both were evowise. They also tell you the speeds for each in Mint, and they are consistent, nice feature. The evowise CAN that I'd used before was real fast, but once and while would produce Errors, due to some Key Signing issue I think. So I changed to a local server from the state I'm in and all seems stable so far, a local university, I looked it up.

I don't even see the us.archive that you posted? that's weird in itself!

I guess Discover just don't have this capability right? I cannot find it if it does. I would think this would be built into the system, at least for me in Mint is a super nice feature.

Thanks for the insight, I really would like to at least be able to run Kubuntu well enough for my personal uses and to help others!

**Don B. Cilly** · Jan 23, 2020, 11:30 AM

I use the default (unspecified - in Muon) server from Spain.
Specified by my CLI updates as es.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu

I tried the "best server" search in Muon and... it gave me ny.mirrors.evowise.com as fastest-pinging

Thing is, when I update, I get 100 MB of stuff in less than 10 seconds.
I updated just now...
Fetched 186 MB in 18s (10.4 MB/s)

Compared to what it takes to unpack the stuff and install it... it's rather irrelevant.

**Nasty7** · Jan 23, 2020, 01:03 PM

I can't believe you are getting the same server as I here in the States!

Irrelevant? Not to me, it's a matter of choice, and if I can look at a list of the fastest to slowest and choose which on I want that gives me 'Choice'! It's got nothing to do with the Fastest on the list, but more to do with being presented my options. The Canadian evowise was twice as fast as most all the others on my Mint machine, who doesn't like fast?

In my case there was a decent server here close to me that seems to work okay and is a bit faster than the ubuntu one on Mint.

**Don B. Cilly** · Jan 23, 2020, 01:44 PM

Now the fastest one seems to be in SoCal. Even further away

Still, if I can get 100 MB in less than 10 seconds... honestly, I can't really be bothered with switching servers. Especially if they go as fast as my connection does.

**claydoh** · Jan 23, 2020, 01:51 PM

Originally posted by Nasty7 View Post

They seem pretty consistent in Mint as to which is the fastest, evowise can is the fastest every time I look. And I think the server I was using in Mint has a different address than this one, but both were evowise. They also tell you the speeds for each in Mint, and they are consistent, nice feature. The evowise CAN that I'd used before was real fast, but once and while would produce Errors, due to some Key Signing issue I think. So I changed to a local server from the state I'm in and all seems stable so far, a local university, I looked it up.

I don't even see the us.archive that you posted? that's weird in itself!

I guess Discover just don't have this capability right? I cannot find it if it does. I would think this would be built into the system, at least for me in Mint is a super nice feature.

Thanks for the insight, I really would like to at least be able to run Kubuntu well enough for my personal uses and to help others!

Discover uses the same Ubuntu/Debian config utility that Muon/Synaptic and Ubuntu has. Usually called Software Sources. It can be run as a standalone utility, which should show up in the Kmenu/krunner search

**claydoh** · Jan 23, 2020, 02:03 PM

And now that y'all are advertising some fast servers, they will get more use, and thus become less fast

Also, here is a semi-current list of mirrors
https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+archivemirrors

Note that all the evowise mirrors are labeled as a day behind. Which may or may not be the most up to date, depending on the country.
I am trying to see how to determine which particular mirror in the pool is being used, but not having success. Plus I am losing interest, and need to go back to work

**Don B. Cilly** · Jan 23, 2020, 02:18 PM

Originally posted by claydoh View Post

I am trying to see how to determine which particular mirror in the pool is being used, but not having success.

I probably don't understand this correctly, but doesn't sudo apt update tell you that?

**claydoh** · Jan 23, 2020, 02:46 PM

Originally posted by Don B. Cilly View Post

I probably don't understand this correctly, but doesn't sudo apt update tell you that?

No, unless you have selected a specific server.

The http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/, and any other country specific server setting, connects you to one of the mirrors in the pool for that country (see the list in my last link). It sends you to one that is both quick and up to date for each person connecting to it, as I understand it. Normal load balancing techniques. I think it prioritizes the more up to date mirrors over speed, so you are sent to the fastest mirror of those that are the most up to date.

**Don B. Cilly** · Jan 23, 2020, 03:35 PM

Ah. But then the sudo apt full-upgrade bit does?
As in like:
Get:1 http://es.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-updates/main i386 libgnutls30 i386 3.5.18-1ubuntu1.3 [660 kB]
tells you it's actually getting it from es.archive.ubuntu.com?

**jglen490** · Jan 23, 2020, 03:40 PM

Which is what apt used to update your package list - but didn't tell you about

**Nasty7** · Jan 23, 2020, 03:43 PM

Good stuff claydoh, thanks very much!

Losing interest! no no, say it isn't so

I really like knowing these things!

I wonder why we don't see all those other mirrors, that are up to date and really fast

The US has a few that are towards the top, so my next question is how to add that to my sources? Can that be done by adding it to the sources list?

**claydoh** · Jan 23, 2020, 04:10 PM

Originally posted by Nasty7 View Post

Good stuff claydoh, thanks very much!

Losing interest! no no, say it isn't so

I really like knowing these things!

I wonder why we don't see all those other mirrors, that are up to date and really fast

The US has a few that are towards the top, so my next question is how to add that to my sources? Can that be done by adding it to the sources list?

Unnecessary.
Assuming that the list in the link is accurate (it may not be), it is the same list you see in the Software Sources tool you used. Using the standard country-based repo url (such as http://us.archive.ubuntu.com) you are routed to an up to date mirror that is the fastest at any particular moment for you.

It is sort of doing the same thing you did to find your fastest server, very much like any large web destination does for you. Think of something like Amazon.com. One url, one ip address but in reality computers or devices at that location are sending traffic to one of many different computers.

Of course you get the option to choose your own destination if desired. The list in the config tool is the most up to date set of mirrors.

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