Techfun

One of the nicer things about Ubuntu is that many organizations and Universities maintain Ubuntu mirrors.  This guide will walk you through testing for the fastest mirror/server and selecting that mirror as your source for updates to your Ubuntu installation.

Open the Software Sources applet by clicking System and then Administration and then Software Sources.

Reload

Software Sources

Click to the right of Download from: and select Other.

Select Best Server

Click on Select Best Server in the upper right of the window.

Checking for fastest mirror

It may take a few minutes to test all the mirrors to detemine wich is fastest for your location and ISP.

Best Server Highlighted

When the testing finishes, the fastest server will be highlighted.  Click the Choose Server button in the lower right.

Close Applet

You will now see the fastest server to the right of the Download From label.   Click Close in the lower right.

Checking For Updates

Since you have changed the Mirror, Ubuntu needs to check for updates.  Click Reload and it will check the new repository.

This process can be repeated anytime you notice that Updates are downloading slowly.  Just because one mirror is fastest today, it doesn’t mean that it will be the fastest forever.

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