[PLUG] Apt-proxies?

[JP Vossen <jp@jpsdomain.org>]

I am currently running 'apt-proxy' on my Debian server to cache packages 
for Debian and Ubuntu [1].  It's a great concept and it used to work 
really well, but since I upgraded to Etch apt-proxy has been really 
unstable and has required frequent re-starts to keep it mostly working. 
 That is unacceptable.

After a trivial apt-cache search I see the following:
* approx - caching proxy server for Debian archive files
* apt-cacher - caching proxy system for Debian package and source files
X apt-proxy - Debian archive proxy and partial mirror builder

I prefer to use a specialized proxy for this purpose instead of 
something like squid.  For one thing, I believe the stock quid install 
won't cache or keep larger items, which is of course exactly want I want 
to do, and I don't feel like messing with it.

A purpose-built package seems easier, and it looks like apt-cacher is a 
good bet, but I figured I'd ask for recommendations first.

TIA,
JP

[1] For anyone unfamiliar, apt-proxy is just what the name says.  It 
proxies apt-get (aptitude, etc.) and caches the packages locally so you 
only ever download a package once, no matter how many local machines 
later request it.  That saves bandwidth as well as load on the repo 
mirrors and is thus a Good Idea for anyone with more than 1 machine at a 
site.  Each client must modify their /etc/apt/sources.list file to point 
to the local proxy, which is slightly tedious, but that can be scripted 
or I just do a cut and paste from a local web server's cheat sheet.
----------------------------|:::======|-------------------------------
JP Vossen, CISSP            |:::======|        jp{at}jpsdomain{dot}org
My Account, My Opinions     |=========|      http://www.jpsdomain.org/
----------------------------|=========|-------------------------------
Microsoft has single-handedly nullified Moore's Law.
Innate design flaws of Windows make a personal firewall, anti-virus
and anti-malware software mandatory. The resulting software arms race
has effectively flattened Moore's Law on hardware running Windows.
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