# Apt-P2P: <small>a peer-to-peer proxy for apt downloads</small>

### Goal

Similar to [DebTorrent][10], Apt-P2P will act as a proxy between apt
requests and a debian repository server, downloading any requested
files from peers (if possible), but falling back to a direct HTTP
download. Unlike DebTorrent, Apt-P2P will be simple, efficient, and
fast.

[10]: http://debtorrent.alioth.debian.org/

### Features

* Downloads from peers, increasing the available bandwidth to the 
  user
* Reduces the bandwidth requirements needed to setup a repository 
  of packages
* Seamlessly integrates with the current APT tool
* Automatically falls back to downloading from an HTTP mirror when 
  peers are not available
* Builds on other already existing tools where possible
* Fast and requires limited CPU and memory
* Will try to download any file it can find a hash for from peers
  (including Packages.bz2, Sources.gz, ...)

This software is open-source and is released at no charge under the 
terms of the [GPL v2 license][20].

[20]: http://www.opensource.org/licenses/gpl-license.php

[[FAQ]]

### Requirements

To run the full program (e.g. to actually download something):

* Python 2.4 or higher
* [Twisted][30] 2.4 or higher
  - including [Twisted Web2][40] 0.2 or higher
* [python-apt][50] 0.6.20 or higher
* An APT-based package management system (such as Debian distributions 
  have)

If you just want to run the DHT part of the program (e.g. to provide a
bootstrap node), then you only need:

* Python 2.4 or higher
* [Twisted][30] 2.4 or higher

[30]: http://twistedmatrix.com/trac/
[40]: http://twistedmatrix.com/trac/wiki/TwistedWeb2
[50]: http://packages.debian.org/unstable/python/python-apt

### Development Status

This project has seen several releases, as seen on the [source package page][55]
of the Debian project. The code is reasonably stable and bug free.

[55]: http://packages.qa.debian.org/a/apt-p2p.html

### Installing

There are detailed instructions on how to [[Install]] the Apt-P2P
program. If you have any trouble using the program, you can [email me][60],
or come and find me in the DebTorrent IRC channel
(`#debtorrent` on [OFTC][70]). If you think you've found a 
bug in the program, please let me know.

[60]: mailto:camrdale@gmail.com
[70]: http://irc.oftc.net

### The Code

The latest code for the project is currently hosted in a [Git 
repository][80]. It is publicly readable, and there are instructions
there for downloading the code. It is originally based on the
[khashmir][85] implementation of the [kademlia DHT][90]. All of the
networking is handled by the [Twisted][30] and [Twisted Web2][40]
libraries. Dealing with apt's repository files is handled by
[python-apt][50], the code for which is based on that of the
[apt-proxy program][100]. There is also a description of the
[[protocol]] available, as well as an
[api for the code](api/).

[80]: http://git.camrdale.org/?p=apt-p2p.git;a=summary
[85]: http://khashmir.sourceforge.net/
[90]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kademlia
[100]: http://apt-proxy.sourceforge.net/

### Other Documentation (all PDFs)

* The [motivation paper][110] written back when it was called apt-dht.
* An [abstract][120] for the concept behind apt-p2p, accepted to SIGCOMM 2008.
* The [poster][130] presented at SIGCOMM 2008.
* A [paper][140] accepted to INFOCOM 2009.
* The [presentation][150] for the paper, given at INFOCOM 2009.

[110]: motivation.pdf
[120]: /Resume/abstract.pdf
[130]: SigcommPoster.pdf
[140]: /Resume/apt-p2p.pdf
[150]: presentation.pdf