Apt-cacher performs caching of .deb and source packages which have been downloaded by local users. It is most useful for local area networks with slow internet uplink.
When a package is requested, the cache checks whether it already has the expected version, in which case it sends the package to the user immediately. If not, it downloads the package while streaming it to the user at the same time. A local copy is then kept for use by other users.
Apt-cacher has been optimized for best utilization of network bandwith and efficiency even on slow low-memory servers. Multiple ways of installation are possible: as a stand-alone HTTP server, as a daemon executed by inetd or as a CGI program. The client machines are configured by changing APT's proxy configuration or modification of access URLs in sources.list.
The package includes utilities to clean the cache (removing obsolete package files), to generate usage reports and import existing package files. Experimental features include a simple package checksum verification framework and pre-fetching of new packages (upgrade candidates).
Apt-cacher can be used as a replacement for apt-proxy, with no need to modify clients' /etc/apt/sources.list files (and even reusing its config and cached data), or as an alternative to approx.
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