So... to take this further... you first figure out what your big almost never changing package versions are (they should all be the same)
root@dcerouter:/usr/pluto/deb-cache# apt-cache policy lmce-skins-uita
lmce-skins-uita:
Installed: 2.0.0.45.12080426303
Candidate: 2.0.0.45.12081126341
Version table:
2.0.0.45.12081126341 0
500 http://deb.linuxmce.org/ubuntu/ lucid/beta2 Packages
*** 2.0.0.45.12080426303 0
500 file:/usr/pluto/deb-cache/ ./ Packages
That is mine... so my installed version of all of these packages is 2.0.0.45.12080426303. Now I create a file /etc/apt/preferences and populate it with this.
Package: lmce-skins-titanium
Pin: version 2.0.0.45.12080426303*
Pin-Priority: 1000
Package: lmce-skins-uita
Pin: version 2.0.0.45.12080426303*
Pin-Priority: 1000
Package: lmce-skins-slate
Pin: version 2.0.0.45.12080426303*
Pin-Priority: 1000
Package: pluto-skins-basic
Pin: version 2.0.0.45.12080426303*
Pin-Priority: 1000
Package: mce-diskless-tools
Pin: version 2.0.0.45.12080426303*
Pin-Priority: 1000
Package: pluto-avwizard-skin-basic
Pin: version 2.0.0.45.12080426303*
Pin-Priority: 1000
Package: pluto-sample-media
Pin: version 2.0.0.45.12080426303*
Pin-Priority: 1000
and do an apt-get update.
Now my upgrade goes from:
Need to get 531MB/531MB of archives.
to:
Need to get 130MB/130MB of archives.
Quite a difference. Now if you create this file on your core, and use the global upgrades script, it will update, and upgrade the core, then move these packages to /usr/pluto/deb-cache and changes your MDs to only fetch packages from the core... so as those are the only available packages to the MD, they, by proxy, keep those versions as well... and do not download ANYTHING on their own. See
http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php/topic,12634.0.htmlThis also creates a backup of your current MDs before doing the upgrade.
This knocks down a hybrid, with 3 MDs average upgrade package downloads from 2.124 GB to 130 MB. Hope some find this useful.