Download Acclerator

[xaero]

ok, i really need this one.. whats a good graphcal download acclerator... not download manager.. for suse 10.2? i am currently using download them all firefox extention .. but thats not very good... i need somthing to break my download files and split them up to speed up download speed...

[rcgreen]

I'm not sure if such a thing as a "download accelerator" really exists.
Your download speed depends on your bandwidth. Downloads can be slowed
if your system is misconfigured. You could research things like packet size and recieve
window etc.

[xaero]

errm... maybe somethning close to Flashget.. Something that lets you split the download files to quicken download speeds..

[techieMoe]

errm... maybe somethning close to Flashget.. Something that lets you split the download files to quicken download speeds..

What type of internet access do you have? Bandwidth size (among other things) determines how fast something downloads. Splitting a large download into smaller pieces doesn't really make your download faster, it just makes it appear that way. Overloading your connection with multiple download threads can actually cause your download speed to decrease if anything.

I agree with rcgreen, I don't believe there is such a product as a real "download accelerator".

[gogalthorp]

Yes it is a Windows scam. In theory you could have multiple connections to the internet and split downloads. But you would have to pay your ISP for a second connection.

[techieMoe]

To those of you who might turn this thread into a target for spam, take note that the original question is for a download accelerator application for Linux. Peddle your MS Windows wares elsewhere.

[kahoona]

Stating that download accelerators don't work is incorrect. They don't increase your bandwidth, they simply allow you to make more connections so you can either max it out or at least increase how fast you are able to download a file from a slow or speed-restricted site. For a good Linux download accelerator (a.k.a. to answer the question possed in this form), check out " Axel - lightweight command line download accelerator". Here is a site that has a write up about it. Before anyone says that download accellerators don't work, they need to try one.

Axel - lightweight command line download accelerator | tuxmachines.org

Here's the official homepage for Axel:

Wilmer.Gaast.Net - Axel

Direct download for Axel .tar.gz file:

Axel Download

Install this with these commands:

gunzip ./axel-1.0.tar.gz
tar -xvf ./axel-1.0.tar
cd axel-1.0
./configure
make
make install

This compiles the source and installs it for you.

[kahoona]

Here's a site that has a write up on how to use Axel. The openSUSE installation steps will be a little different but the usage is the same.

UnixTutorials.info - Supercharge your download using Axel and LFTP

[techieMoe]

Stating that download accelerators don't work is incorrect.

...
Before anyone says that download accellerators don't work, they need to try one.

I have tried download accelerators in the past, and they've done nothing to increase my download speeds. On one connection it actually served to slow my downloads down from all the overhead of establishing 10 different concurrent FTP connections. They *may* work in some situations for some people, but I have yet to see one work for me.

The bottom line (which you also admit to) is that the only thing that is guaranteed to make things download faster is to get a faster internet connection. I don't personally believe that the marginal (if any) gains you get from running software like this is worth the effort.

[kahoona]

BEST SOLUTION: If possible, pay around $10 more a month and get a faster connection.

Here is a quick test I did downloading a 3 MB file with "wget" and "axel". I stripped down the output to really just show the times:

a324@ehud:~> time wget http://www.*******.com/05272007.mp3
real 1m30.419s
user 0m0.012s
sys 0m0.132s
a324@ehud:~>

a324@ehud:~> time axel -n 4 http://www.*******.com/05272007.mp3
real 0m10.278s
user 0m0.004s
sys 0m0.096s
a324@ehud:~>

Take the numbers for what they're worth. Some people believe in download accelerators and some don't. If you want one, I recommend "Axel". You have to limit how many simultaneous downloads you actually start up or they do start to step on each other's toes.

techieMoe, 10 is probably too many. I've had the best luck with between 4 and 6 - in the rare instance 8. It seems to mostly depend on the speed of the remote site.

That's all I got.