Ubuntu Tips #1:How to select the right repositories for faster update and software installations

People who are new to Ubuntu, complain that it takes a lot of time for the update files to get downloaded despite their high speed Internet connections. The slower speed is also experienced while downloading software packages. This is because they did not select the right repository mirrors to download those updates. They are downloading from the main servers, which Ubuntu sets by default. These servers may be slow because of their huge load. If you configure your package manager to download the packages from a mirror repository that is close to your location (probably, a mirror from your country) , you can download the packages at a faster rate than that from the main server.

A step-by-step procedure to choose the right mirror repository in Ubuntu:

• Open Synaptic Package Manager (System-> Administration-> Synaptic Package Manager)
  
• Select Settings->Repositories
• Now click the drop-down menu near "Download from:" in the "Ubuntu Software" tab.
• Select "Other" from the list.
• In the window that appears, select your country and click the "Select best server" button on the right side. (Take a look at the screenshot below)
  
• Now click "Choose server" button and come back to the main window Synaptic Package Manager
• Click "Reload" in the toolbar and wait for the package information to get updated.
• After completing all the above steps you will certainly experience a difference in the download speed of updates and packages.