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One question that will be asked during most installs is whether or not to use a network mirror as a source for packages. In most cases the default answer should be fine, but there are some exceptions.
If you are not installing from a full CD or DVD or using a full CD/DVD image, you really should use a network mirror as otherwise you will end up with only a very minimal system. However, if you have a limited Internet connection it is best not to select the desktop task in the next step of the installation.
If you are installing from a single full CD or using a full CD image, using a network mirror is not required, but is still strongly recommended because a single CD or image contains only a fairly limited number of packages. If you have a limited Internet connection it may still be best to not select a network mirror here, but to finish the installation using only what’s available on the CD and selectively install additional packages after the installation (i.e. after you have rebooted into the new system).
If you are installing from a DVD or using a DVD image, any packages needed during the installation should be present on the first DVD. The same is true if you have scanned multiple CDs as explained in the previous section. Use of a network mirror is optional.
One advantage of adding a network mirror is that updates that have occurred since the CD/DVD set was created and have been included in a point release, will become available for installation, thus extending the life of your CD/DVD set without compromising the security or stability of the installed system.
In summary: selecting a network mirror is generally a good idea, except if you do not have a good Internet connection. If the current version of a package is available from CD/DVD, the installer will always use that. The amount of data that will be downloaded if you do select a mirror thus depends on
1. the tasks you select in the next step of the installation,
2. which packages are needed for those tasks,
3. which of those packages are present on the CDs or DVDs you have scanned, and
4. whether any updated versions of packages included on the CDs or DVDs are available from a mirror (either a regular package mirror, or a mirror for security or stable-updates).
Note that the last point means that, even if you choose not to use a network mirror, some packages may still be downloaded from the Internet if there is a security or stable-updates update available for them and those services have been configured.
6.3.5.1.3. Choosing a network mirror