Slow Updates

[Giraffe]

Not a big deal, but the iVAS Updates seem to take over 2 minutes. They're on Auto, so the time isn't a problem, but occasionally I click on the blue box and see the time taken.
4.7 took about 25 - 30s for the same task.

Is this general? Don't seem to be any other effects.

[igor]

Strange, updates should be faster in 4.8, especially if the current VPS version is a bit older.
Does it happen every time? Is it an update from the previous VPS (i.e. it was updated the previous day, for example), or from an older one?

[Giraffe]

Today there have been 2 updates and, AFAIK, no breaks recently.

This morning was 2'24" (but I didn't notice the size of the download) and just now 1'23" for about 3.6kB.
The download is quick anyway - a 40kB file would be about 2".

[Giraffe]

Latest update:

Information about current update:
Total time: 2:11

- Vps: Updated
  (previous version: 080415-1, updated version: 080416-0)

Server: www2.avast.com (195.47.75.56)
Downloaded files: 5 (58.04 KB)
Download time: 2 s

So download time is negligible but the total time is about 105 sec. longer than before!

[alanrf]

Different systems ... different results.

[avatar2005]

AFAIK, this parameter is also depends on overall connection speed

[alanrf]

Just another statistic.  On my 8 year old 1GHz uniprocessor system the total time for the same update as above was 50 seconds.

Let me add a thought that may mask what is going on. In "the old days" folks frequently complained that the antivirus update processing by avast made their systems extremely sluggish. Since then avast has made changes.   

While performing the CPU intensive update of the main avast database from the incremental download avast does its best not to cause CPU utilization to exceed 30%.  That means avast will delay itself if other functions in your system are consuming CPU resources that push the CPU utilization above 30%.

I am not sure at the time you are looking at these statistics.  However, if this was at startup when every function on your system seems to think its startup and checking for updates is the most important task to occur in your system then it is likely that avast is kindly stepping aside to allow other functions to get the CPU time they are demanding.  This results in prolonging the time that avast eventually reports for the update especially in a single processor environment.

[alanrf]

AFAIK, this parameter is also depends on overall connection speed

This is one case where connection speed has nothing to do with it.  The avast download time is trivial - the issue is the CPU intensive update of the main database.

[Giraffe]

Yes Alan, different systems, but Avast is the only thing that's changed.
Your screen-shot is typical of what I was getting with 4.7 and I thought that was a bit slow!

If Avast now no longer hogs the CPU and the boxen don't keep jumping to the front (damned nuisance, that), then OK.

As I say, not of great importance but just a very noticeable difference.

[psw]

Probably it is not so simple. For example for my Q6600, 4G memory (4 cores, so not CPU utilization issue, no memory issue), but rather slow dial-up connection.
Info from the log concerning the latest VPS update:
--
09:48:57 min/gen  Started: 16.04.2008, 09:48:57
09:48:57 min/gen  Running setup_av_pro-49a (1178)
...
09:48:59 vrb/pkg  IsFullOkay: jrog-36.vpu - is okay
09:49:02 nrm/int  Used server: http://www2.avast.com/beta
09:49:02 min/fil  GetFileWithRetry: vps-8041600-8041500.vpu downloaded  and verified
09:49:02 nrm/pkg  DldPackage: H:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\Setup\vps-8041600-8041500.vpu, returned 0x00000000
09:49:03 vrb/pkg  PerformDiff: Ok
09:49:15 vrb/pkg  DeleteObsoletePackages: Removed vps-8041500.vpu
09:49:15 nrm/int  Used server: http://www2.avast.com/beta
09:49:15 min/fil  GetFileWithRetry: vpsm-8041600.vpu downloaded  and verified
09:49:15 nrm/pkg  DldPackage: H:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\Setup\vpsm-8041600.vpu, returned 0x00000000
09:49:15 vrb/pkg  DeleteObsoletePackages: Removed vpsm-8041501.vpu
09:49:29 min/pkg  vps: needs to be updated [8041600]
...
09:49:30 min/gen  Return code: 0x20000000 [Something done]
09:49:30 min/gen  Stopped: 16.04.2008, 09:49:30

09:49:30 min/gen  Started: 16.04.2008, 09:49:30
09:49:30 min/gen  Running setup_av_pro-49a (1178)
...
09:49:30 vrb/pkg  FilterOutExistingFiles: 160 & 160 = 0
09:49:31 vrb/pkg  IsFullOkay: vps-8041600.vpu - is okay
09:49:31 vrb/pkg  IsFullOkay: vpsm-8041600.vpu - is okay
09:49:31 vrb/pkg  ArePartsInstallable: 1
09:49:45 min/pkg  vps: updated [8041600]
...
09:49:45 min/gen  Return code: 0x20000000 [Something done]
09:49:45 min/gen  Stopped: 16.04.2008, 09:49:45
--

[alanrf]

psw your report is not the exactly the same update.

Both Giraffe and I were reporting on the update from 080415-1 to 080416-0 while yours was 080415-0 to 080416-0.

[psw]

No, it's the same (080415-1 ->080416-0)
Update to 080415-1 I got yesterday
--
21:29:34 vrb/pkg  IsFullOkay: vps-8041500.vpu - is okay
21:29:34 vrb/pkg  IsFullOkay: vpsm-8041501.vpu - is okay
21:29:34 vrb/pkg  ArePartsInstallable: 1
21:29:48 min/pkg  vps: updated [8041501]
--

[alanrf]

You're right - my error.  That update was only about 58Kb so even on a 28.8 connection it would still take only seconds to download (assuming the avast servers are responsive - they seem a bit slow recently).

I can point you to other posts recently where the avast team discussed the CPU intensive nature of the update and that it was expected to be improved slightly in 4.8.  However from other comments I have seen I believe that has more to do with the issue of being several updates behind.

[igor]

The speedup in 4.8 is exactly in cases where the current VPS version is a few updates behind; I think (but I know only a little about this module, so I may be wrong) that things have not changed for update to the "next VPS in row".

Giraffe, can you tell us a bit more about your machine? What CPU / speed it is? Is there anything else running on background regularly? (something CPU intensive... like SETI@Home, I mean)?
Also, could you watch Task Manager during the update - how much CPU does avast.setup use?