We have 4 PCs connected to each other. We all download our apps through Internet which uses our Internet bandwidth. Is there a way to share downloaded softwares through network to prevent others from downloading the same thing through Internet.
We have 4 PCs connected to each other. We all download our apps through Internet which uses our Internet bandwidth. Is there a way to share downloaded softwares through network to prevent others from downloading the same thing through Internet.
From my understanding to your question, it is possible to prevent or notify users from re-downloading same apps that have been already downloaded by other users from the same local network.
There are many ways to be notified about those apps. Hereby, I can only suggest a general solution because you didn't mention or provide more details about your requirement; for example you forget to mention what OS's are running on those computers!, what things you can do and you cannot do!...etc. Thus, I'm going to suppose that you have 4 computers whose OS's are Ubuntu (maybe same assumption goes for Windows). For example I'm running Ubuntu and my room-mate has Windows 7, we have the same local network. We had the same problem as yours but we were downloading same movies twice not apps. So my room-mate asked me whether I could fix this problem and I did.
Suggestion 1:
As you might know, I had to install OpenSSH server on my Ubuntu and SSH-client in my room-mate's Windows 7, by doing that He could access ONLY the folder of movies that I gave a 777 permission JUST to check my Movies' list I had and to copy un-downloaded movies. If he found a movie he wanted to download, he would just copy the movie in his Windows 7 if he didn't find it on my movies' folder, he would have to download it (I would do the same, I would check his movies' folder...) , so he would not have to re-download them. In your case, I assume you know about OpenSSH Project. If you do, then you will easily fix your problem.
About notification :
I made a shell script including "notifylib" and a counter. The script works in this way; if any movie has been added to the list then notify me. (I could do as much conditions as I wanted in the script) that's it.
Suggestion 2:
Share a folder between you guys and name it "downloaded-apps." In this way, you and your friends will be able to check the folder for downloaded apps everytime before go downloading an application, if you want a notification in each computer then you can do it, however, you need to make a script by yourself and keep it running in each computer. All users will be notified whenever a new app has been downloaded.
I hope my explanation will help you anyhow. Those are only my suggestions and my personal way of "How-To-Solve" your problem, maybe your problem is bigger than that, maybe it is not what you wanted to do. Overall, I think you wanted to limit the monthly bandwidth.
Regards.