mirror sites

when i download some files, i am sometimes given the option to select a mirror site. cud someone enlighten me as to what are the factors which affect the download speed i get (if any) eg. proximity etc ?

[Charley]

Mirror sites are useful when the original site generates too much traffic for a single server to support.

It also increase the speed of files or Web sites that can be accessed[ which means users can download files more quickly from a server that is closer to them ]

[hack expert]

well as u get a mirror nearby u the ping time reduces which is actually good but it is not very excellent mebbe it`ll shave of a few minutes or mebbe seconds of a download if u do it from a nearby mirror site

also u can go for mirrors if the server is giving high ping time or is slow or full

[cvvikram]

A mirror is as fallows-

A mirror in computing is a direct copy of a data set. On the Internet, a mirror site is an exact copy of another Internet site (often a web site).Mirror sites are most commonly used to provide multiple sources of the same information, and are of particular value as a way of providing reliable access to large downloads.Mirroring is a one-way operation whereas file synchronization is two-way.

[valtea]

how are they operated, i mean suppose i want to make a mirroe site for my portal (using php and mysql database) do i have to update both the sites everytime i need to update my site. Is there any way to automatically synchronise is i update any of them