[packagekit] Throttling yum backend

[Robin Norwood]

Hi,

Currently the yum backend is always throttled to "40%".  IIRC, the idea
behind this was to prevent PK from gobbling all of the user's
bandwidth.  However, that makes PK slower for *all* operations,
including interactive ones when I'm staring at the computer screen
waiting for stuff to happen.  I think the backend should only ask to
throttle for non-interactive sessions - like when the auto-updater is
running.

We could also be smarter in different ways - for instance, no
throttling for searching and other queries, 90% throttle for
download+install packages, and 40% throttle for background usage.

Also, there are two ways to approach it - either explicit throttling
for backends that support it, where the client/engine send a "Throttle
40" signal, or implicit throttling where the client/engine gives the
backend some more information about the context ('Interactive mode' or
something), and the backend decides how to handle that.

Personally, I think I like the explicit option better, since it's
simpler.

Comments?

-RN

-- 
Robin Norwood
Red Hat, Inc.

"The Sage does nothing, yet nothing remains undone."
-Lao Tzu, Te Tao Ching