For more than 15 years, ISOC-IL has operated a public FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) mirror at mirror.isoc.org.il. ISOC-IL contributes its infrastructure (bandwidth, storage, and CPU) to open-source distributions. Since ISOC-IL also operates the IIX (Israel Internet Exchange), local clients connected to Israeli ISPs benefit from high bandwidth, one-hop connection to the mirror service.
ISOC-IL allocates significant data center resources to ensure low-latency, high-availability access for open-source users, namely high-capacity bandwidth and multi-terabyte storage, including more than 2TB per major distribution. Over the years, our mirror infrastructure has supported various distributions including Arch Linux, Ubuntu, AlmaLinux, NetBSD, and others. Eventually, the platform’s resources became fully exhausted.
ISOC-IL has now expanded the mirror system with new hardware delivering more than double the capacity, enabling us to add additional distributions and improve overall service headroom. The first distribution to join the upgraded mirror is Rocky Linux, with additional Linux distributions and key open-source projects soon to follow.
Operating a mirror is not glamorous work, but it is foundational work. It is exactly the kind of “always-on” digital service that communities often rely on without noticing until it is missing. The Internet Society has highlighted how nonprofits and volunteer-driven communities underpin essential Internet services and public-interest resources, and why that model matters for preserving openness, accountability, and long-term public benefit.
In regions like the Middle East where mirror servers are sparse, users may be forced to rely on distant infrastructure, increasing download times, raising the likelihood of bottlenecks during peak demand, and creating avoidable single points of failure. By keeping distribution traffic closer to end users, mirrors reduce unnecessary international transit, improve performance, and add redundancy that helps services remain steady when upstream systems are under strain.
The internet community widely recognizes open-source software as increasing foundational infrastructure for economic and societal resilience, and emphasizes the importance of making real investments in the systems that deliver it. ISOC-IL’s mirror is a concrete example of that principle: a nonprofit committing ongoing operational resources so that public digital goods remain broadly accessible, supporting educators, researchers, developers, startups, and public institutions alike.