BitTorrent, P2P, Tracker Seeds... -- What's It All About?
Posted: Tuesday, May 16, 2006
by Sergio D'Alesio
Film-Download-Info
Thousands of Movies are being downloaded every day and most of these are being processed by using the "BitTorrent" system,the basic principle behind BitTorrent is that users should upload at the same time as they download,thus using the bandwidth of a network an efficient manner.
The conventional method of downloading a large file from a single server to numerous clients normally means the owner of the server has to pay for excess bandwidth charges, and if the server experiences excessive demand there can be a high risk of a server crash.
However by using BitTorrent the bandwidth costs are distributed throughout the network and the risk of a single PC crashing due to excessive demand are minimal.
A good example of BitTorrent in practise is when it is used in P2P Movie Downloads, where a Movie file is downloaded to an individuals computer by transferring thousands of relatively small files that make up the Movie, from numerous other computers in the same network, while at the same time uploading files in a similar way to other users requiring missing files.
The Movie download process is initiated when a user starts a "BitTorrent" by performing a web search for the torrent file that contains specific details relating to that Movie.
A torrent file contains the data relating to the multiple files that make up a typical BitTorrent Movie file as well as the location of the master computer (tracker).
The tracker computer or server,manages communication between each individual peer and seed computer in the "swarm".
Terminology
A torrent file contains data relating to the location of files and computers in the network. Confusingly,a completed movie download is sometimes referred to as a torrent.
A seed is a peer that has a complete copy of the torrent file and is able to offer it for upload.
A peer is a member of a P2P network that you can connect to and transfer data. Usually a peer does not have the complete file, but only parts of it.
Together, all peers (including seeds) sharing a torrent are called a swarm.
A tracker is a server that keeps track of which seeds and peers are in the swarm.
For more information on Movie Downloading,P2P Networks and Copyright issues visit
Film-Download-info.com
First time Iv'e ever seen the process explained in clear understandable way.it's good that at least some people realise that not everyone is an expert, thank you,
Really Helpful, thanx
Very helpful, ive always wondered what seeds and peers were
Just got into using torrent files and that explanation helped. thanks!
yeap....tat'z a koo⌡ explanation dude...‼
ABSOLUTELY CONCISE EXCELLENT EXPLANATION! HEADS UP TO YOU!
Keep it simple. Even my mum could understand it and its taken me two weeks to get her to use Sky+. You don't want to know how long took her to program the video..
Really good. My son explained a little bit only.This makes everything so clear.
thank you so much. it was very clear and useful. iwas just wondering, is it better to have more seeds and peers? does it affect the download speed?
Note that your Internet connection will be slower when using BitTorrent, as most of your bandwidth is now taken, so it’s generally best to leave these things on overnight.
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