What is a magnet link?
Magnet links aim to be a sort of link that can be used independently of the p2p network, hashing algorithm or file-sharing program being used — they aren’t even limited to be used together with p2p at all. More informations about them can be found at the Magnet-URI Project. Since magnet links may contain any type of hash, not all magnet links can be used by all programs. For files located on the Gnutella and Gnutella2 networks, they typically use the SHA1 hash. For files on the eDonkey2000 network, they use a hash commonly referred to as CMD4 or ed2k-hash. Shareaza understands either type of those links. Magnet links can also contain more than one hash, which makes it easy to create links that are usable by a wide range of applications and networks. Magnet links always start with the string “magnet:?”. Creating and Using Magnet Links.
Azureus magnet links are a new way of linking torrent files. Instead of downloading the torrent from a webserver, you download it directly from a seed/leecher. The biggest advantage is that you might be able to download the content of the torrent, even if the tracker is down or closed for registration. You need the latest version of the Azureus client with DHT enabled (open your UDP port) to use this feature.
Azureus magnet links are a new way of linking torrent files. Instead of downloading the torrent from a webserver, you get it directly from a seeder/leecher. The biggest advantage is that you might be able to download the content of the torrent, even if the tracker is down or closed for registration. You need the latest version of the Azureus client with DHT enabled (open your UDP port) to use this feature.
