What is BitTorrent?
It is a protocol that runs over the internet, much like the World Wide Web. BitTorrent allows a website to offer a “seed” file for download. Each BitTorrent user who downloads that file then acts as a secondary host for it. That speeds subsequent downloads and splits the amount of bandwidth load between all users. BitTorrent’s speed and efficient use of bandwidth have therefore made it popular among people who transfer large files, particularly movie pirates. The protocol is also gaining acceptance for legitimate uses — rock band Nine Inch Nails recently distributed part of its new album over BitTorrent for free, while the CBC did the same with its Next Great Prime Minister TV show.
BitTorrent unique peer-to-peer network specification written by Bram Cohen. It requires two key elements, a tracker and download application. The download application actually works as both the client and server for a specific fileset. The tracker works just as its name implies, it basically keeps track of important download application data and statistics. The tracker acts a reference point for each download sessions physical internet address, port, and file download progress. Without the tracker the download application has no way of finding peers from which to download data from. Clients which have a completed fileset are referred to as “Seeds” or “Seeders”, they wait while other clients download from them. Clients who have no data or partial data downloaded are referred to as “Leechers”, they download from “Seeds” or other “Leechers” who have a greater completion percentage. For more information visit the creator’s website at: http://www.bitconjurer.org/BitTorrent/. A great FAQ can
BitTorrent is the global standard for delivering high-quality files over the Internet. With an installed base of over 160 million clients worldwide, BitTorrent technology has turned conventional distribution economics on its head. The more popular a large video, audio or software file, the faster and cheaper it can be transferred with BitTorrent. The result is a better digital entertainment experience for everyone. BitTorrent is a protocol (a set of rules and description of how to do things) allowing you to download files quickly by allowing people downloading the file to upload (distribute) parts of it at the same time. BitTorrent is often used for distribution of very large files, very popular files and files available for free, as it is a lot cheaper, faster and more efficient to distribute files using BitTorrent than a regular download. BitTorrent 6 is a client. A ‘client’ in this case is a computer program that follows the rules of a protocol. For example, HTTP (HyperText Transfer
BitTorrent is a protocol designed for transferring files. It is peer-to-peer in nature, as users connect to each other directly to send and receive portions of the file. However, there is a central server (called a tracker) which coordinates the action of all such peers. The tracker only manages connections, it does not have any knowledge of the contents of the files being distributed, and therefore a large number of users can be supported with relatively limited tracker bandwidth. The key philosophy of BitTorrent is that users should upload (transmit outbound) at the same time they are downloading (receiving inbound.) In this manner, network bandwidth is utilized as efficiently as possible. BitTorrent is designed to work better as the number of people interested in a certain file increases, in contrast to other file transfer protocols.
