Bit Torrent

October 23, 2008 at 6:39 pm (Uncategorized)

Bit Torrent

Bit Torrent is a protocol used for transferring files. It is a peer to peer (p2p) file sharing system which means that users connect directly to one another in order to transfer portions of the file. It is used to distribute large amounts of data. Bit torrent can be used to share any number of different types of files including music, games, pictures etc.

Bit torrent involves a lot of phrases that can become confusing. This is a list of definitions for some of the phrases involved in bit torrent usage.
Torrent - This refers to the metadata file that you recieve from the web server. Metadata is a file that has information about the file that you want to download but is not the actual file itself.
Peer – A peer is another computer that you connect to, to download parts of the file.
Seed – A computer that has a complete copy of a certain file.
Swarm – A group of peers who are connected as they are downloading a particular file.
Tracker – A server that coordinates the action of a bit torrent client.

How Bit Torrent Works

A file is originally distributed by one person, who we call the ’seed’. Once this file has been uploaded, users can browse the web to find the bit the torrent file that they are interested in. These users then download the torrent file and open it with a bit torrent client. The purpose of the torrent client is to connect to the torrent file and any other ‘peer’ who is using it. More than one person currently transferring pieces of the file is called a swarm. If only the seed has the file or parts of it, then the client will connect directly to that torrent file. If there is a swarm, then the client will take parts of the file from multiple peers.

How Bit Torrent Works

How Bit Torrent Works

Why Bit Torrent is Used?

The reason that bit torrent is used more often instead of the normal client-server model (where the file is taken directly from the seed and not from other peers), is because it reduces bandwidth. Because the peers are downloading from each other, as well as the seed, the bandwidth is spread out over all peers currently downloading that file. This means that you are more likely to be able to download larger files as often in the client-server model, servers were disinclined to share large files.

Examples of Bit Torrent programs: Bittorrent, SimpleBT, ABC etc.

5 Comments

  1. Ash said,

    October 23, 2008 at 9:16 pm

    Nice one Charlie, good explanation of a tricky subject..

  2. mc536gina said,

    October 24, 2008 at 8:46 am

    I kind of get it now… Thankyou. I like the picture.

  3. mc536gina said,

    October 24, 2008 at 1:31 pm

    I think you should write more about how useful they are Charlie!

  4. Adam Stewart said,

    October 24, 2008 at 1:38 pm

    Charlie, I’ve just thought why not think about Large Files + Lots of People = Simultaneously, it’s the Holy Trinity of Bit Torrent

  5. mc536alex said,

    October 29, 2008 at 1:55 pm

    I sort of understand how they work…I think! Very confusing topic, but a good explanation, I can at least see why they’re used, which is the main thing.

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