please explain bit torrent

CyberGhost

maybe i'm stupid or something but i really don't get it!

i mean i downloaded bittorrent from the main website, when i installed it, and started downloading something by DCing *.torrent it started downloading(slow) like a window in IE when you right click and "save target as", but do i resume? how do i do things like sharing? i've heard that there are 3 parts like leecher,seeder, and tracker, but how to seed? track? how does that system work?

jesus_thats_gre

I am the same, the whole things confuses the bollox out of me.

Any chance of getting a sticky going on P2P apps?

DiscoStu

seed = someone with the full file
leecher = someone downloading and has'nt yet completed the download
tracker = like the server, everyone downloading this file tells it that they are downloading. it will then send out a list of the ips of others it knows are also downloading. the bittorrent client then sets up connections between each ip it knows and downloads bits and peices off each.

BigEejit

Originally posted by DiscoStu
seed = someone with the full file
leecher = someone downloading and has'nt yet completed the download
tracker = like the server, everyone downloading this file tells it that they are downloading. it will then send out a list of the ips of others it knows are also downloading. the bittorrent client then sets up connections between each ip it knows and downloads bits and peices off each.

I'll add to that by saying you are uploading to others CONSTANTLY, to be nice to the whole community and keep the ball rolling you should upload AT LEAST as much as you download ... you become a seed when you have a full copy and stay online ... I would say a leecher is someone who limits their upload speed or closes their bittorent client BEFORE uploading as much as they downloaded.

longword

A few more bittorrent hints...

Bittorrent does not throw open the entire contents of your hard disk for sharing. There's no 'sharing directory'. Each bittorrent window operates purely and exclusively on the files described in the .torrent metafile (what you click on to start a torrent download).

Don't look at file sizes to judge how much has been downloaded. Each file in a torrent is divided into blocks, the size of the block depends on the torrent creator but it's usually a few tens of kBytes at most. The first block you download might be the last block of a given file. On the disk that will create a file the full length of what you're downloading but only that last block will have valid data.

The .torrent metafile contains a secure form of checksum for each block in the torrent. That way your client can know if it has been fed a defective block. It also allows you to resume a download at a later point by simply restarting the torrent and saving to the same file. Before it goes looking for blocks to download it will go through what has been downloaded already and figure out which blocks it has already completed.

Once your client has downloaded even one block it will make itself available to others to upload that block. Download speeds are typically lower until you've started to upload.

CyberGhost

so it has no interface like interface right? it's basicly self contained downloading programs/files, like self contained exes, the only interface you see is something that looks like IEs downloading app

but what ports does it use? is it dangerous?

how to create a torrent? i mean yea uploading a file while downloading is understandable but how to share a file that is not being downloaded? "the size of the block depends on the torrent creator" how(to do that)?

"That way your client can know if it has been fed a defective block" does it let me know that? or does it continue to download?

ok what i understood is - downloading person a leecher connects to some website(supernova fex), you choose torrent, download it, DC it, and it starts asking the tracker for ips of the sharing persons, while you download everyone who connected after you and don't have a part that you have can download from you, but once you finish download that's it no one can download from you, but you can share it somehow, i don't know how, is there a torrent creator application?

Ste-

I think the default ports are 6771-6778.
It's not dangerous so long as you have anti-virus altho I haven't heard as yet of virus across the "network".


{edit}If you would like a client with a gui look here{/edit}

CyberGhost

thanks Ste!

it's not a virus i'm worried about it's the exploits of the software that can give someone acess to my system i'm worried about

jesus_thats_gre

Do you have to install the Java Runtine Environment to use that app?

BigEejit

Originally posted by jesus_thats_gre
Do you have to install the Java Runtine Environment to use that app?

Yes.



And I mentioned in my other post in this thread that you should let your torrent upload until you at least upload as much as you downloaded ... heh .. I'm finding that kind of hard with a file I have just done now ... there are ~160 seeds and only 25 downloaders!! .. my ratio is 0.03 .. no-one is uploading off me!!..

I should note that I have a game that i am the only seed for ..its quite large and there are 47 peeps waiting for it ... :rolleyes: gonna be a long wait for em

milltown

Sorry to hop on at this point but I've d/led Azareus, created a couple of torrent files, connected to irc through Azareus.

Now what?

How do I find/search for files? How do I see who else is sharing what? How do they see me?

Bring back Napster!

ixoy

Well the best place to find torrents is through sites. Do a Google on it and you'll find a list of sites. There's one in particular (which I don't want to link to) that has all the latest games, albums, movies, and tv shows. FWIW I only use it for the latter because I can't wait for Sky One

Dasilva94

Originally posted by Ste-
I think the default ports are 6771-6778.
It's not dangerous so long as you have anti-virus altho I haven't

With azureus the ports to be forwarded to the router are 6881 to 6889. If you don't forward them your download speed will be restricted.

Originally posted by milltown
Sorry to hop on at this point but I've d/led Azareus, created a couple of torrent files, connected to irc through Azareus.

Now what?

How do I find/search for files? How do I see who else is sharing what? How do they see me?

Google for the word 'suprnova', that should give you a site from which you can download torrent files. Load these into azureus or whatever BT client you're using and away you go.