B I T T O R R E N T

Tutorial

Part One: Background Information

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We're all familiar with the popular Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file sharing systems; the
most popular being Kazaa and the Gnutella network (Limewire, Morpheus, Bearshare).
These systems are all basically the same. You look for a file, see who's sharing
it, and connect to download. While this system is very efficient for searching for
a file, it is not so for file transferring. To be more specific, it is not
efficient for transferring large files, ie. cd-images, movies, and the like.

For example lets say I decide to share a movie which happens to be 700MB. I'm
connected to the internet through a standard DSL connection, which has a typical
upstream cap of 128 KB/s. Now, lets say you set it up so that this is the only file
shared, and there is no other internet activity present on the system. Now, along
comes a user. This user connects and begins to download the file (note: all users
are assumed to have similar DSL connections).

They get the maximum speed of 128 KB/s, as restricted by the server's upstream cap
(a server is any user with the entire file). This leads to a little over 90 minutes
of download time. Yet along comes somebody else who wants the movie. Now, each user
must split the servers upload speed, leaving each with 64 KB/s download speed and a
3 hour download time. Throw in 2 more users, and its not 32 KB/s and 6 hours. Make
it 16 users and you're looking at a full 24 hours of downloading. I've chosen this
example to illustrate the most prominent problem with most P2P file sharing
programs. You can only download a file from somebody with the complete file. You
can split your download between sources, but even if you have a 99.9999%
completion, you can't share it.

Part Two: What is Bit-Torrent?

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As with everything in this world, bit-torrent was developed with a noble purpose.
It was created to allow companies to distribute large files throughout their
systems in a much shorter amount of time than would normally be needed. How is this
done? Bit-Torrent allows anyone with a portion of a file to share that portion,
essentially allowing everyone to download from everyone else.

Part Three: Using Bit-Torrent

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The first step to using bit-torrent is to download a bit-torrent client. Many are
available, but I highly recommend Shadow's Experimental Client which is available
for download at

http://bt.degreez.net/

Now we get into general setup. I recommend creating a general bit-torrent

directory. Within this directory, create two subdirectories, labeled "Downloads"
and "Torrents". The downloads folder is self-explanatory, you'll place your
downloads in this folder. The torrents folder is where you'll place your torrent
files. What are torrent files?
Bit-torrent doesn't use a search-engine style system for finding files. Basically
you go to a site like

http://www.suprnova.organd find the file that you want. So, right-click on the link
and download the file to your "Torrents" directory. Then, simply open the file (we
choose to download the file since theses servers that host the torrents tend to go
down often). The client will load and ask you where you want to save the file. It
will then connect to a tracker, which tells it
where to connect to share the file. If you have partially downloaded the file and
are resuming, it will check the file first.

Part Four: Issues and Complaints

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I've answered more complaints about bit-torrent than I can count, so trust me, I've
heard them all. The most common complaint is a lack of speed. This can be due to
several reasons

1) Capping upload speeds.

The bit-torrent protocol is developed to prevent leeching. If you restrict your
uploading, your download will suffer also.

2) Behind a firewall
If you're behind a firewall your download speed will suffer. You can tell if your
firewall is interfereing with your download if the color of the disc in the client
is yellow. If you can control the firewall and know what you're doing, try opening
ports 6881 through 6999. This generally improves performance.

3) Tracker is down
If the tracker is down, then there is no way for the client to know where to
connect. If you run into this problem, try downloading the torrent file again.

4) Lack of downloaders
The file can't be downloaded if it doesn't exist. This is a problem that you'll
eventually run into. You'll load up a torrent file and there won't be anybody with
the entire file connected. When this happens, you'll download as much as possible.

5) Lack of attention
A lot of people restrict their upload connections to 5 or 10, to allow everyone to
get a decent speed. This may not seem like a lot, but with many people doing it, it
ends up being quite effective. Unfortunately, if you're not one of those 5 to 10,
you're outta luck until you get noticed. Remember, patience is a virtue!!!

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01. Introduction to BitTorrent:

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BitTorrent was created by Bram Cohen as a way to distribute large files around a
network. There is a lot of potential behind BitTorrent, especially for people who
need to distribute large files to Internet users. If you had a 1GB file and there
was 300 people trying to download it, it would take a lot of time to distribute
300GB of data for most people. So instead, you distribute the file in small pieces
to users who then share them around with other users until they have the full file.
After they have the full file they can continue to upload to other users to help
them also get the full file, this is known as seeding, and we will see it later. A
large commercial site could also use BitTorrent to spread updates for their
software to cut back on bandwidth costs. The speed of BitTorrent can be absolutely
amazing, with very large files transferring in a few hours. Several sites have been
setup to distribute pirated content across the Internet and as usual, groups such
as the MPAA are quick to blame the technology and not those who use it for piracy.
However, BitTorrent is not an evil creation by a rampant pirate, it was a
development by Bram to help distribute content quicker around an unreliable
network. Its use should be embraced by websites all over the world and Bram should
be praised for it.

02. Torrent Files:

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BitTorrent is not like P2P networks such as eD2K or FastTrack, you cannot make a
search for files using a BitTorrent client. Instead you go to websites that list
Torrent files. These torrent files, have information on the files you want to
download and also information on the tracker you must connect to to begin
downloading and sharing those files. The tracker is like the central server, that
keeps information on each user currently currently sharing the files, and what part
of the files they have. Once you download a Torrent files, your BitTorrent client
(eg. Bit Torrent, Bit Tornado, Azureus etc.) should launch immediately and connect
to the tracker. The tracker then connects you to Seeds and Peers who are sharing
the file and your download should start. Once you have at least one bit of the
file, you will start uploading that bit to other users who don't yet have it. So
there we see how BitTorrent is different from other P2P networks, all it needs is
the torrent file for the files (or folders) that you wish to download and share and
then it does the sharing work for you.

03. Trackers:
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Sites that list torrent files (like suprnova.org) have their trackers to handle the
downloading and sharing that the users are doing. A torrent file would have the
details on the tracker so you can only use a torrent file on the tracker it was
made for. Software exists for anybody to setup their own trackers and build their
own torrent files.

04. Seeds, Peers and Leechers:

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These three terms are very important. They all represent users who are currently
using BitTorrent to share files or folders. A Seed is a user who has 100% of the
file or folder and is currently still uploading the file to other users. Peers
generally would not have 100% of the file but are currently downloading more parts
and uploading the parts they have to other peers. However, you can also refer to
seeds as peers as some sites like to call all users of a torrent peers. Leechers is
a term often thrown around and depending on what you are using, it has many
different meanings. You could say that somebody who doesn't have 100% of a file is
currently leeching the file but the correct meaning would be somebody who is
downloading the file, but has either cracked their upload or limited it so much
they are barely uploading at all. These users are called leechers because they just
grab their files and go. They slow down the overall file transfers. As I have said
however, the term is thrown around, so if you are on a website that says there is
currently 1000 leechers using a torrent, don't immediately think it means people
who aren't uploading and are just taking from everybody without participating at
all. For sharing through BitTorrent to work successfully, there has to be at least
one active seed still using a torrent.

05. Torrent Listing Sites:

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There are many sites that list torrent files. To use these sites, all you would
have to do is click on a file listed, and it should download automatically and your
client should immediately connect to the tracker and start the downloading. Some
known sites that list torrent files are...

http://www.suprnova.org/ - (Only works with original BT client)

http://www.torrentbits.org/
http://www.torrentreactor.com/
http://www.filelist.org/ - (Requires registration and read FAQ)
http://www.lokitorrent.com/ - (Requires registration and read FAQ)

06. The importance of Uploading:

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I had to write a small bit about uploading. Uploading on BitTorrent is vital. If

you connect to a torrent that has just 3 seeds and 800 peers, then most of the
sharing will be done between peers. If you download the whole file and have
uploaded just 10% of that file and then leave, you are hurting the performance of
that torrent. This kind of usage is very bad because if a lot of people begun doing
it, then there would be very little seeds and eventually the seeds could disappear
and there may be nobody left with 100% of the file. The full file still may be
available as files are traded in small pieces, but if all users stopped uploading
as much as they downloaded, torrents life wouldn't last long and when it was fully
working, it would be very slow. Always make sure you upload as much as you download
if not more. Someone who download 700MB and uploads 700MB still in the eyes of
BitTorrent is not sharing properly. For the life of a torrent to go on for a long
time at high speeds, all users should make sure they upload at least 150% of what
they downloaded. When your torrents are done downloading keep them active until you
reach this amount, or if you need to use the files, you can stop the torrent
activity, use them (but do not alter them) and then click the same torrent again
and you would be added to the tracker as a seed and would continue uploading again.
Trackers has begun banning leechers, or keeping records of leechers as a way to
deter their behavior, if you like BitTorrent, don't try and cheat it.

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Bit-Torrent Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

01 What is BitTorrent?

BitTorrent is a content distribution system that distributes the downloads among

peer downloaders. In essence when you're downloading with BitTorrent, you are
simultaneously uploading the same file to other downloaders.

02 Where can I get BitTorrent?

You can download the official BitTorrent client at Dawnload.net. There's also an
experimental client available, which offers some more options, as well as an
"integrated" BitTorrent downloader called BT++. But for general use the original
client is more than good.

03 How do I install the client?

Installing BitTorrent couldn't be simpler. Just download the installer and run it.
There will be no icons to be seen in either Start manu or desktop. BitTorrent
associates itself with .torrent files and launches them automatically when you
download or open them.

04 Why does it take so long to start a big download?

BitTorrent allocates space for the file to be downloaded before actually starting
the download. That means that BT writes a "dummy" file that has the exact size of
the file being downloaded, just filled with zeroes.

05 The file size looks complete, but the download keeps running. Why?

See the question above. The file isn't complete until the transfer meter has
reached 100%.

06 Can I resume an interrupted download?

Yes. Just open the .torrent again either by double clicking the file on your
harddisk, if you saved it there, or clicking the link again on the web page. Then
point the download to the same exact directory you started downloading to --
BitTorrent will automatically inspect the already downloaded file and resume
downloading.

07. How can I be sure the downloaded file isn't broken?

BitTorrent checks downloaded parts using cryptographic hashing (SHA1). When the
download is complete, it is also completely verified and OK. If it isn't, then the
original file was already corrupt.

08. Why should I leave BitTorrent running after the download?

It's considered a good practice to leave BitTorrent running even after your
download is complete - if everyone closes their downloads there will be no "seeds",
or complete downloaders to download from. Please try and leave the client running
atleast until your "share ratio" is 1.0 or more, i.e. when you have uploaded
atleast as much data as you have downloaded.

09. How can I stop BitTorrent from uploading?

Some clients allow you to adjust the rate at which data is being uploaded to other
clients. However there's little point in doing this, since other BitTorrent clients
determine the amount of data you receive by the rate you upload at. If you don't
upload at all, your transfers will slow down to a crawl.
10. Is BitTorrent safe to use?

Absolutely. It only uploads the file you are downloading. It has no access to your
private files, and it doesn't expose your computer or your private data to the
outside world.

11. Where can I find .torrent files?

Try Google.

12. Does BitTorrent work through firewall or NAT?

Yes, but it works faster if other peers can connect to you. If you are able to,
open ports 6881-6890 in your firewall and/or define port forwarding from ports
6881-6890 of your NAT box to the corresponding ports on client computer running
BitTorrent.

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