BitTorrent

What is BitTorrent?

BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer file sharing protocol used for distributing large

amounts of data. BitTorrent is one of the most common protocols for
transferring large files, and it has been estimated that it accounts for roughly
27–55% of all Internet traffic (depending on geographical location) as of
February 2009.

History:

Programmer Bram Cohen designed the protocol in April 2001 and released a
first implementation on July 2nd, 2001. It is now maintained by Cohen's
company BitTorrent, Inc. There are numerous BitTorrent clients available
for a variety of computing platforms.
Description

BitTorrent protocol allows users to distribute large amounts of data without

the heavy demands on their computers that would be needed for standard
Internet hosting. A standard host's servers can easily be brought to a halt if
high levels of simultaneous data flow are reached. The protocol works as an
alternative data distribution method that makes even small computers (e.g.
mobile phones) with low bandwidth capable of participating in large data
transfers.

First, a user playing the role of file-provider makes a file available to the
network. This first user's file is called a seed and its availability on the
network allows other users, called peers, to connect and begin to download
the seed file. As new peers connect to the network and request the same file,
their computer receives a different piece of the data from the seed. Once
multiple peers have multiple pieces of the seed, BitTorrent allows each to
become a source for that portion of the file. The effect of this is to take on a
small part of the task and relieve the initial user, distributing the file
download task among the seed and many peers. With BitTorrent, no one
computer needs to supply data in quantities which could jeopardize the task
After the file is successfully and completely downloaded by a given peer, the
peer is able to shift roles and become an additional seed, helping the
remaining peers to receive the entire file. This eventual shift from peers to
seeders determines the overall 'health' of the file (as determined by the
number of times a file is available in its complete form).

This distributed nature of BitTorrent leads to a flood like spreading of a file

throughout peers. As more peers join the swarm, the likelihood of a
successful download increases. Relative to standard Internet hosting, this
provides a significant reduction in the original distributor's hardware and
bandwidth resource costs. It also provides redundancy against system
problems, reduces dependence on the original distributor and provides a
source for the file which is generally temporary and therefore harder to trace
than when provided by the enduring availability of a host in standard file
distribution techniques.
Operation

A BitTorrent client is any program that implements the BitTorrent

protocol.Each client is capable of preparing, requesting, and transmitting any
type of computer file over a network, using the protocol. A peer is any
computer running an instance of a client.

To share a file or group of files, a peer first creates a small file called a
"torrent" (e.g. MyFile.torrent). This file contains metadata about the files to
be shared and about the tracker, the computer that coordinates the file
distribution. Peers that want to download the file must first obtain a torrent
file for it and connect to the specified tracker, which tells them from which
other peers to download the pieces of the file.
Though both ultimately transfer files over a network, a BitTorrent download
differs from a classic download (as is typical with an HTTP or FTP request,
for example) in several fundamental ways:

• BitTorrent makes many small data requests over different TCP

connections to different machines, while classic downloading is
typically made via a single TCP connection to a single machine.

• BitTorrent downloads in a random or in a "rarest-first" approach that

ensures high availability, while classic downloads are sequential.

Taken together, these differences allow BitTorrent to achieve much lower

cost to the content provider, much higher redundancy, and much greater
resistance to abuse or to "flash crowds" than regular server software.
However, this protection, theoretically, comes at a cost: downloads can take
time to rise to full speed because it may take time for enough peer
connections to be established, and it may take time for a node to receive
sufficient data to become an effective uploader.

In general, BitTorrent's non-contiguous download methods have prevented it

from supporting "progressive downloads" or "streaming playback".
However, comments made by Bram Cohen in January 2007 suggest that
suggest that streaming torrent downloads will soon be commonplace and ad
supported streaming appears to be the result of those comments.
Creating and publishing torrents

The peer distributing a data file treats the file as a number of identically
sized pieces, usually with byte sizes of a power of 2, and typically between
32 KB and 4 MB each. The peer creates a hash for each piece, using the
SHA-1 hash function, and records it in the torrent file. Pieces with sizes
greater than 512 KB will reduce the size of a torrent file for a very large
payload, but is claimed to reduce the efficiency of the protocol. When
another peer later receives a particular piece, the hash of the piece is
compared to the recorded hash to test that the piece is error-free. Peers that
provide a complete file are called seeders, and the peer providing the initial
copy is called the initial seeder.

The exact information contained in the torrent file depends on the version of
the BitTorrent protocol. By convention, the name of a torrent file has the
suffix . Torrent files have an "announce" section, which specifies the URL
of the tracker, and an "info" section, containing (suggested) names for the
files, their lengths, the piece length used, and a SHA-1 hash code for each
piece, all of which are used by clients to verify the integrity of the data they
receive.
Torrent files are typically published on websites or elsewhere, and registered
with at least one tracker. The tracker maintains lists of the clients currently
participating in the torrent. Alternatively, in a trackerless system
(decentralized tracking) every peer acts as a tracker. Azureus was the first
BitTorrent client to implement such a system through the (DHT)distributed
hash table method. An alternative and incompatible DHT system, known as
Mainline DHT, was later developed and adopted by the BitTorrent
(Mainline), µTorrent, Transmission, rTorrent, KTorrent, BitComet, and
Deluge clients.

After the DHT was adopted, a "private" flag analogous to the broadcast flag
was unofficially introduced, telling clients to restrict the use of decentralized
tracking regardless of the user's desires. The flag is intentionally placed in
the info section of the torrent so that it cannot be disabled or removed
without changing the identity of the torrent. The purpose of the flag is to
prevent torrents from being shared with clients that do not have access to the
tracker. The flag was requested for inclusion in the official specification in
August, 2008, but has not been accepted. Clients that have ignored the
private flag were banned by many trackers, discouraging the practice.
Downloading torrents and sharing files:

Users browse the web to find a torrent of interest, download it, and open it
with a BitTorrent client. The client connects to the tracker(s) specified in the
torrent file, from which it receives a list of peers currently transferring pieces
of the file(s) specified in the torrent. The client connects to those peers to
obtain the various pieces. If the swarm contains only the initial seeder, the
client connects directly to it and begins to request pieces.

Clients incorporate mechanisms to optimize their download and upload

rates; for example they download pieces in a random order to increase the
opportunity to exchange data, which is only possible if two peers have
different pieces of the file.

The effectiveness of this data exchange depends largely on the policies that
clients use to determine to whom to send data. Clients may prefer to send
data to peers that send data back to them (a tit for tat scheme), which
encourages fair trading. But strict policies often result in suboptimal
situations, such as when newly joined peers are unable to receive any data
because they don't have any pieces yet to trade themselves or when two
peers with a good connection between them do not exchange data simply
because neither of them takes the initiative. To counter these effects, the
official BitTorrent client program uses a mechanism called “optimistic
unchoking”, whereby the client reserves a portion of its available bandwidth
for sending pieces to random peers (not necessarily known good partners, so
called preferred peers) in hopes of discovering even better partners and to
ensure that newcomers get a chance to join the swarm.

The community of BitTorrent users frowns upon the practice of

disconnecting from the network immediately upon success of a file
download, and encourages remaining as another seed for as long as practical,
which may be days – especially when there are a lot of downloading peers
and when the ratio of seeders to downloading peers is low.
Implementations

• Clients:

The BitTorrent specification is free to use and many

clients are open source, so BitTorrent clients have been
created for all common operating systems using a variety
of programming languages. The official BitTorrent
client, µTorrent, Vuze, Transmission, and BitComet are
some of the most popular clients.

• Servers:

Some BitTorrent implementations such as MLDonkey

and Torrentflux are designed to run as servers. For
example, this can be used to centralize file sharing on a
single dedicated server which users share access to on the
network.
• Hosted:

Server-oriented BitTorrent implementations can also be

hosted by hosting providers at co-located facilities with
high bandwidth Internet connectivity (e.g., a datacenter)
which can provide dramatic speed benefits over using
BitTorrent from a regular home broadband connection.

• Web services:

Services such as ImageShack can download files on

BitTorrent for the user, allowing them to download the
entire file by HTTP once it is finished.
Benefits:

With BitTorrent, the original file remains intact, the download speeds are

amazing, and of course, everything is available at your fingertips for free.

Yes, these are among the myriad of reasons why it is popular today. Instead

of having to purchase a CD or DVD, downloads on BitTorrent are available

for free.

One of the main advantages of BitTorrent is that you can sample content

prior to purchasing it. This is great for both artists and users as well, who

can end up buying albums if they like them. In this way, movies and

software that live up to expectations can be tested and then bought.

Many television shows, movies, and rare music may not be available in the

market. However, you are sure to find it on a BitTorrent. There may be TV

shows that you may not have in your country yet or songs that you can buy

easily online.
Conclusion

Bittorrent is becoming popular, and many software publishers today include

torrents in their downloads section. This is because they have realized the

convenience with which files can be downloaded quickly with BitTorrent.

This is of course in addition to the increasing number of dedicated sites.

 Contents

 What is BitTorrent?

 History

 Description

 Operation

 Implementation

 Benefits

 Conclusion
 Seminar
on

Submitted To: Submitted By:

Mr.Sharma sir(H.O.D of M.C.A), Ch.Prasanna Lakshmi,

St.Mary’s P.G. Center, M.C.A III year (v sem)

Chebrolu,Guntur. Roll NO:Y9MC92006