Difference between Torrent and BitTorrent
Actually, there is no difference between BitTorrent and torrent. The name of this technology is BitTorrent. Later it became popularly known as torrent. People often use both torrent and BitTorrent interchangeably.
What is Torrent and How it Works
Now, we see what is torrent or BitTorrent. If you are not well versed with network terminologies, the simplest answer is,
In peer to peer networking there is no central dedicated server that hosts the file. Torrents work by downloading small bits of files from many different web sources at the same time. Suppose n persons has a file with them, a person want to get this file and some of the n persons are ready to send it to him, he will receive the file from them as small chunks (bits). No one has to send the whole file to him. He gets the files as small-small chunks and all these chunks are not received from the same person. Whoever willing can share a part of the file (needed by the person). Here all these persons are peers.
Torrent or BitTorrent is a way of file sharing over internet, especially for large files.And if you think you know something about networking, it can be defined this way:
BitTorrent is a protocol that enables of peer-to-peer file sharing that is used to distribute large amounts of data over the Internet.Now you may ask, 'how is it different from direct downloads (just like a download from rapidshare, mediafire etc)'. Another question is, 'what is peer-to-peer file sharing'. We will now find answers for these questions. The Basic difference of BitTorrent file sharing technology from direct downloading will be clear from next sentences. In direct downloading, a server hosts the file. All those who want to download the file has to connect to this server and downloads the file from this server. Downloads from filesharing websites (like rapidshare) can only go as fast as those sites can (or want to) send data. If millions of people download the same file, the same server has to handle all these. Eventually the server may become down. To overcome this, some websites give a mirror download link also. A mirror download means downloading the exactly same file from a different location. So, they have to host it in more locations. Web hosting is a costly service especially when the files stored are too large. So, now there are more than one server to supply the file. This is a server-client file sharing technology. The servers hosts the file and we (those who download) are clients. Since it is costly to host such frequently downloaded file, instead of having dedicated central servers, peer to peer technology is used.
In peer to peer networking there is no central dedicated server that hosts the file. Torrents work by downloading small bits of files from many different web sources at the same time. Suppose n persons has a file with them, a person want to get this file and some of the n persons are ready to send it to him, he will receive the file from them as small chunks (bits). No one has to send the whole file to him. He gets the files as small-small chunks and all these chunks are not received from the same person. Whoever willing can share a part of the file (needed by the person). Here all these persons are peers.
Difference between Peers, Seeders and Leechers
Peers means people who are at same level (not someone who pees).All are equal in peer to peer technology. But, still there are some differences. That is why the terms seeders and leechers are used. The meaning of seeders and leechers will make the scenario clear. As we have already said. People are sharing (parts of) files each other.
Seeding is the process of uploading small bits (chunks) of the torrent you have already downloaded so that others trying to download the same torrent can directly get this chunk from you.There will be some people who have completed downloading a torrent and now just uploading (seeding) it for others voluntarily. They are seeders, i.e. when you are seeding a torrent, you are helping others who download the same torrent by giving them some part of what you have already downloaded.
Seeders are people who have completed downloading the torrent and are uploading/seeding to people who are downloading it.Now, Let us see what is leech and leaching. It is a derogatory word. But do not think that a leecher is always a negative person.
Leecher has dual meaning. Its most common meaning is defined as follows:
Leechers are people who are in the middle of downloading the torrent. A leecher may become a seeder after completing his download.The word is generally used to refer to any peer who is not seeding. A peer who has not completed his downloading is a leecher. But the real meaning of leeching is as follows:
Leeching means just download the file and no uploading at all.The word actually refers to a blood sucking animal. To avoid deliberate leeching, most of the Torrent clients like Utorrent, BitTorrent etc are configured to upload some part of what you have downloaded while you are downloading. i.e, at the same time you are a leecher, you uploads what you have downloaded, to others. This setting can be changed to limit uploading rate to 1kbps. Some torrent websites use leecher synonymous to peer who have not completed download.
So, in torrent downloads, there are many sources (seeders) from which you can download the same torrent.
What is Torrent Client or BitTorrent Client
A torrent client (or Bittorent client) is an application software which allows you to use torrents. It is a computer program designed for peer-to-peer file sharing using the BitTorrent protocol.You need a BitTorrent client to download or seed torrents. Many of the BitTorrent clients are open-source software. Some are just freeware and some others are adware or shareware.
In 2007, some BitTorrent clients were found to be Trojan horses that infect Windows with malware. They are: BitRoll, GetTorrent, Torrent101, µTorrent, and TorrentQ. Among of them, utorrent is very popular. Opera 12 is a web browser which supports torrent based file sharing. BitTorrent, Bitloard, Bitcomet, SymTorrent and vuze are some other examples. Free Download Manager (FDM) also supports torrent downloadig.
How to Download a Torrent
To download a torrent, you need a BitTorrent client. After you have installed a BitTorrent client, you can download as many torrents as needed. There are two methods to download a torrent.First Method to download torrent:
First, find your torrent page in internet. You may use torrent search engines like torrentz.eu, thepiratebay, kickass, toorgle etc. When you find the torrent, download the .torrent file. Then open using your BitTorrent client. it will start downloading.
Second Method to download torrent:
First, find your torrent page in internet. You may use torrent search engines as said. When you find the torrent, click the magnet link (or magnet url) for the torrent. This will launch your BitTorrent client automatically to download the torrent. Remember that not all websites provide magnetic link.
What is a .torrent File
A '.torrent file' is a file that contains metadata about files and folders included in the torrent, and a list of trackers for the torrent. A .torrent file does not contain the content to be distributed; it only contains information about the files in the torrent, such as their names, sizes, folder structure, and cryptographic hash values to verify file integrity. A BitTorrent client uses .torrent files to find the seeders for the torrent.
What is Swarm
All peers (including seeders and leechers) sharing a torrent are collectively called a swarm.
If there are 5 people leeching a torrent and 30 people seeding it, these 35 people together constitute a swarm. This swarm has 35 members.
What is a Torrent Tracker
A Torrent tracker is a special type of server which assists the communication between peers using the BitTorrent protocol. Multi-tracker torrents contain multiple trackers (address of trackers) in a single torrent file. This provides redundancy in the case that one tracker fails, the other trackers can continue to maintain the swarm for the torrent. A sample list of trackers for a multi-tracker torrent is shown below. |
| sample tracker list for a multi-tracker torrent |
How to Select Best Torrent
It is a common question that how to select a torrent to get maximum speed. To get maximum speed for a torrent, your torrent should be well seeded. And leechers should be less in number. If there are as many leechers as seeders, it is not good. Among a list of torrents for the same thing, say torrents of Ubuntu linux, you should select the one with maximum numbers of seeders and minimum leechers (some sites show peers instead of leechers). In short select torrents with maximum seeder to leecher ratio. Divide number of seeders with number of leechers. Select the torrent for which you get maximum value.
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