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Beginner Guide to BitTorrent
This is a BEGINNER guide, aka read this if you have NO idea what BitTorrent is, or what it does. There are more technical guides out there, but this is for those who are not very tech savvy.
Table of Contents
1.What is BitTorrent?
2.How does it work, exactly?
3.What's a tracker?
4.How do I download something?
5.What are ratios, and why should I worry about them?
6.What clients are available for me to use?
7.Defining "connect-able" or "clever" (SOLVES 90% OF UPLOAD ISSUES)
8.End Notes
1.What is BitTorrent?
Let's look to our trusty Wikipedia and what it has to say on BitTorrent...
BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P) communications protocol. BitTorrent is a method of distributing large amounts of data widely without the original distributor incurring the entire costs of hardware, hosting and bandwidth resources.
Wow, that is a mouthful...let me try and paraphrase this in laymen's terms...
BitTorrent is a type of P2P protocol which people can use to send and receive large files without putting too much pressure on a particular server.
Much easier, right? BitTorrent is a medium between people who want to share data with each other, whether it be music, a program, or the latest update on a game. It also saves space and bandwidth for site owners who don't want to put so much on their server. You use a BitTorrent client (program) which connects to a tracker (explained later), which then lets you connect to other people and get the data you need.
2. But how does it work, exactly?
BitTorrent really isn't that complicated once you see how it works, but we'll start out simple. First, we need to define a few terms.
If you have downloaded the ENTIRE torrent to your PC, or if you were the person originally uploaded it, then you are a seeder. If you are still downloading any part of it, you are a leecher. All of the leechers and seeders together make up the swarm.
Data is transferred from the seeders to the leechers, as shown here...
As you can see, the seeders are sending what they have to the leechers...they aren't sending anything to each other though, since they finished the torrent.
But wait, there's more! In order to make the downloading/uploading way more efficient and quicker, leechers also send data to each other to finish everything faster than just the seeders sending data.
Let's say for example, you're downloading an album, and so is Bob. Both you and Bob are getting data from seeders, but not at the same rate. Bob gets Song 5, but doesn't have Song 4. You have Song 4 but not Song 5...so you send it to each other! Everyone is working together to get the download done.
So yeah, not that complicated, right?
3. What's this tracker I keep hearing about?
Well, obviously people don't just randomly connect to each other computer wise, right? They need something to start the process. The tracker acts both as a "door" of sorts to other people and as a bouncer at the same time. In those pictures, you could almost think of that black line seperating the seeders and leechers as the tracker, in a way.
Trackers do more than help people connect, though. Many trackers nowadays are equipped with anti-cheating systems that kick people trying to fake downloading/uploading in a swarm " - they also find and detect people who are trying to send bad (and possibly malicious) data to other people.
You see, in order to connect to a tracker you need a .torrent file. The .torrent file contains, in a way, exactly what should be on that torrent. If a peer tries to send bad or false data to the tracker or other peers, they get cut off.
So trackers are a good thing!
Q. But what data are they getting about me personally?
A. Well, a tracker should only be getting a few things, that being your IP and your upload/download stats*. Your peers will get the same thing " - I know, it seems uncool to have your IP plastered all over a swarm, but in this case having people's IP is a good thing " - if someone is trying to send bad data and the tracker isn't catching them, you can block the IP.
*The tracker collects certain data too, like what client your using, header files, etc...but trackerlog information is pretty meaningless unless you're an admin looking for cheaters, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.
4. Alright, so how do I download something?
I know I know, you're itching to get going, I'm sure. Well, let's crack open uTorrent here...once you've got a .torrent file on your PC, double click it, and you should get something like this...
The button with the three dots (...) lets you choose where you want the downloaded file to go. Specify a location, check or uncheck what you want in the box below, and hit OK. It should start downloading right away unless something is up with the tracker..
Image has been resized, click here for fullsize.
That's it. Make sure to keep your torrent running once it's finished! If you have to ask why, read on to the next section...
5. What are ratios, and why do I care?
Remember, BitTorrent only works because there are seeders to send the data around. If everyone simply leeched and left (a "hit and run", as they say), there wouldn't be any seeders...and eventually, the torrent would die! Now we don't want that, do we?
Your ratio is the amount of data you've uploaded divided by the amount downloaded. So if you upload the exact amount you download, you have a ratio of 1.0...if you don't want to seed something forever, at least getting your ratio to 1.0 is a nice goal. That way you've gotten the chance to share something.
But, if you upload LESS than what you take, then you have a bad ratio...and in some torrent sites, the site records your ratio " - in many cases, if you have a really poor ratio, you're kicked off the site!
Remember: Sharing is caring!
6. What clients can I use for BitTorrent?
There are dozens and dozens, but in terms of Windows, my first and only choice is uTorrent. It is light on resources, easy to install, and easy to navigate. µTorrent - a (very) tiny BitTorrent client
*I do not like the person that bought uTorrent over this past year, so I have stopped upgrading once the new owner came into place. I use, and recommend, the 1.6 builds.
As for Macs, I definitely recommend Azureus. Although it can be a bit heavy since it's using Java, it's certainly one of the most stable of clients for Mac PCs. Azureus, now called Vuze : Bittorrent Client
12/21/08 Edit: Heh, you can tell how dated this is. Transmission is also a good client to use for Mac, from what I hear. I don't know, don't have a mac
Before you choose a client, do your research! Some websites BAN certain clients, and you can get your account killed for using a banned client! But most of, if not all sites , will allow uTorrent or Azureus, so your best bet is probably with one of those.
7. What is "connectable" or "clever", and why do I need to be...?
Okay, so you may have noticed that you aren't connecting to many people...or that you belong to a site where they list you as unconnectable or "Not clever". But what does this mean?
Let's pretend you and your friend are on two sides of a door. Your friend has a key, but you don't. You might be able to open the door, but it would require a lot of banging and attention to get your friend to know to do so.
Now, let's say neither of you have a key. How can you open the door? Exactly, you can't.
Basically, when you aren't connectable, you are unable to receive requests to connect to peers. You can send out some, and hope that connectable people there accept it. But if no one in the swarm is connectable...how are
Take a look at PortForward.com - Free Help Setting up Your Router or Firewall and it's hundreds of tutorials on how to get your PC or router set up correctly if you need to.
I got this from another forum that would like to remain nameless.
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Originally Posted by Rocco
