| Torrent is a p2p protocol used for downloading and uploading large amounts of files. It is one of the most widely used network environments for files distribution.
A torrent means a torrent meta-data file or a few files described by it and contains metadata about all the downloadable files. Meta-data files aren't stored on the torrent host site, but are spread among a few torrent trackers servers. Each torrent file leads to a trackers site, which centrally coordinates the PEER-TO-PEER transfer of data among users and keeps record of all the downloaders and distributors of the corresponding file. One tracker server can monitor concurrent downloads of several files. Clicking on a link pointing to the torrent meta-data file, a user obtains from the tracker site a list of peers presently transferring pieces of the files, with whom it is possible to establish a direct connection to exchange chunks of the file.
A file downloadable via Torrent is called a seed. A person who has the entirely downloaded file and uploads or ‘seeds' it is a Seeder. The more seeders, the better.
A leecher is a person who downloads, or leeches, the file from other people. As new leechers connect to the network and request the same file, their PC obtains a different piece of the data from the seeder. Once several peers have at their command several bits of the seed, they can become a source for that share of the file. So, the task gets disseminated among the seeder and many leechers, which relieves the original user.
As soon as the file is entirely downloaded by a given leecher, the leacher is able to become an extra seed, helping the remaining peers to obtain the full file.
The nature of Torrent allows to spread data very quickly. For a safe and quick download, pick the torrents with more seeders than leechers, and visit the comments section, if there is any. It will prevent you from downloading low quality or infected data. It should be mentioned, however, that torrent sites are less prone to viruses than P2P programs.
Make sure that you let your torrent-downloaded file seed so that you get a ratio of at least 1.0. This ratio means that you have seeded a file in exchange for the downloaded one. Some trackers keep track of the quantity of data each user uploads and downloads, and a insufficient ratio can be penalised with a bad download speed. Moreover, leaving the swarm right after violates the idea of cooperation, which is the essential principle of Torrent. |
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