Bit Torrent

What is BitTorrent?

• BitTorrent is a protocol designed for transferring files.
• It is peer-to-peer in nature, as users connect to each other directly to send and receive portions of the file.
• There is a central server (called a tracker) which coordinates the action of all such peers.
• The tracker only manages connections, it does not have any knowledge of the contents of the files being distributed, and therefore a large number of users can be supported with relatively limited tracker bandwidth.
• The key philosophy of BitTorrent is that users should upload (transmit outbound) at the same time they are downloading (receiving inbound).
• In this manner, network bandwidth is utilized as efficiently as possible.
• BitTorrent is designed to work better as the number of people interested in a certain file increases, in contrast to other file transfer protocols.
• One analogy to describe this process might be to visualize a group of people sitting at a table.
• Each person at the table can both talk and listen to any other person at the table.
• These people are each trying to get a complete copy of a book.
• The most common method by which files are transferred on the Internet is the client-server model.