BitTorrent (redirected from Bitorrent)

BitTorrent

A popular technology for sharing very large files over the Internet, developed by Bram Cohen and released in 2001. BitTorrent does not use a centralized server to store the files. Each downloading user becomes a source for another user who wants the same file.

Every User Shares the Load
BitTorrent breaks a file into smaller chunks and keeps track of the users who have received the file. When you download a "torrent," you are also uploading a part of the file to another user. BitTorrent balances the load on the computer, because broadband download speeds are faster than upload speeds.

BitTorrent has become widely used for transferring huge program and movie files. In 2004, one estimate placed BitTorrent as a third of all Internet traffic. Although the specific volume for BitTorrent may vary, the combination of all video file sharing along with video streaming account for a huge chunk of Internet traffic. For more information, visit www.bittorrent.com. See peer-to-peer network, Napster and KaZaA.

File swapping systems have been architected in different ways as outlined in the following illustrations:

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(networking)

BitTorrent - A popular, distributed form of peer-to-peer file sharing that enables a client program to fetch different parts of a file (a "torrent") from different sources in parallel. The system is designed to encourage users to make downloaded data available for others to upload. This is aided by a scheme for exchanging unique identifiers, commonly stored in ".torrent" files. A downloader who does not serve data to others is called a "leech". A "seed" is a computer that has a complete copy of a file, possibly the original. The bittorrent.com site claims there are over 100 million users as of 2007-03-24. Most of the data is copyright material like films or commercial software. http://www.bittorrent.com/what-is-bittorrent.