BitTorrent is an open protocol for sharing large files and filesets. It's super easy to use.
BitTorrentDownloads are started just by clicking on small .torrent files or hyperlinks which are opened with your choice of
BitTorrent client. Downloaders get pieces of the fileset from the original server, and from anyone else who is downloading. The more people there are downloading the same thing, the lower the burden on the central server, and the faster everyone's downloads get, due to sharing with each other. The more, the merrier!
More resources for
users on the
downloading side:
- Some clients for Windows:
- Bram Cohen's official [BitTorrent] implementation. If you haven't tried it since the early days, you will be impressed. It has a nice GUI, distributed hash table tracking, queueing, global bandwidth adjustment, internationalization, and high performance. Open source. Runs on Windows, Mac OSX, Linux and Unix.
- Recommended: [ABC, Yet Another BitTorrent Client] - includes queuing of multiple torrents, global bandwidth adjustment, torrent creation. Based on [BitTornado], under active development.
- Recommended: [Azureus] Java-based client. Available for multiple languages and platforms. Built in tracker, the most feature rich of all the clients, everything adjustable, open source. Very powerful client, but very high CPU usage. Howto: [Creating .torrent files for bt.etree with Azureus]
- Recommended: [BitTornado], the client formerly known as [TheSHAD0W's Experimental Client] - GUI and command-line tools under active development, many useful features including bandwidth adjustment, optimized sharing arrangements, and cool stats. Based on a [previous] client.
- [XBT] - under development, for high performance with low overhead
- [TurboBT] - Windows GUI, Chinese as well as English. Reportedly goes easier on system resources.
- [LimeWire]. The newest version (4.14+) includes support for bittorrent. It's designed to be as simple as possible, and doesn't contain all the features or controls other bittorrent clients have, but will get the job done just as quickly and easily. Open source. Runs on Windows, Mac OSX, Linux and Unix.
- Some clients for Macintosh:
- Bram Cohen's official [BitTorrent] implementation. If you haven't tried it since the early days, you will be impressed. It has a nice GUI, distributed hash table tracking, queueing, global bandwidth adjustment, internationalization, and high performance. Open source. Runs on Windows, Mac OSX, Linux and Unix.
- Recommended: [Azureus] Java-based client. Available for multiple languages, and for multiple platforms (including Mac OS X). Built in tracker, the most feature rich of all the clients, everything adjustable, open source.
- [Tomato Torrent] for Mac OS X by Sarwat Khan. A Mac client based on the reference [BitTorrent] code.
- For Mac OSX, [Carrafix] can help manage bandwidth in conjunction with BT. Set the filter for all the ports BT uses (6881-6999).
- [LimeWire]. The newest version (4.14+) includes support for bittorrent. It's designed to be as simple as possible, and doesn't contain all the features or controls other bittorrent clients have, but will get the job done just as quickly and easily. Open source. Runs on Windows, Mac OSX, Linux and Unix.
- Some clients for Unix flavors:
- Bram Cohen's official [BitTorrent] implementation. If you haven't tried it since the early days, you will be impressed. It has a nice GUI, distributed hash table tracking, queueing, global bandwidth adjustment, internationalization, and high performance. Open source. Runs on Windows, Mac OSX, Linux and Unix.
- Recommended: [Azureus] Java-based client. Available for multiple languages, and for multiple platforms. Built in tracker, the most feature rich of all the clients, everything adjustable, open source.
- Recommended: [ABC, Yet Another BitTorrent Client] for Windows and Linux (as of late 2003, the Linux version is less mature but very usable; see the [ABC FAQ] for details). ABC includes queuing of multiple torrents, global bandwidth adjustment, torrent creation. New, based on Shadow Client, under active development. Currently at version 2.6.5 or higher.
- [Torrentocracy] - An RSS/Bit Torrent plugin for MythTV (the Linux based homebrew PVR project). This allows you to join bit torrent sessions from your television. Here's a screenshot of what a bt.etree.org torrent download looks like: [http://torrentocracy.com/images/screenshot-03.jpg]
- [LimeWire]. The newest version (4.14+) includes support for bittorrent. It's designed to be as simple as possible, and doesn't contain all the features or controls other bittorrent clients have, but will get the job done just as quickly and easily. Open source. Runs on Windows, Mac OSX, Linux and Unix.
Some resources for
seeders who want share by setting up .torrents that other sites will host:
- To seed, you must have some upload capability, and must be able to leave your computer on for a long stretch without crashing.
- Prepare your music fileset as directed in SeedingGuidelines and NamingStandards.
- Figure out what hosting site you will use (some are listed on the BitTorrentDownloads page). Follow their own guidelines carefully.
- Make the .torrent file. Some options:
- Follow your particular hosting site's steps to get the seed rolling.
- Publicize your TradeFriendly .torrent:
- At minimum, publicize the .torrent on the host's own site, as a courtesy.
- List your seeds on any of the Indexing sites mentioned on the BitTorrentDownloads page.
- Announce in any of the other Announcement areas mentioned on the BitTorrentDownloads page.
Some resources for
siteops, on the
server side. Ideally you should have
your own web server to begin:
- Tools:
- New- [WritTorrent] - cross-platform command line tools for manipulating .torrent files: blogging, tracker manipulation, bencode class for .net
- [zoozle german Torrents] German Bit Torrent Site
- Andrew Grumet's [BitTorrent RSS tool] is under development (Windows)
- [Trackpak] from the FileSoup community, reportedly sets everything you need up under Windows (webserver too? not sure).
- [yaBTuc] - yet another BitTorrent upload center is a system to run your own bt-upload site. It combines suprnova (trackerless) with torrentbits (user-system, extensive information about the hosted torrents) - see homepage for more information.
- Advice:
- [LimeTracker] is a PHP tracker designed to run on commodity web hosting.
- [BNBT] is a tracker program in development, with more features than the standard issue.
- Brian Dessent's FAQ (see above) has tips for everyone.
- Alasdair Macdonald's [Bit Torrent Tutorial] is based his experiences with setting up a server. See the top section(s) of his [links page] for more sites with tips.
- Hawk has a [Howto] page, with a setup specific to WinNT/2k/XP. (This is based on [Knowbuddy's] original page.
- Official site: [Documentation], [FAQ]. Various mailing lists are pointed to in that FAQ. When in doubt, read the [source, Luke!]
- [Theory.org's Wiki FAQ]
- See links in above section on seeding, too.
See also: BitTorrentDownloads, FurthurNet
Misc keywords for searches: bit torrent files downloads bit-torrent .torrent page bittorrent links .torrent files bit torrent forum bittorrent files bit torrent links bittorent music
![[http://torrentocracy.com/images/screenshot-03.jpg]](http://torrentocracy.com/images/screenshot-03.jpg){kind=link}