JSS ACADEMY OF

TECHNICAL
EDUCATION,NOIDA

SEMINAR ON BITTORRENT
NAME-HIMANSHI
ROLL NO.-1209113040
3RD YEAR

CERTIFICATE
This is to be certified that MS. HIMANSHI of
III Year B.TECH., VI semester of Information technology
Department, Uttar Pradesh technical University, JSS
academy of technical education, Noida has
completed seminar entitled
BITTORRENT. She has submitted he Synopsis
for the partial fulfillment of the curriculum of
the Degree of Bachelor of computer science
and Engineering from JSS academy of technical
education, Noida.

SIGNATURE

BITTORRENT
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Introduction
BitTorrent is a protocol that enables fast downloading of large files using
minimum Internet bandwidth. It costs nothing to use and includes no spyware or pop-up
advertising.
Unlike other download methods, BitTorrent maximizes transfer speed by gathering
pieces of the file you want and downloading these pieces simultaneously from people
who already have them. This process makes popular and very large files, such as videos
and television programs, download much faster than is possible with other protocols
Now we'll examine how BitTorrent works and how it is different from other filedistribution methods. In addition, you'll learn how to use BitTorrent and what the future
might hold for this innovative approach to serving files over the Internet.
BitTorrent is the name of a peer-to-peer or P2P file distribution protocol, and is
the name of a free software implementation of that protocol. The protocol was originally
designed and created by programmer Bram Cohen, and is now maintained by BitTorrent
Inc. BitTorrent is designed to distribute large amounts of data widely without incurring
the corresponding consumption in costly server and bandwidth resources. CacheLogic
suggests that BitTorrent traffic accounts for ~35% of all traffic on the Internet while other
sources are skeptical.
The original BitTorrent client was written in Python. Its source code, as of version
4.0, has been released under the BitTorrent Open Source License, which is a modified
version of the Jabber Open Source License. There are numerous compatible clients,
written in a variety of programming languages, and running on a variety of computing
platforms.

Terminology

Like most Internet phenomena, BitTorrent has its own jargon. Some of the
more common terms related to BitTorrent include:
1.

Leeches - People

who download files but do not share files on their own computer

with others
2.

Seed or seeder - A computer

with a complete copy of a BitTorrent file .At least one

seed computer is necessary for a BitTorrent download to operate.

3. Swarm - A group

of computers simultaneously sending or uploading or receiving

or downloading the same file

4.

.torrent - A pointer

file that directs your computer to the file you want to download

5. Tracker - A server that manages the BitTorrent file-transfer process

6.

leech
A leech is usually a peer who has a negative effect on the swarm by having a very
poor share ratio - in other words, downloading much more than they upload. Most
leeches are users on asymmetric internet connections and do not leave their
BitTorrent client open to seed the file after their download has completed.
However, some leeches intentionally avoid uploading by using modified clients or
excessively limiting their upload speed. The term leech, however, can be used
simply to describe a peer - or any client that does not have 100% of the data.

7.

peer
A peer is one instance of a BitTorrent client running on a computer on the Internet
to which other clients connect and transfer data. Usually a peer does not have the
complete file, but only parts of it. However, in the colloquial definition, "peer"
can be used to refer to any participant in the swarm in this case, it's synonymous
with "client.

8.

seeder

A seeder is a peer that has a complete copy of the torrent and still offers it for
upload. The more seeders there are, the better the chances are for completion of
the file.
9.

superseed
When a file is new, much time can be wasted because the seeding client

might send the same file piece to many different peers, while other pieces have not
yet been downloaded at all. Some clients, like ABC, Azureus, BitTornado,
TorrentStorm, and Torrent have a "superseed" mode, where they try to only send out
pieces that have never been sent out before, making the initial propagation of the file
much faster. This is generally used only for a new torrent, or one which must be reseeded because no other seeds are available.
10.

torrent
A torrent can mean either a .torrent metadata file or all files described by it,
depending on context. The torrent file contains metadata about all the files it
makes downloadable, including their names and sizes and checksums of all pieces
in the torrent. It also contains the address of a tracker that coordinates
communication between the peers in the swarm.

11.

tracker
A tracker is a server that keeps track of which seeds and peers are in the swarm.
Clients report information to the tracker periodically and in exchange receive
information about other clients to which they can connect. The tracker is not
directly involved in the data transfer and does not have a copy of the file.

Traditional Client-Server Downloading

To understand how BitTorrent works and why it is different from other
file-serving methods, let's examine what happens when you download a file from a Web
site. It works something like this:
1.

You open a Web page and click a link to download a file to your computer.

2.

The Web browser software on your computer or the client tells the server or a
central computer that holds the Web page and the file you want to download to
transfer a copy of the file to your computer.

3.

The transfer is handled by a protocol a set of rules, such as FTP or File Transfer
Protocol or HTTP or HyperText Transfer Protocol.

The transfer speed is affected by a number of variables, including the type of

protocol, the amount of traffic on the server and the number of other computers that are
downloading the file. If the file is both large and popular, the demands on the server are
great, and the download will be slow.

Peer-To-Peer File Sharing

Another file-transfer method that you may have heard about is called peer-to-peer
file sharing. In this process, you use a software program rather than your Web browser to
locate computers that have the file you want. Because these are ordinary computers like
yours, as opposed to servers, they are called peers. The process works like this:

1. You run peer-to-peer file-sharing software for example, a Gnutella program on

your computer and send out a request for the file you want to download.
2. To locate the file, the software queries other computers that are connected to the
Internet and running the file-sharing software.
3. When the software finds a computer that has the file you want on its hard drive,
the download begins.
4. Others using the file-sharing software can obtain files they want from your
computer's hard drive.

The file-transfer load is distributed between the computers exchanging files, but
file searches and transfers from your computer to others can cause bottlenecks. Some
people download files and immediately disconnect without allowing others to obtain files
from their system, which is called leeching. This limits the number of computers the
software can search for the requested file.

What BitTorrent Does?

Unlike some other peer-to-peer downloading methods, BitTorrent is a protocol

that offloads some of the file tracking work to a central server called a tracker. Another
difference is that it uses a principal called tit-for-tat. This means that in order to receive
files, you have to give them. This solves the problem of leeching -- one of developer
Bram Cohen's primary goals. With BitTorrent, the more files you share with others, the
faster your downloads are. Finally, to make better use of available Internet bandwidth
(the pipeline for data transmission), BitTorrent downloads different pieces of the file you
want simultaneously from multiple computers.
Here's how it works:

1. You open a Web page and click on a link for the file you want.

2. BitTorrent client software communicates with a tracker to find other computers

running BitTorrent that have the complete file (seed computers) and those with a
portion of the file (peers that are usually in the process of downloading the file).
3. The tracker identifies the swarm, which is the connected computers that have all
of or a portion of the file and are in the process of sending or receiving it.
4. The tracker helps the client software trade pieces of the file you want with other
computers in the swarm. Your computer receives multiple pieces of the file
simultaneously.
5. If you continue to run the BitTorrent client software after your download is
complete, others can receive .torrent files from your computer; your future
download rates improve because you are ranked higher in the "tit-for-tat" system.
Downloading pieces of the file at the same time helps solve a common problem with
other peer-to-peer download methods: Peers upload at a much slower rate than they
download. By downloading multiple pieces at the same time, the overall speed is greatly
improved. The more computers involved in the swarm, the faster the file transfer occurs
because there are more sources of each piece of the file. For this reason, BitTorrent is
especially useful for large, popular files.

Downloading Files with BitTorrent

To use BitTorrent for file downloads, you need to install the BitTorrent client software.
You may also need to tweak your firewall and network router (if you use these) to accept
BitTorrent files. We'll give you all the details to get started. But first, here's a synopsis of
the steps:
1. Download and install the BitTorrent client software.
2. Check and configure firewall and/or router for BitTorrent (if applicable).
3. Find files to download.

4. Download and open the .torrent pointer file.

5. Let BitTorrent give and receive pieces of the file.
6. Stay connected after the download completes to share your .torrent files with
others.

Download the BitTorrent Client Software

BitTorrent is open-source software, which means the program is available to you
and to software developers for free see What does "open source" mean?. Therefore, some
developers have created their own versions of BitTorrent software, and you can choose
from a number of client programs. Note: This article assumes you are using the official
version. If you want to experiment with different clients, To start off, go to
BitTorrent.com and click the link for the client software that matches your operating
system. After you download the client software, double-click on the desktop icon to
install it. The installation program is quick, and it displays this window when it is
complete:

You'll also see Bram Cohen's Web page, where you can send donations to support
development of BitTorrent. Mr. Cohen develops and distributes BitTorrent as open-source
software at no cost to users or other developers.
If you have a firewall installed on your computer, you will obtain faster download rates if
you configure it to have an open pathway for BitTorrent file transfers. A firewall protects
your system from intruders by disallowing unauthorized access to your computer's ports.
A port is a way for Internet communications to travel into and out of your computer. Ports
are numbered, and each communication type has a standard port number.

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BitTorrent also uses specific port numbers, normally ports 6881 through 6889. Because
firewalls block these ports by default, you'll need to configure your firewall to accept this
incoming traffic in order to receive .torrent files. You may also have to enable port
forwarding of your computer's IP address for ports 6881 through 6889 so that other
BitTorrent computers can find you. Because every product is unique, check the
documentation or product Web site for your firewall/router for specific instructions on
how to accomplish these tasks.

Find, Download and Open Torrent Files

After you set up your computer, you're ready to download .torrent files. You can
search for the term ".torrent" using an Internet search engine to find sites that offer
BitTorrent files. There are also a number of sites dedicated to BitTorrent file searching.
These include isoHunt and TorrentSpy. Other sites that offer BitTorrent files directly
include bt.etree.org for shareable music, Legal Torrents for music, videos and books, and
BT on EFnet for recent television shows.
When you find the file you want, right-click the .torrent link, choose "save target as" and
save the file in a convenient place on your computer, such as the Windows desktop. The
.torrent file, which is a pointer to the actual file you want, will download quickly. Next,
double-click the .torrent file you saved to your computer. The BitTorrent client software
displays and starts the download process:

As we mentioned before, the more computers in the sending/receiving swarm, the quicker
the download process. If you are downloading a file with only a few other computers in
the swarm, the transfer speed will be relatively slow.
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After the download is complete, leave the BitTorrent client software open so that other
peers can download .torrent files from your computer.

Peers using BitTorrent can download only .torrent files from your computer. Once you
have a complete copy of a file, your computer becomes a potential seed for that file -- as
long as you're still running the software. Sharing what you have causes speedier
BitTorrent downloads for you in the future. You can leave the client software running for
a few hours or overnight.Simply close the software when you're done.

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