What is BitTorrent?

[kon21]

Can anyone give me a quick review of what BitTorrent is and does? All I know is that if I get a Torrent files, I'm able to d/l the file from different peers. Very very neat! At the same time the application is always uploading. What is it uploading?

TIA

 

[Zammy-Sam]

BitTorrent: check out http://wiki.etree.org/index.php?page=BitTorrent

uploading: when you send files from your comp. Like uploading emails (sending mails) or sharing files. down-load: data comes to you, up-load: you send data

 

[monktus]

I think what kon meant was why does Bittorrent upload stuff when you're downloading a file. The way Bittorrent works is that when you download a file, it is downloaded not only from the server it is seeded on but also from the other people downloading the file. The more people, the more bandwidth, the faster it is for everyone. All very nice and socialist The point is that other people are downloading form other peers too, that includes you. The upload is donating bandwidth to the pool that everyone uses. This makes the download faster for everybody (usually).

 

[kon21]

Thanks monktus. That's what I was curious about.