How do torrents work?
In: Technology
BitTorrent is a file sharing protocol, that is, a defined way for sharing files between computers. It works by splitting one or more files into several small pieces which in turn are shared with other users.
The main advantage of torrent is that when you have downloaded just one of these pieces, that piece can in turn be shared with other users immediately instead of having to wait for you to possess a complete file, meaning that a file can propagate very rapidly across a network of computers and without relying on a single server to do all the uploading. It also means that a download is very resilient against interruptions, since the torrent client can just count up the completed pieces when the download resumes and focus on the remaining ones. In the case of multiple files, certain files can given priority over others, for example the first episode of a TV series, leaving you to watch that while the rest are finishing.
Torrent is primarily associated with illegal file sharing, but it has also been [adopted in enterprise environments](https://tech.ebayinc.com/engineering/bittorrent-for-package-distribution-in-the-enterprise/) and even some MMO’s have used it to distribute patches.
Latest Answers