What is BitTorrent
BitTorrent is a leading Peer 2 Peer file distribution protocol. It is a network system for the download of movies, software, music and other large files over the Internet. It’s peer 2 peer nature enables users to connect to each other directly to send and receive portions of the file. There is a tracker which coordinates the action of all such peers. The ideology of BitTorrent is that users should upload (transmit outbound) at the same time they are downloading (receiving inbound.) which ensures that the network bandwidth is utilized as efficiently as possible.
The BitTorrent network is designed to support simultaneous upload and download involving many people, also referred to as “swarms.” Its efficient network bandwidth utilization makes BitTorrent an ideal choice for those looking to download a large movie file, music file, or open software package that is currently being shared on the Internet.
In most of the other P2P networks, ordinary Internet users trade files by directly connecting one-to-one while with BitTorrent, the advantage is that files can be shared without having access to a proper server, and because of this there is little accountability for the contents of the files. Bit Torrent requires use of a software client to download a file. However, the BitTorrent client and protocol do not support searching for P2P files. Instead, BitTorrent users must search on Web sites for music, movies and other file references called torrents.
