Does BitTorrent use magic ?

[aneeshm]

I have an internet connection that is , in theory , throttled to a maximum download rate of 8 KiloBytes per second . When using the GNOME BitTorrent client on Ubuntu , I and getting a susteined speed of 32 KiloBytes per second , and a peak speed of 45 KiloBytes per second . WTF ? Does BitTorrent use magic to get around bandwidth restrictions ? And remember , for all other activities , including normal downloads , the speed is restricted to 8 KB/s . The funny part is , I can download a file at approx. 7.5 KB/s in Opera , and the BitTorrent continues to function without a speed hit . It's almost as if my ISP does not consider BitTorrent traffic when counting bandwidth . And this has been happening for the past few days now .

Can anyone here tell me what's up , and why I'm so incredibly lucky ?

[Adagio]

Maybe it just shows the wrong speed? I'm not familiar with that client so I don't know if there's a bug in it that does this...

[SlowwHand]

BitTorrent collects partials from many individuals and passes around.
Unless you're on a privaate server, be careful.
RIAA has targeted BitTorrent. Actually, RIAA hasn't a leg to stand on, if the individual knows the facts. They've already got their cut.
Not distributing for profit, so it's really not illegal.

[Q Classic]

any sufficiently advanced technology appears as magic.

===

also, bittorrent sends data in highly compressed ones, rather than the usual, uncompressed zeroes. while this allows it to get information faster, it's also why bittorrent sometimes doesn't work so well--the ones can get stuck on corners, while zeros don't.

[aneeshm]

@ Adagio

No , it doesn't show the wrong speed - it actually downloads the data . And I've calculated that the data could not be downloaded unless the speed shown was correct .

@ SlowwHand

I'm not doing any unauthorised copying ( I refuse to legtimise the term piracy ) , just downloading Linux ISOs for some friends who don't have such a fast connection ( I'm not charged anything extra for the bandwidth , so might as well help someone out ) and a TV show which was released by Canonical for free , using the torrent as the distribution channel . And remember , the RIAA has jurisdiction over only America - RIAA . So I can go ahead and download anything I want , and the only thing the RIAA can ever do to politely tell me to stop , and then whine/retire in injured silence when I tell them to STFU .







But the question remains - how does it do all that faster than my connection is supposed to allow me to ? I'm supposed to be capped at 8 KiloBytes per second , and BitTorrent , as said before , manages 32 KB/s with ease .

[SlowwHand]

Just look at this. And all is compressed. No one in their right mind would mess with wav, which is format of a cd.

[BlackCat]

Q Cubed tells the truth - though he got the compression mechanism wrong - the 1'es are shortened so there can be stacked four on the same space as one; the zeroes are made thinner so it is possible to send four side by side and that is how you get 4x speed.

[Tattila the Hun]

Also, if you DL, say, music, make sure the initial volume is as low as possible. Volume = space, as we all know.

Same with e-books, if you can get the Lord of the Rings trilogy in single volume, it's infinetly smaller than multiple volumes.

Also, most sci-fi tv shows take up more space, as they include so much space inherently. This doesn't apply to shows like X-files or Stargåte, because they are shot in Vancouver, Canada, which is rather small compared to the Universe. Smallville naturally is included here, even if it is not Canadian, like Celine Dion. Do not download Celine Dion. You don't want the RIAC on your tail, if you have one.

[Az]

You people are real *******s.

[SlowwHand]

Oh thats real informative, Az.

[aneeshm]

Some serious answers would be nice .

@ Az

Just because I used the word "magic" in the title does not mean that I'm computer illiterate . It would take much more to take me in .

[snoopy369]

Originally posted by SlowwHand

Not distributing for profit, so it's really not illegal.

No. It really is illegal. But that's another time.

Is your connection 8kBps TOTAL, or 8kBps per stream? IE if you have ONE page DLing at 8kBps, and a second page is opened in a different browser window, would both go 8kBps? BTR may be using multiple connections to achieve this. I'd have to guess.

This brings up the point that you may be confusing bps with Bps... Bps is Bytes/second, which is 8*bps (bits/second). Bandwidth (at least in USA, I'm not sure outside the US) is usually quoted in kbps (in part because it sounds bigger, but also because it was historically quoted in bps = baud ...). Thus, it's possible that you are getting 45kbps download speed, not 45kBps. Not sure.

/me first connected to the internet using a 640 baud modem... that's 640bps or 0.6kbps for you slackers

[Az]

@ Az

Just because I used the word "magic" in the title does not mean that I'm computer illiterate . It would take much more to take me in .

Yeah, I know, but they are also aren't giving any good advice, and wasting time.

[aneeshm]

Originally posted by snoopy369


No. It really is illegal. But that's another time.

Is your connection 8kBps TOTAL, or 8kBps per stream? IE if you have ONE page DLing at 8kBps, and a second page is opened in a different browser window, would both go 8kBps? BTR may be using multiple connections to achieve this. I'd have to guess.

This brings up the point that you may be confusing bps with Bps... Bps is Bytes/second, which is 8*bps (bits/second). Bandwidth (at least in USA, I'm not sure outside the US) is usually quoted in kbps (in part because it sounds bigger, but also because it was historically quoted in bps = baud ...). Thus, it's possible that you are getting 45kbps download speed, not 45kBps. Not sure.

* snoopy369 first connected to the internet using a 640 baud modem... that's 640bps or 0.6kbps for you slackers

I know exactly what I'm talking about - the connection is throttled to 8 KB/s ( that's 8 kilobytes/second ) , as I have taken a 64 kbps ( and NOT 64 KB/s ) connection . This has been the situation for the past six months - this increase in speed is sudden . And I doubt that mp4 files could be compressed to less than four times their size ( 8/32 ) ( AFAIK , mp4 is already a compressed format ) . And don't forget , I can continue "normal" surfing with my browser - surfing speed is , strangely enough , not affected .

[VetLegion]

Some fake movies that float around on share newtworks are just big files of zeros and stuff like that. When you download them they get compressed by modem hardware and most software is confused by that and reports a greater speed than nominal.