30-07-2005 22:51									#1
	Does BitTorrent use magic ? Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations

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 ?

	30-07-2005 22:56									#2
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization III: Complete

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...

	30-07-2005 22:57									#3
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations: Deluxe Edition

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.

	30-07-2005 23:04									#4
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization: The Boardgame

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.

	30-07-2005 23:11									#5
	Inflate your Upload Space

@ 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 .

	30-07-2005 23:20									#6
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

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

Attachment: (txt) riaa, please read this.doc
This has been downloaded 15 time(s).

	30-07-2005 23:21									#7
	Increase Your PM Length

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.

	30-07-2005 23:33									#8
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

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.

	30-07-2005 23:55									#9
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

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

	30-07-2005 23:56									#10
	Got spare money?

Oh thats real informative, Az.

	31-07-2005 12:27									#11
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization III: Complete

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 .

	31-07-2005 12:38									#12
	Suffering from ads?

quote: 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.

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

	31-07-2005 12:58									#13
	Inflate your Upload Space

quote: @ 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.

	31-07-2005 14:47									#14
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations: Deluxe Edition

quote: 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 .

	31-07-2005 15:00									#15
	Tired of ads?

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.

	31-07-2005 15:03									#16
	Support Apolyton

Also, your ISP may be throttling only some ports, like those commonly used for FTP, HTTP, Usenet and usual share programs. Your BitTorrent client may be using an unconventional port that ISP hasn't throttled. This is not very likely course of action for ISP to do, but it could be the case if you are using a connection on an university campus or such.

	31-07-2005 15:14									#17
	Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

Nope - no fake movies here . I'm downloading the ISOs for Fedora Core 4 , and a bunch of freely distributed TV programs by the Shuttleworth Foundation . Both data-intact , and not fakes .

I'm using a home connection , and this wierd ( but nice ) behaviour started only about a week ago - whenever I used BitTorrent before that , it was always within the 8 KB/s range ( total ) .

	31-07-2005 16:19									#18
	Support Apolyton, buy GURPS/ Alpha Centauri

quote: Originally posted by 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.

That's why you need to use VLC player. It can open (almost) every movie file type, full and incomplete!

	31-07-2005 16:30									#19
	Lose 30 kilos (of popups)

quote: Originally posted by aneeshm Nope - no fake movies here . I'm downloading the ISOs for Fedora Core 4 , and a bunch of freely distributed TV programs by the Shuttleworth Foundation . Both data-intact , and not fakes . I'm using a home connection , and this wierd ( but nice ) behaviour started only about a week ago - whenever I used BitTorrent before that , it was always within the 8 KB/s range ( total ) .

You sure your ISP hasn't upgraded their services? Mine did awhile ago, I was somewhat confused, then got a mail from ISP telling, that the services had been upgraded country-wide, have fun.

	01-08-2005 03:49									#20
	Support Apolyton, buy GURPS/ Alpha Centauri

The same thing happened to me when I was in Res. I had a transfer limit of 1 GB up and 1 GB down per day, and if either was surpassed, I would be throttled back to 56 kbps. But Bittorrent would still go full speed, reaching 8 Mbps at times (totaled over several torrents). I regularly got over 3 GB downloaded in a day. I think the most likely thing is that they aren't throttling the Bittorrent ports.

SP