How Does BitTorrent Work?

BitTorrent is a file-sharing protocol that lets users share files with other people. The software was created by Bram Cohen in April 2001, and has quickly become the most popular way to share large files such as movies, games, music, books, videos, and more.

Torrents can be downloaded from a variety of sources. Some torrents have a single file, while others contain multiple files in different sizes. The larger the file, the faster the download speeds.

The download process involves a peer downloading the file from multiple servers. These peers are called seeders.

When a seeder finishes downloading a piece, it places it in the torrent file and records its hash. When the other peer receives this piece, it will use the hash to verify that it is an original copy.

Peers can then use this hash to find other peers that have the same piece in their torrent. This helps the process run more smoothly, and reduces the number of peers required.

Some peer distribution systems (such as Napster, KaZaA, and eDonkey) also have a search engine built into the application. This is a good idea for finding new files, as well as locating old ones that may have been lost or deleted.

Torrents are usually made into a single file, but some files are broken up into smaller pieces to make them easier to download and transfer. The resulting files are then sent out to the community, and other users can then download them.