BitTorrent Myth

5

1

In BitTorent Statistics there is a field "Total Ratio" that is the ratio between total downloads and uploads.

i have heard that this ratio affects BitTorrent'ss performance. If the ratio is better then BitTorrent Network provides you services on priority. And If the ratio is down (less uploads) then the BitTorrent provides you services on average or below average priorities.

Is there something like that.....

Junaid Saeed

Posted 2010-06-03T19:54:12.073

Reputation: 964

2down voters please leave a comment for down voting... – Junaid Saeed – 2010-06-03T19:57:44.520

Answers

6

This is false

Unless you're using a private tracker or something else that would keep independent track of your ratio.

What will impact your speed is how much you can "seed" to the swarm. The faster you can seed the more data (theoretically) they are supposed to send you. You are seen as "valuable" so they give you higher priority.

Josh K

Posted 2010-06-03T19:54:12.073

Reputation: 11 754

The nomenclature you use is incorrect. Seeding refers to uploading to a torrent after you have finished downloading. Uploading while downloading is simply referred to as "upload speed". And it's not so much that clients will send you more data when you upload faster, you're just more likely to get unchoked by faster clients. – the8472 – 2015-03-05T14:57:50.330

6

It depends more on the tracker, and other clients, also, the client you use.

If your client is made by people who like sharing, it will penalize you for low upload rates.

If the other clients in the swarm know you're not uploading much, some of them might not be willing to send anything your way, or throttle what they do send.

If the tracker, and this is particularly true for private trackers, sees that you have a low ratio, overall, then it will throttle what it sends you, trying to keep the playing field fair.

So, in the protocol, nothing specifies that it has to happen, but in common practice, it can, depending on the above.

Tarka

Posted 2010-06-03T19:54:12.073

Reputation: 1 525

Give me ONE common example of a tracker/client combination that does this. – Tom – 2010-06-03T22:55:09.180

0

It's not based on your total ratio but your behavior in the swarm you are in. Peers rate your value based on their ratio with you and will favor sending blocks to those whom they value better. If you're accepting blocks and not sending blocks back you get a very low rating and won't get blocks unless they don't have anyone better to send to. Thus you are penalizing for uploading below the average of the swarm and rewarded for uploading above the average of the swarm.

Loren Pechtel

Posted 2010-06-03T19:54:12.073

Reputation: 2 234

-1

If the network's clients respect the BitTorrent protocol, then the answer is no, there is nothing like that. I've never heard of a client that would prioritize it's uploads based on the other peer's total ratio.

Tom

Posted 2010-06-03T19:54:12.073

Reputation: 978