What do you imagine when hearing the word “torrent”? Maybe a stream of water, or maybe pirates — depends on your age and interests. For those of you whose mind jumps to illegal file downloads and pirating, this is only one side of torrents. While torrent technology is often used for legally questionable activities, it is a great way for downloading files legally and faster than usual.
What is P2P networking architecture? Torrent or peer-to-peer architecture is a system where the resources required for operation of file sharing (or other) systems are divided among all network users. This means that users are both consumers and providers of service.
Downloading files
It is possible to download any file from Files.fm as a torrent. Our main server is one of the seeders, and torrent technology offers a way to download your file without interruptions, in a stable, scalable system which often provides faster download speed than traditional systems.
If you want to try, choose the option “P2P” next to our download button.
Streaming files
Our latest development: stream video files on our website using peer-to-peer technology. What does this mean? If you share a lengthy video and it becomes popular, thousands of people can watch it at the same time and it is not necessary to wait until all content is downloaded. Everyone can watch the video, and, in addition to our servers, all other participants are also seeders — they offer their bandwidth to help others watch the video, similar to traditional downloaded torrents. What’s more: thanks to WebRTC protocol, you don’t have to download any apps, plug-ins or other software to enable this. Just go to the website and watch what you need.
While 20 second cat videos can be watched on any platform, there are many educational and informational videos which take up a lot of space. Imagine a 1.5-hour lecture from your favorite professor. Now you don’t have to wait while it downloads: go to our website and see the video in all its length.
Why hybrid-decentralized?
We are using torrent or peer-to-peer networks together with classic client-server architecture. This is called a hybrid-decentralized network, and it joins the best of both worlds: it offers fast, unlimited traffic able to support thousands of simultaneous users and traffic spikes but also offers the stability of traditional client-server architecture.
In this way, it is possible to solve the usual problems of file share services, such as the fact that with increased number of users, the speed drops and service costs increase. With hybrid-decentralized system, more users mean more seeders which means that the speed might actually increase.
Due to this fact, P2P architecture is especially suitable for popular file sharing with many concurrent download requests. When using P2P architecture, users can download files faster and service providers are not forced to limit the number of concurrent downloads in fear for their server.
Next time you use Files.fm, try choosing the “P2P” download option and see the possibilities yourself.
Some other lesser-known services we provide: file store, file upload form, Files.fm Library project.
P.S. Be responsible choosing what you share. 😉 Just because we use the term “torrent” does not mean you can share copyrighted material without repercussions.