how torrenting works: a book photocopying analogy
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By CarlCheo.Com How Torrenting Works: A Book Photocopying Analogy
Imagine 30 people want to read a book (file), but only 1 person has it.
Presented byCarlCheo.Com
So torrents take this principle with a file. The file is split into a bunch of parts. Everyone broadcasts what pieces they have and each download the pieces they need.
Based on Ben Mordecai's answer on Quora: http://www.quora.com/How-would-one-explain-torrents-to-someone-who-doesnt-understand-anything-about-computers
Book
Nice book dude!
Can I borrow
your book?
Can I borrow
your book?
Nice book dude!
1
2
3
4
All 30 people have photocopiers (downloaders), but if the 1 person photocopied the whole book in its entirety, 29 times, it would take a really long time.
Instead, the 29 (clients) go to the 1 (seeder) and each tear out a page and photocopy it, then give it back.
Stop asking!Let me
think of a better way
to share this book.
Also, if the 1 person stopped letting people copy it then everyone would just miss out.
Now everyone has at least 1 page.
Now, they can either go back to the 1 person and get another page, or they can go to any of the other people and get a copy of the pages they have.
Page 9 Page 5Page 12
Page 5please!
Here you go…
Page 7
Page 24 Page 5
Page 16 Page 2 Page 9 Page 18
Hey I'm missing
page 13, who got a
copy?
I haveall
pages!
Page 15
As time goes on, some people drop off, and some people join in, but among this miniature community (swarm), hopefully, there are enough pages to reconstruct the whole book.
If everyone stays available long enough, a lot of people end up having the whole book (new seeders) and can speed up the whole process, since there are multiple sources for potentially "rare" pages.
Sometimes there are jerks who leave immediately after getting the whole book (leechers).
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I have an appointment
with my eyebrow
specialist. See ya!
Better run away before
the ink (internet quota)
runs out…
CHEE REL CHEE REL CHEE REL