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Contributor smejky on the Internet & Networking category

Use BitTorrent as primary protocol for apt-get  
Ubuntu

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Priority : Undefined
Definition : New (Needs guidance)
Implementation : Unknown
Assignee :
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Written by kevinfishburne the 28 Apr 08 at 19:10. Global category: Internet & Networking. New
This is an attempt at a unification of:

http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/7081/
http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/7390/
http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/7649/
http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/7725/

I can't think, nor have I heard, of any showstopper reason for why BitTorrent shouldn't be used as the primary download method of Ubuntu respository packages. Although the specifics of the implementation of this idea will be different for ISOs and repositories, I feel they should be unified in the brainstorm because the goal is to allow the rapid, efficient, reliable, and available download of Ubuntu software.

Implementation Benefits

1) Speed. All Ubuntu downloads (ISO downloads, dist upgrades, regular system updates, and new application installs) will as a whole be faster. Generally torrent download speeds benefit from higher numbers of downloaders that seed, which Ubuntu users have demonstrated they are prone to do. BitTorrent is better able to absorb (and eventually use as an asset) large numbers of users attempting to download data at the same time, such as with the recent mad rush of Hardy downloaders/upgraders.

2) Efficiency. The BitTorrent protocol has proven to be one of the most efficient methods of distributing data amongst a large number of clients. It will harness the collective upstream of tens of thousands of Ubuntu users, from DSL and cable connections to the fastest of corporate connections.

3) Reliability. Checksums guarantee the integrity of BitTorrent downloads, so data corruption is much less likely to occur. Only the pieces that fail checksum are redownloaded, contributing to points 1 and 2.


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Solution #1: Auto-generated solution of idea #7792
Written by kevinfishburne the 28 Apr 08 at 19:10.
Ubuntu Brainstorm was updated in January 2009. Since the idea #7792 was submitted before this update, its rationale and solution are not separated. Please vote accordingly, and if you have the necessary rights, please separate the rationale from the solution. Thanks!
8
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Solution #2: Make debtorrent active by default
Written by bukzor the 9 Apr 11 at 19:12.
There is already a system to do this: debtorrent (http://debtorrent.alioth.debian.org/)

The *main* problem with it is that there are so few users that have it installed. Making this installed and active in the default Ubuntu distribution solves this bug, as well as implementing Idea #7792 (and its 30 duplicates).

It seems fairly mature, but probably still needs some polishing for inclusion in the Ubuntu default. In particular, we need to ensure that the upload settings are very easily tweaked, both automatically and manually.

12
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Solution #3: Make debtorrent available at install
Written by lengau the 25 May 11 at 20:32.
Rather than making debtorrent the default, which could be harmful to a large number of users (some ISPs block Bittorrent, as do many universities, etc.), we should allow users to choose debtorrent an option in the installer (as well as being able to enable/disable it in the software centre).

Including the debtorrent and apt-transport-debtorrent packages on the CD/DVD will add just short of 300 KiB to the disc images.
7
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Solution #4: Stop seeding after reaching 1:1 ratio by default
Written by Lyfang the 24 Jun 11 at 08:01.
Make DebTorrent or Apt-P2P active by default and stop seeding after reaching 1:1 ratio by default.
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Solution #5: Run Torrend and HTTP download mixed.
Written by AdlerHorst the 29 Dec 11 at 10:49.
Run Torrend and HTTP download mixed. If Torrend is slowed down, the http download stil do his job. If torrend is faster, the HTTP plays the role of one of many download streams.

See the 75 comments or propose a solution (latest comment the 29 Dec 11 at 10:48) >>