Based on the amount of transfers Ive seen (20 from my seed) and the size of the torrent I really dont think torrent is worth it. I was working on the assumption there would be more demand but even if everyone has uploaded what i have (which is unlikely due to most connections not being 100mbit) the total transfer must be less 15GB. Sure lets add it if needed but for this amount of traffic a a couple of redundant mirrors will absolutely suffice.

 

This opens up the possibility of unRAID upgrading itself via HTTP which IMO would be far more useful.

 

Sorry to put the cat among the pidgeons again.

 

I suppose it's up to Tom then. The experiment proved it could work and people would use iit.

If Tom wants to make the .torrent file, upload it to linuxtracker and make the file available that way, it's his choice.

 

Only took me a few moments to make the account.

The next steps were

1. write a simple script to make the .torrent file. (So it can be repeated in the future)

2. Upload the .torrent file.

3. Re-download it (cuz a password is put inside the .torrent file).

4. Seed it from my client (in rtorrent I put the .zip file in the standard download location and the .torrent file in the watch directory).

Done.

 

Other choices are.

1. Only release one version a month.

2. Expand this hosts bandwidth.

3. Pony up some dollars for a mirror.

 

 

 

Tom has not responded about the idea of posting unRAID as a torrent.

 

There are a lot of people that associate this technology with piracy.  I think we've seen that in this "experiment".  We've also seen that some are very hesitant to configure their systems to use the torrent software because of the security exposure (true or not, it is still a deterrent to some).  But we've also seen that it is becoming a more and more popular means of "sharing the load" on mass distribution of large files. 

 

I think Tom might prefer to keep his hands clean, and not potentially tarnish his product by appearing to officially endorse this technology.  He also doesn't want to look cheap.  But he likely wouldn't object, and would probably appreciate, some in the community posting new versions via torrent, and others downloading them that way.  It might also mean a bit more frequent updates.

 

I am not sure that torrent saves Tom THAT much bandwidth, as NASuser said, but every little bit helps and I would be happy to DL with the torrents and keep the links in the "Best Of the Forums" page up to date, if someone else will seed the torrents and post the links.

Tom's bandwidth was what 40gig? The file is 30megs or so and was downloaded more than 20 times or so via torrent - mostly via links in this thread I'd imagine. That's not too shabby.

 

No one I know is ignorant enough of the technology to think that torrents automatically mean piracy, most of them download Linux and large game demos using this method same as I do. In fact when a new demo is released I look for it as a torrent even if the company doesn't specifically offer it since most of the "official" sites are overloaded or require registration crap. Commercial companies with far more money to burn than Tom use this, the piracy aspect is overplayed to say the least. I even know of one private effort that uses torrent technology to distribute software to a large computing cluster. This is an efficient reliable means of software distribution that spreads the bandwidth load, that you cannot argue against.

 

It really doesn't matter to me one way or another as I've got a fat enough pipe to get it any way it's made available but lets try not spread the ignorance further.

lets try not spread the ignorance further.

I'm going to have to agree here. My first exposure to using a torrent was to download centos.

I saw that linux distros were starting to use it as a delivery means. Further along I saw that movies are distributed on a pay basis right on the main bittorrent site.

 

At this point, Tom asked about download repository advice, we presented a viable alternative.

Not everyone has to open ports to download a torrent, It's not a security risk, like internet explorer itself can be.

I'll leave the rest up to Tom, but all add "lets try not spread the ignorance further."

I think I've been misunderstood (story of my life). 

 

I was just summarizing what I read in the thread.  Piracy came up, security came up, naked women came up ...

 

If this is ignorant, then why did jim.white's comment ...

 

Some of these guys probably think they're dl'g a pirated version 

 

get comments like ...

 

hehehe probably

 

weebo rename it to "unRAID Server 4.3.2 FULL WORKING!!!" (which after all is correct) and see how stats will start go up and up

 

and

 

Heh, I wondered that myself actually It might be interesting to also seed a Demo version of the software if that's a different download just to up the exposure of the software. <shrug> I'm all for sharing the next release this way too in order to take some burden off Tom's server and bandwidth.

 

I (personally) have done an (almost) 180 degree turn around and now am SUPPORTING torrents for unRAID.  I've learned it is being used for many legitimate purposes.  It's also a great way to share the bandwidth burden.  But I still acknowledge that many people think "piracy" when they hear "torrent".  Not sure that is going to change overnight, but it is changing.

Why? Because there's ignorance surrounding it's use and because TPB was used vice the Linux trackers which do not harbor any questionable content. TPB is reliable and easy to host off of, they also tend to use racy ads to generate revenue - a price paid I suppose.<shrug>

my biggest concern is integrety, and that it is all just "a fart in a cup of yogurt" (big buildup, and then klimax: a small "blup")

 

In this thread, written by dedicated followers, it has already been aired to rename versions, just for the fun of it.

Joke or not, it touches on something basic, that torrents are not as trustworthy as direct download.

I know that now comes 10 arguments about distros... however it is still not as trustworthy, and the gain/risk ration is better for  distribution of gigabyte distros.

 

A linus distro, somewhere between 1 and 4 gb, downloaded by thousands a day. Torrent can shave off hours/days of the download time, and the distributor will not get killed by the download.

 

Unraid, 30mb, downloaded by 50 a day. Torrent can shave off 3 minutes of download, and the distributer saves usd10 a month for an extra hostingprovider.

 

Even as the technology is ever so interessting, with a high geek-attraction-factor, it does not seem worth the trouble, and as it even adds a integerty-risk.. I "vote" no.

/Rene

 

We are overcomplicating things.

 

Torrents are a nice way of downloading files without overstressing a single file server, as simple as that.

 

Torrent can be used nicely for piracy as can (and has been done thousands of times) ftp.

People hesitant to setup their system for torrent? Really? What, download utorrent and let it be somewhere (there is no setup, it is a single exe) and use it?

 

How those people started using FTP? Someone forced them? How they started using http transfers? They wanted to download something. Why did some of the older of us learned to use Xmodem, Ymodem and so on? Because we needed to, to transfer something.

 

So, ok, torrent is a download method. DUH!

 

I am gonna start being afraid to use the Internet from the next hour or so. Could you please ship me a CD or better a nice licensed USB stick with every major version? Then again... I am afraid to let Tom know of my address... he might send a bomb or something. Or maybe anthrax. Nonono, better not send anything.

 

I'd say some of us can seed any new release. If someone wants to download from there, so be it. If not, the sun will still rise next morning.

 

 

I think i restarted this anti torrent debate so heres my thoughts. Torrent is brilliant. There is likely not a bigger advocate of torrenting than me anywhere. Its saved me thousands of bucks in bandwidth costs and i have spent literally hundred of hours on the guts of the protocol and tracker technology (i really mean that). It is nothing to do with piracy. Nothing at all. People that equate it with piracy haven't actually sat down and pondered what it really is.

 

Now that ive shown how pro torrent I am I still think torrent is overkill for the primary means of distribution for this project. If anyone creates a torrent i will seed the hell out of it but its just not needed. There is not enough demand for the files to warrant teaching users how to use it and the lack of stats Tom will have as compared to using http.

 

In light of this i think any effort should be expended in making unRAID updatable online through the web gui or command line in one simple command. This is relatively easily achievable by Limetech and that simplification of the process can only help to make the product more desirable.

I perhaps detect a bit of sarcasm

 

I would agree that updating online would be helpful by whatever means possible. It does make me wonder though how 40gigs of bandwidth was chewed through if the downloads are minimal. Forum stuff? We're not talking big page sizes I wouldn't think. What can be done to ease the burden if not assisting with downloads?

lol no sarcasm intended

 

The core if this thread is that 40GB a month shouldn't be a burdon. Its a credit to this community just home much effort people are prepared to put in and kudos for that but the effort massively exceeds the problem. The solution is to upgrade the $5 a month hosting plan to a $10 a month hosting plan.

I don't think that Tom should abandon his http download of unRAID in favor of torrent.

 

But I think that if the community wants to seed the torrent as new versions come out, that Tom would (quietly) appreciate the effort.

I don't think that Tom should abandon his http download of unRAID in favor of torrent.

 

But I think that if the community wants to seed the torrent as new versions come out, that Tom would (quietly) appreciate the effort.

 

I'd agree that abandoning HTTP altogether would be foolish.

I currently am using the free version of unRAID and am finding it extremely nice for backups :-)

 

One of the perks of my job is to have my own server on a 100Mbit connection with unlimited outgoing bandwidth... If Tom finds it worthy enough, I don't mind mirroring the files for him 

 

Cheers,

mynd.