Emerging Internet technologies give us access to any information. But so that the necessary files are always at hand, we resort to downloading them from the network. You can do this in many ways, but, of course, users prefer the fastest and most free. For example, torrent trackers can boast of such qualities. Their way of functioning is slightly different from those algorithms that we run by simply downloading files to our computer. When the user clicks the link in order to pick up any material for himself, a connection is established with one server, from where the content gets to us.
How do torrents get to us?
So, getting files through download links, as we already understood, happens directly when connecting to the server. A torrent tracker is a different system. The central computer in this case is not a repository for files, but serves as a kind of intermediary between the user who is looking for material to download, and the place where this material is, the device of another user. That is, it turns out that the functioning of this system requires at least two people. One of them places a link on the tracker to a file on his computer, the other network user must have a special program for viewing such offers. But after downloading the first person can also share this information, distributing it through his torrent client. Now, knowing how this system functions, we will return to the consideration of our problem.
Why torrent downloads slowly: the main reason
It lies in the speed of your Internet connection, which is easy to guess. As a rule, modern providers offer tens and hundreds of megabits when connected. But consider one important feature: Internet speed and torrent download speed are different values! If the first parameter, as we have already said, is measured in megabytes, then the second is in megabytes. As a result, it turns out that the file will be downloaded at a speed of 10 times less than the one that the "provider" gave you.
By the way, advanced users will probably ask why the figure 10 appears here, although the difference between the bit and the byte is 8? Two missing units during transmission are overhead and transmission errors. By the way, the latter is also the reason why the torrent downloads slowly.
What do they mean when referring to transmission errors?
In the language of programmers, this term also sounds like “broken packages”. Their presence when downloading something from the network can adversely affect the speed, that is, it will decrease. At the same time, this is reflected not only in the exchange of torrents, but also in any other similar process. How it works? Speaking very simply, then any computer, when downloading a particular file, receives control information that helps the system determine what exactly was transferred. But during network failures, this signal exchange is disrupted, which is why the process slows down. And the user begins to wonder: “Why did the torrent slowly download?” Since the speed of information exchange can decrease by tens or even hundreds of times, the presence of “broken packets” becomes a serious problem.
Reason number 3: the work of other software
The answer to the question of why the torrent downloads slowly can be other programs open in parallel with the client for downloading. Some browsers or mail agents may slow down the exchange of information. As a rule, with a constant repetition of the situation, users notice this feature. For example, it can be observed with the simultaneous operation of the tracker and the Skype program.
And who are the seeds?
Above, we outlined the principle of operation of any torrent tracker and said that this mechanism will work if there are at least 2 users on the network: the one that downloads the files and the one that distributes them. That is, in fact, this is an exchange of information between people, and not between a person and a storage server. And to answer the question why the torrent is slowly downloading, you will have to figure out some features of the service again. Surely, if you regularly upload files through such a client, you have noticed hitherto unfamiliar terms: seeds, feasts, and so on. These words indicate different categories of users who use the tracker. And seedes are most often to blame for the loss of speed - people who once downloaded the file, and now sharing it with others. A feast is users participating in the download and distribution, and lychee are users who only download content. As a rule, on torrent trackers, this behavior is prohibited and blocked. So, the insufficient number of people distributing the file (seeds) you need and causes a slow download speed, as the connection becomes unstable.
Why does a file slowly download through a torrent: features of trackers and operators
When choosing the site from which you intend to start downloading, carefully read all the instructions for users. Sometimes the fault of insufficient speed is the policy of the tracker itself. In some cases, service administrators reserve the right to impose any download restrictions. When exchanging content on such resources, do not be surprised why the torrent downloads very slowly.
The same can be said about wireless operators. In particular, many users are already asking why Yota is slowly downloading the torrent. The fact is that this operator can only work with a certain bandwidth, so I had to resort to such an unpleasant restriction. There are frequent cases and blocking of torrents by the Yota service, which caused strong dissatisfaction of its customers.
Conclusion
So, we examined why torrent slowly downloads. In some cases, the download speed can be increased (for example, with an insufficient number of seeds), and sometimes the problem can be solved only with the help of a programmer (if we are talking about transmission errors). In any case, now you know the main reasons that can cause this trouble, and you can take the right measures to eliminate it. Good luck