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Written by Stew
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Tuesday, 04 September 2007 |
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Page 3 of 3
"....in 2006 the BitTorrent protocol has risen to over 60 percent of all Internet traffic according to British Web analysis firm CacheLogic" - Wikibooks
From what I understand, it seems that technology gurus across the globe are starting to realize that torrents could provide a solution to our growing hunger for larger files like video.
Cool. So what's the issue. Torrents to the rescue, Da-da -da! There is, apparently, one small problem.
ISPs (Internet Service Providers) are far from keen to carry P2P traffic because it doesn't bring in the dollars. P2P users are usually annoymous and cannot be billed for their bandwidth. This is also because most P2P users pay a monthly fee for unlimited bandwidth. This all makes P2P unattractive as a universal solution for mainstream content distribution.
One answer to the problem, proposed by Cornell University scientist Paul Francis, is to create a new 'eco-system' that combines 'trees' and 'meshes'. The proposed system has been named 'Chunkyspread' and creates 'slices' rather than blocks and is said to be superior to both regular FTP and torrent protocols.
Chunkyspread technology could also be modified to allow ISPs to indentify and account for all of their bandwidth and make decisions related to price and volume. Downloaders may have to pay up for using that bandwidth but, according to Hui Zhang, a computer scientist at Carnegie Mellon University, it will create an environment where ISPs actually benefit from P2P traffic and help make the internet function better.
Of this last point I'm still a little unconvinced.
Currently, ISPs treat all data flowing across their servers equally, regardless of what it is, and who owns or provides the content. This is central to the neutrality of the internet. The argument against this somewhat egalitarian view of mine is that with files sizes reaching new heights due to increased demand for video, new rules are needed to govern that mass of traffic. Failure to address this issue could result in poorer transfer speeds for all and a more congested information highway.
Hmm. Time will tell I suppose. Optical Cables anyone?
The internet is brand new. Most of us are still using highly inefficient telephone wires from 20 or 30 years ago. The growth of optical cable usage may negate the impact from increases in file sizes. Then of course, there's also improved methods of video compression that will hopefully continue to deliver smaller and smaller file sizes while maintaining picture quality. Who knows?
What is abundantly clear is that the amount of video now being viewed on the internet is forcing us to change how we distribute data right now. Torrent technology is clearly inspiring new protocols and paving the way for a much more efficient web. Torrents are also proving to be more than just a tool for pirates.
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