BitTorrent Roles in Transferring Data Over the Internet

Over the past few years, humanity is trying to create a system to fasten the transfer process of large amount of data over the internet. Starts from regular download or so-called mirror download which is so much wasting time in transferring a large amount of data. After a few years passed, they found out a way to overcome the problem (distributing a large amount of data) by dividing the data into small parts. But after all, the systems still have a drawback, which is if the server receiving too much requests from a lot of clients, then the server will be down and cause the download process will be inherited or even canceled. Eventually, they have successfully overcome the problem by introducing Torrent.

Introduction to torrent:

Torrent was first introduced to world in 2001 by a man named Bram Cohen who now owns BitTorrent.inc Company. BitTorrent is a network and software that enables transmission of data in a peer-to-peer (no server). BitTorrent is one of the most common protocols for transferring large files, and peer-to-peer networks have been estimated to collectively account for approximately 43% to 70% of all Internet traffic.

How torrent works?

In the torrent, there is known as “seed”. Seed is a user or computer that owns a file and the file can be downloaded. While there is known as “leech”. Leech is a user or computer that request for a file or want to download a file. After the leech has finished downloading the file, the leech role is changing to the seed.

Difference between regular & torrent download:

The problem with many “traditional” peer-to-peer file sharing protocols is that most users have different speeds downlink and uplink. This means that even though a user has plenty of bandwidth downlink, the speed of a file transfer to him will be restricted by a much smaller bandwidth uplink from the user he downloads from. Let us take a simple example: assume that a user wants to download a file from another user. Assume that they both have the same connection; 5 Mbps for downlink and 1Mbps for uplink. It means, the speed of the transfer between the two users is determined by the uplink which is only 1Mbps, the downlink is obeyed. Not to mention in reality, most users have only an uplink far below than 1Mbps. While using BitTorrent, this problem is solved by splitting files into smaller pieces. When requesting a file, the user’s computer looks around on internet for other people that having one or more pieces of the wanted file. He then downloads different parts of the file from different users at the same time resulting files arrives many times faster as compared to downloading from just one user.

Is it Legal?

The first thing that comes to our mind when we hear torrent downloading is piracy or illegal distribution. It is not unreasonable, since the majority of traffic is illegal exchange of copyrighted material. Apparently, BitTorrent protocol has feature which makes it usable for totally legitimate purposes. The simple case is like in America where as the residence you can legally own a gun for recreational target practice and hunting, but also you own it to rob a bank which makes you guilty for it and illegal. It’s the same with BitTorrent, is a perfectly legitimate technology, it’s simply a matter of what you use it for that makes it legal or illegal.

Advantages :

By downloading from the torrent file and software, the file can be downloaded from many sources that are not fixated on a single source such as how regular download.

Files can also be downloaded gradually, so that the leecher doesn’t have to worry about his computer keep turned on all day until the file has successfully downloaded. Stop anywhere and anytime but still won’t damaged the downloaded file. It is very suitable for users that have slow internet connection.

Another plus is that the downloaded file with a torrent is not too consuming CPU Usage.

Disadvantages:

Downloading by using torrent is potentially dangerous, because your IP Address is shown to other people and because of that, they can do tracking to your browser’s history and can get your personal information from it.

Files from torrent are apparently a file that owned from another user, so it means they’re not original from the company’s official creator media.

The Files from torrent can be a fake file with the right name. In example, if you want to look for a song in the torrent, you would search for the title of the song. In this case, after you found the torrent file that has the same name with the song title you’re looking for, the content might not be the same. It might be another song or might be a potentially dangerous application that people spreads over internet.

The viruses and Trojans from torrent are easily and rapidly spread. The file purity from the torrent cannot be guaranteed. Just don’t forget to keep your antivirus on and up-to-date.

             Profit of BitTorrent

                “Our main source of revenue is off the toolbars we push out, which isn't a great source of monetization, but it's something. You can do the math on how many installs we have and what the monetization of toolbars is, and subtract out the costs of having 50 employees, and you'll get a reasonable ballpark of how profitable we are, although the short answer is very. Even lousy monetization works well when you have more users than Twitter.” said Bram Cohen, the inventor of BitTorent itself.

                So we can say that, the BitTorrent get its profit from the advertisements that they authorized on their apps and at the same time they charge the advertiser for these.

               

Improvement:

                As a user of BitTorent, I think the features they offer is already satisfied me enough. So far, I haven’t found any bug on this app. I also haven’t found any fake file with the same name I looking for. My computer never got infected by any virus or Trojan. And last but not least, even with the slow internet speed, I still can download a file with high speed.

               

                In conclusion, torrent has overcome the problem to transfer a large amount of data in a small amount of time. And so far, I feel satisfied for using BitTorrent and I also conclude BitTorrent saved me a lot amount of time compared with another apps for downloading. My suggestion when before you want to download a torrent file, you should see the seeders reputation and the comment from other user in the post. This needs to be done in order to avoid getting a fake file.

Reference:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BitTorrent#Legal_issues

https://www.quora.com/How-profitable-is-BitTorrent-Inc

Asal Usul Hari Kathina

Dalam menyambut masa Kathina yang berlangsung selama satu bulan, ada baiknya kita mengingat dan menelusuri kembali sejarah Kathina. Bagi umat Buddha, masa Kathina erat kaitannya dengan berdana kepada Sangha. Masa Kathina selalu disambut umat Buddha dengan begitu meriah, ini dapat dilihat dari semangat umat Buddha memperingati Kathina dengna berbondong-bondong datang ke Vihara. Mereka dengan perasaan bahagia, dan penuh ketulusan hati melakukan persembahan kepada Sangha.

Peristiwa ini sudah berlangsung beribu-ribu tahun lamanya dan menarik sekali apabila kita telusuri bagaimana sesungguhnya Kathina sampai ditetapkan oleh Sang Buddha Gotama?

Sejarah mencatat bahwa setelah meraih Pencerahan Agung, Sang Buddha melakukan perjalanan ke Taman Rusa Isipatana, di dekat Benares. Beliau membabarkan Dhamma yang dikenal dengan Dhammacakkapavatana Sutta kepada lima orang pertapa yang pernah menjadi sahabatNya? Kondana, Vappa, Bhaddiya, Mahanama, dan Assaji. Setelah menguraikan khotbah pertama, Sang Buddha tetap tinggal disana. Beliau bertemu dengan Yasa -- anak seorang pedagang kaya raya di Benares -- dan memberikan wejangan Dhamma kepadanya. Disamping itu, Sang Buddha juga membabarkan Dhamma kepada ayah Yasa dan empat sahabat Yasa. Mereka beserta para pengikutnya -- semuanya berjumlah lima puluh lima orang -- meninggalkan kehidupan berumah tangga, memasuki kehidupan tanpa rumah (menjadi Bhikkhu), dan mencapai tingkat kesucian Arahat.

Masa penyebaran Dhamma telah dimulai. Tetapi pada saat itu Sang Buddha belum menyatakan masa Vassa dan masa Kathina. Semangat untuk menyebarkan Dhamma dalam diri para Bhikkhu nampaknya sangat besar.

Hal ini bisa terlihat dari adanya sekelompok Bhikkhu yang mengadakan perjalanan pada musim dingin, musim panas, maupun musim hujan (Sebagaimana diketahui di India hanya dikenal tiga Musim).

Melihat hal ini masyarakat mengkritik dengan mengatakan, "Mengapa para Bhikkhu Sakyaputta (murid-murid Sang Buddha) mengadakan perjalanan pada musim dingin, panas dan musim hujan sehingga mereka menginjak tunas-tunas muda, rumput-rumputan, serta merusak kehidupan yang sangat penting dan mengakibatkan binatang-binatang kecil mati? Tetapi pertapa-pertapa lain, yang walaupun kurang baik dalam melaksanakan peraturan (Vinaya), namun mereka menetap selama musim hujan".

Mendengar keluhan masyarakat tersebut, beberapa orang Bhikkhu menghadap Sang Buddha dan melaporkan kejadian di atas. Sang Buddha kemudian memberikan keterangan yang masuk akal, dan bersabda :

"Para Bhikkhu, saya izinkan kamu untuk melaksanakan masa Vassa".

Kemudian terpikir oleh para Bhikkhu,

"Kapan masa Vassa dimulai ?".

Mereka menyatakan hal ini kepada Sang Buddha dan Beliau kemudian menyatakan, "Saya izinkan kamu melaksanakan masa Vassa selama musim hujan".

Kemudian terpikir lagi oleh para Bhikkhu,

"Berapa banyak periode untuk memulai masa Vassa ?".

Mereka menyampaikan hal ini kepada Sang Buddha, Beliau berkata,

"O para Bhikkhu, terdapat dua masa untuk memasuki masa Vassa, yang awal dan yang berikutnya. Yang awal dimulai sehari setelah purnama di bulan Asalhi (Kini dikenal dengan Hari Raya Asadha) dan yang berikutnya dimulai sebulan setelah purnama di bulan Asalhi. Itulah dua periode untuk memulai musim hujan". Sejauh ini belum ada ketetapan mengenai Kathina Upacara persembahan jubah kepada Sangha setelah menjalani Vassa. Sang Buddha baru menetapkan masa Vassa dan sejak saat itu, para Bhikkhu melaksanakan masa Vassa. Pada masa Vassa para Bhikkhu menetap selama musim hujan dan melatih dirinya.

Kathina mempunyai kisah tersendiri, sebagai berikut, pada waktu itu Sang Buddha menetap di Savatthi, di hutan Jeta di vihara yang di dirikan oleh Anathapindika. Ketika itu terdapat tiga puluh orang Bhikkhu dari Pava sedang mengadakan perjalanan ke Savatthi untuk bertemu dengan Sang Buddha.

Ketika masa Vassa tiba, mereka belum sampai di Savatthi. Mereka memasuki masa Vassa di Saketa dengan berpikir,

"Sang Buddha tinggal sangat dekat, hanya enam yojana dari sini tetapi kita tidak mempunyai kesempatan bertemu dengan Sang Buddha".

Setelah menjalankan masa Vassa selama tiga bulan, dengan jubah basah kuyup dan kondisi yang lelah mereka sampai di Savatthi. Setelah memberi hormat, mereka duduk dengan jarak yang pantas.

Sang Buddha berkata,

"O para Bhikkhu, semoga semuanya berjalan dengan baik. Saya berharap kalian mendapatkan sokongan hidup. Selalu penuh persahabatan dan harmonis dalam kelompok. Kamu melewatkan masa Vassa dengan menyenangkan dan tidak kekurangan dalam memperoleh dana makanan".

Kemudian para Bhikkhu menjawab:

"Segala sesuatu berjalan dengan baik, Sang Bhagava. Kami mendapatkan sokongan yang cukup, dalam kelompok selalu penuh persahabatan dan harmonis, dan mendapatkan dana makanan yang cukup. Kami sebanyak tiga puluh orang Bhikkhu dari Pava ke Savatthi untuk bertemu dengan Sang Bhagava, tetapi ketika musim hujan mulai, kami belum sampai di Savatthi untuk bervassa. Kami memasuki masa Vassa dengan penuh kerinduan dan berpikir, Sang Bhagava tinggal dekat dengan kita, enam yojana, tetapi kita tidak mempunyai kesempatan melihat Sang Bhagava. Kemudian kami, setelah menjalankan masa Vassa selama tiga bulan, menjalankan pavarana, hujan, ketika air telah berkumpul, rawa telah terbentuk, dengan jubah yang basah kuyup dan kondisi yang lemah dalam perjalanan yang jauh".

Setelah memberikan wejangan Dhamma,Sang Buddha berkata kepada para Bhikkhu,

"O para Bhikkhu, Saya izinkan untuk membuat jubah Kathina bila menyelesaikan masa Vassa secara lengkap........".

Demikianlah izin membuat jubah Kathina ditetapkan Sang Buddha ketika Beliau tinggal di Savatthi.

Sampai sekarang Kathina tetap diperingati sebagai upacara persembahan jubah kepada Sangha setelah menjalani Vassa. Jadi setelah masa Vassa berakhir, umat Buddha memasuki masa Kathina atau bulan Kathina. Dalam kesempatan tersebut, selain memberikan persembahan jubah Kathina, umat Buddha juga berdana kebutuhan pokok para Bhikkhu, perlengkapan vihara, dan berdana untuk perkembangan dan kemajuan agama Buddha. Hubungan harmonis antara Bhikkhu Sangha dan umat awam seperti yang tercermin dalam masa Kathina ini, sungguh merupakan suatu berkah dalam kehidupan ini. Kathina memang memberikan makna yang mendalam bagi umat Buddha.