BitTorrent's Future? DHT, PEX and Magnet Links Explained

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

BitTorrent’s Future? DHT, PEX and Magnet Links Explained
Written by Ernesto on November 20, 2009 
<http://torrentfreak.com/bittorrents-future-dht-pex-and-magnet-links-explained-091120/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Torrentfreak+%28Torrentfreak%29>

This week The Pirate Bay confirmed it would shut down its tracker for good, instead encouraging the use of DHT, PEX and 
magnet links. This move confounded many BitTorrent enthusiasts, who although wishing to adapt, were confronted with 
hard to grasp terminology and technology. Time for some explaining.

The Pirate Bay’s recent confirmation that they had closed down their tracker since DHT and Peer Exchange have matured 
enough to take over, was coupled with the newsthat they had added Magnet links to the site. This news has achieved its 
aim of stimulating discussion, but has also revealed that there is much confusion over how these technologies work.

The key thing to understand is that nobody is being forced to use Magnet links or trackerless torrents. While these 
long-standing technologies may prove to be the future, they will co-exist with tracker-enabled torrenting for quite 
some time. For now, nobody will be forced to immediately change their existing downloading habits, although it may be 
wise to switch to a BitTorrent client that is compatible with these technologies.

In an attempt to clear some of the mystique surrounding DHT, PEX and Magnet links we will walk through all three 
briefly, hoping to assure those who’ve become confused earlier this week.

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