I used Azureus for the longest time, feature filled, but way bloated. I'm trying uTorrent out now.

What's your fave?

uTorrent doesn't seem to use all the upload bandwidth I allocate, I have it set to 40k, but actual upload rates peak around 27-30k. Maybe it's just the torrents I'm downloading, they're not exactly the most popular files.

I think bittorrent sucks.  Does it always take forever to download anything, or is that just me.

I can get my favorite TV show (350MB) in typically 1-2 hours.

I've never had a problem with eDonkey...

Every time I use bitorrent Comcast axes my connection until I reset my modem.

They deny it, but like clockwork within 5 minutes of turning on bitorrent, my connection goes dead.

I wonder how they would know?  Have you tried altering the relevant ports?

They would know with packet sniffing routers, I guess.

Changing the ports doesn't help.

I've also found similiar complaints about Comcast via Google.

Are you using a hardware router? I'd blame that first.

I've got comcast, and used to have that problem with eDonkey - great connection for about ten minutes, then nada. Since I switched to a dedicated firewall box (ISA Server), the problem's gone away.

You gotta admit that the traffic pattern for a torrent is pretty bizarre - high-speed switching and bidirectional packets all over the place.

Philo

I have similar problems. My router (Linksys BEFSR41) is also notoriously bad at handling bittorrent, so I can't necessarily lay the blame at my ISP's feet.

Hmm maybe it's my router then, but I had this same router at my old apartment without this problem.

BTW, I *am* on comcast, and had those problems. But they've gone away. So maybe the issue is a combination of Comcast's configuration and various modems and routers?

Philo

I might pick up one of these.

http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/tutorials/article.php/3562391

I use BitLord, and it seems okay.

One thing that drives me fucking nuts with Bittorrent is that I ALWAYS end up uploading about 3x more than I download. I don't like being the sucker in the equation.

uh.. the whole POINT of bittorrent is that you upload more than you download.  That's how it works.

How does that make you a sucker, exactly?

jeez muppet.  clearly unused bandwidth is of great value.  just think, if people weren't using it up by uploading from him then at the end of the year he would have saved up a couple of months usage for free.

those cheap freeloading bastards are just stealing his content distributor.

I forget that the rest of the world is a backwater that pays for bandwidth.

"uh.. the whole POINT of bittorrent is that you upload more than you download.  That's how it works."

No, that's not how it's supposed to work. Unless I had some abnormally high upload speed (which I don't), my ratio should come out to around 1:1 ideally when complete. THAT would be how bittorrent works. However so many people are running bogus clients that disable or severely limit the upstream, so you become a sucker being leeched.

"jeez muppet.  clearly unused bandwidth is of great value.  just think, if people weren't using it up by uploading from him then at the end of the year he would have saved up a couple of months usage for free."

Apart from the fact that most providers DO have monthly caps, thus actually legitimizing what you intended as sarcasm, I generally use my pipe for other purposes. When all of my other activity is thwarted by a bunch of leeches, it does bug me.

I restrict my upload to about half my maximum upload speed (I'm on DSL so upload is roughly 1/5 download). Otherwise my upload goes so fast, it severely restricts my download speed.

My share ratios are usually around 0.8 to 1.5.

"Apart from the fact that most providers DO have monthly caps, "

does yours?

Yes. Check your contract, and I'll bet yours does too.

I've downloaded hundreds of gigabytes in a month, nobody's said boo about it.

nah, I find it worthwhile to pay just a little extra and have no limits.

Muppet, sadly there are people (such as myself) who just have crappy upspeed bandwidth.  I get 2Mb/s down, and a measly 128kb/s up, so *that's* why you're up/down ratio is as it is.  It's nothing to do with bogus clients or anything, it's just that most of the world is on ridiculously asymmetric connections...

(To compensate, I leave torrents running as long as I can -- overall my stats show an up/down ratio of 15:1.)

s/upseed/upstream/

I get 256k upstream on 2Mb downstream using Demon.  I've found all the clients I've used variable.  Azureus gives you lots of pretty things to look at whilst its doing its thing.

I like and use Bitcomet and uTorrent

How come so many technologies prefer asymmetrical bandwidth? Is there some point where upstream and downstream are fungible, so they choose to give greater downstream bandwidth?

my upload bandwidth is less than 1/8th of my download bandwidth.  I just let torrents run for a while after they've completed (or I used to before Comcast started cock blocking me).