The key to cheap file distribution is to tap the unutilized upload capacity of your customers. Serving large files creates problems of scaling, flash crowds, and reliability. Its advantage over plain HTTP is that when multiple downloads of the same file happen concurrently, the downloaders upload to each other, making it possible for the file source to support very large numbers of downloaders with only a modest increase in its load. It identifies content by URL and is designed to integrate seamlessly with the Web. The protocol was designed in April 2001, implemented and first released 2 July 2001 by programmer Bram Cohen, and is now maintained by BitTorrent, Inc. It is a method of distributing large amounts of data widely without the original distributor incurring the entire costs of hardware, hosting and bandwidth resources.
BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P) communications protocol.
