[roger_smith]

I may try and write up a few of these when I think of them. We'll see if this becomes a regular thing here.

Linux Tips: Iso Edition


I recently decided to download CentOS 6.5 for a media server project I want to try out. I headed over to the CentOS Project website and made my way to the download page. As usual, I selected the torrent download option. That brings me to my quick tip.

When downloading a Linux ISO you should always try to utilize the torrent option. Doing so reduces the bandwidth usage for that website, and gives you a faster download speed. This has the benefits of saving the distribution maintainers money on their web hosting, and gives you the download in half the time. It also shows a widely successful and "legitimate" use for the bit torrent protocol.

There you have it. enjoy!

[2460h1]

Did you really write a whole thread to simply suggest that using Torrents for downloading ISO's is better?

I also don't agree with your points for it - Most linux distro's have distributed mirrors around the world that are hosted for free by Universities and so on. Its not costing them much, if anything. Furthermore - torrents are not necessarily faster. Downloading from a university or business with a mirror in my city or state is likely going to be just as fast if not faster than downloading chunks of it from a few hundred people around the world.

There are situations when one download source may be more appropriate to use than another - but theres no reason to discourage the use of either method. For example, immediately after a new release a Torrent may likely be much faster as there will be A LOT more people downloading. Where as on a University or work network, torrents may blocked or throttled, or depending on the distro popularity may simply not have enough seeder's outside of major releases.

[Reiko]

Torrents need more legitimate uses like this. Why don't more people choose to distribute free (as in beer) software through them? It costs you nothing to distribute via torrent, and the consumer nothing to download it. Since you're making no revenue off downloads anyway, why not decrease your expenses?

[roger_smith]

Did you really write a whole thread to simply suggest that using Torrents for downloading ISO's is better?

I also don't agree with your points for it - Most linux distro's have distributed mirrors around the world that are hosted for free by Universities and so on. Its not costing them much, if anything. Furthermore - torrents are not necessarily faster. Downloading from a university or business with a mirror in my city or state is likely going to be just as fast if not faster than downloading chunks of it from a few hundred people around the world.

There are situations when one download source may be more appropriate to use than another - but theres no reason to discourage the use of either method. For example, immediately after a new release a Torrent may likely be much faster as there will be A LOT more people downloading. Where as on a University or work network, torrents may blocked or throttled, or depending on the distro popularity may simply not have enough seeder's outside of major releases.

Hi,

You're clearly new here and unfamiliar with what the Linux Tips series is about. Yes, I did create a thread recommending people download via torrent instead of direct download. The whole point of the series is to write a short to medium length thread with some basic information about the topic. I also stand by that statement. I've done testing of direct mirrors from universities and web hosts vs torrent downloads, and I have consistently had higher speeds via torrent. Additionally, SOMEONE is paying for that bandwidth on the direct mirror, 3.9GB+/- at a time.

In the end, if you don't want to use torrent, don't. If you CAN'T use torrent because of an ISP block or something, don't! This is a guideline and my personal take on things, and I understand not everyone will agree. However, the Linux Tips series is geared towards disseminating my personal knowledge and experience to others. I welcome and encourage you to share your own knowledge and experience as well