Pete,Apr 22 2004, 05:29 PM Wrote:Might be true, all I've got to go on is this one impression. I downloaded the file to my computer the morning after it was released. Took forever, two retries, and the rate was all over the map. Downloaded it to my wifes computer four or five days later. It came in on one try, took less than three hours.This table in the link* here is fairly typical of the Bit Torrent system, its flaws and strengths. Note it is live updated data. There are more "leechers" that simply download than "seeders" which distribute the file. The files are listed chronologically with top lists. Newer files have people distributing, while old ones can be completely abandoned. Once you're beyond the critical mass of waves of people on the same file, and lose everyone with 100% file distributing, the game's over and the BT system fails to work well. No one is a dedicated server forever. The seeded files do get taken down.
Proving once again that any statement about networking is wrong most of the time ;)
--Pete
With WoW beta, I presume blizzard has a server with limited bandwidth constantly seeding the files, and there are enough people for an interesting ride flocking toward download during peak hours and renewed every so often. You lucked out on your wife's comp. I can't predict when people come online to use BT though, just demonstrate trends like in the link above.
*Edit note: Scroll down a bit for the actual table.