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BitTorrent reveals Sync, a new file synchronization tool

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Re: BitTorrent reveals Sync, a new file synchronization tool

#11

Post by alexhektor »

jasonkolb wrote: post #8

This is what I've been waiting for. A dropbox-like service that uses BitTorrent. Seriously, with the way BitTorrent is integrated into all kinds of services and devices, it would be like instant Dropbox integration, with everything. You could start using the cool Torrent scheduling stuff to, for example, automatically transfer large files to a partner, quickly, as they're produced on the other end. Or to your TV, wha…

Don't forget about most people's very limited upload speed if they need to access files from a "not-in-sync" client.

Not saying Dropbox download speeds are a lot better, they actually sucked for large files last time I checked.

Of course, if you throw this on a server though, it obviously becomes a very good alternative to Dropbox et al, yet that's not a solution for everybody and you yourself are responsible for keeping the server safe.

Re: BitTorrent reveals Sync, a new file synchronization tool

#12

Post by nextparadigms »

lucian1900 wrote: post #5

Several companies have been using BitTorrent this way to move data in between machines (backups, builds, etc.). This may be inspired by such anecdotes.

Probably. I've been looking for easy ways to share large files between 2 computers, and I've noticed some people were recommending to just create a torrent with utorrent (apparently you can do it just by dragging and dropping the file on utorrent), and then send that person the torrent to download the file.

So I think this has a lot of potential, as a much more secure alternative to "cloud storage" as this is being more like "personal cloud storage".

Re: BitTorrent reveals Sync, a new file synchronization tool

#13

Post by criley »

Am I missing something? Other people have my files? Peer-to-peer sounds horrifying for my personal files.

I'll take SSL between me and one server, thankyouverymuch, and I'd prefer if 100 different seeders didn't have my personal files!

Or am I only seeding between my own personal machines? I sync to my four devices and I can leech off of any of my own devices connected? But that doesn't seem very "cloud".

Does anyone honestly feel comfortable syncing their files to peers?

Why not just hop on and peer everyone for the sole purpose of harvesting people's files?

Re: BitTorrent reveals Sync, a new file synchronization tool

#14

Post by nextparadigms »

alexhektor wrote: post #11
jasonkolb wrote: post #8

This is what I've been waiting for. A dropbox-like service that uses BitTorrent. Seriously, with the way BitTorrent is integrated into all kinds of services and devices, it would be like instant Dropbox integration, with everything. You could start using the cool Torrent scheduling stuff to, for example, automatically transfer large files to a partner, quickly, as they're produced on the other end. Or to your TV, wha…

Don't forget about most people's very limited upload speed if they need to access files from a "not-in-sync" client. Not saying Dropbox download speeds are a lot better, they actually sucked for large files last time I checked. Of course, if you throw this on a server though, it obviously becomes a very good alternative to Dropbox et al, yet that's not a solution for everybody and you yourself are responsible for kee…

This is why it's important to demand symmetric speeds from Internet providers in US. People are uploading a lot of stuff to the Internet these days. It's a much more 2-way medium today than it was in the past.

Re: BitTorrent reveals Sync, a new file synchronization tool

#15

Post by yk »

And where are the files stored? If I create a 'Sync'ed file, switch off the computer and start the laptop, the file needs to be stored somewhere. And if this somewhere is the torrent swarm, then I would expect an interesting discussion on cryptography and (perhaps) fountain codes etc. ( Unfortunately the blog post [1] is even less detailed than OP's submission.)

[1] http://blog.bittorrent.com/2013/01/24/test-bittorrent-sync-p...

Re: BitTorrent reveals Sync, a new file synchronization tool

#16

Post by lloeki »

yk wrote: post #15

And where are the files stored? If I create a 'Sync'ed file, switch off the computer and start the laptop, the file needs to be stored somewhere. And if this somewhere is the torrent swarm, then I would expect an interesting discussion on cryptography and (perhaps) fountain codes etc. ( Unfortunately the blog post [1] is even less detailed than OP's submission.) [1] http://blog.bittorrent.com/2013/01/24/test-bittorre…

I suppose it can be seen as twofold:

1. an AeroFS-like part, i.e your files reside only on your machines and are synced via a P2P protocol, so not-yet-synced files are unavailable when your source is offline (unless like AeroFS, they are opt-in stored in the cloud).

2. a content-hashing part, which means files on your machines that happen to have an identical file elsewhere can be obtained from that elsewhere, even if your machines are offline.

Still, no source => no data, but that's a given.

Technically, 1. is of course a special case of 2. It's just that AeroFS restricts peer requesting to your machines (and — optionally — their cloud storage).

Re: BitTorrent reveals Sync, a new file synchronization tool

#17

Post by [deleted] »

yk wrote: post #15

And where are the files stored? If I create a 'Sync'ed file, switch off the computer and start the laptop, the file needs to be stored somewhere. And if this somewhere is the torrent swarm, then I would expect an interesting discussion on cryptography and (perhaps) fountain codes etc. ( Unfortunately the blog post [1] is even less detailed than OP's submission.) [1] http://blog.bittorrent.com/2013/01/24/test-bittorre…

[deleted]

Re: BitTorrent reveals Sync, a new file synchronization tool

#18

Post by k0ban »

yk wrote: post #15

And where are the files stored? If I create a 'Sync'ed file, switch off the computer and start the laptop, the file needs to be stored somewhere. And if this somewhere is the torrent swarm, then I would expect an interesting discussion on cryptography and (perhaps) fountain codes etc. ( Unfortunately the blog post [1] is even less detailed than OP's submission.) [1] http://blog.bittorrent.com/2013/01/24/test-bittorre…

It is stored only on your computers. So, it is up to you to make sure you have at least one machine up.

Re: BitTorrent reveals Sync, a new file synchronization tool

#19

Post by k0ban »

criley wrote: post #13

Am I missing something? Other people have my files? Peer-to-peer sounds horrifying for my personal files. I'll take SSL between me and one server, thankyouverymuch, and I'd prefer if 100 different seeders didn't have my personal files! Or am I only seeding between my own personal machines? I sync to my four devices and I can leech off of any of my own devices connected? But that doesn't seem very "cloud". Does anyone…

Files are stored only on your computers, there is no cloud part. Sync uses p2p to create a cloud from your computers. You will need to care about your setup, to have 24x7 availability of the files.
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