A seedbox is a high-bandwidth remote server for

upload Uploading refers to ''transmitting'' data from one computer system to another through means of a network. Common methods of uploading include: uploading via web browsers, FTP clients, and terminals ( SCP/ SFTP). Uploading can be used in th ...

ing and

download In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar systems. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote ...

ing of digital files from a

P2P network Peer-to-peer (P2P) computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads between peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the network, forming a peer-to-peer network of Node ...

. The bandwidth ranges generally from 100 Mbit/s to 20

Gbit/s In telecommunications, data transfer rate is the average number of bits ( bitrate), characters or symbols ( baudrate), or data blocks per unit time passing through a communication link in a data-transmission system. Common data rate units are mu ...

. After the seedbox has acquired the files, people with access to the seedbox can download the file to their personal computers.

Function

Seedboxes generally use the BitTorrent protocol, although they have also been used on the

eDonkey2000 eDonkey2000 (nicknamed "ed2k") was a peer-to-peer file sharing application developed by US company MetaMachine ( Jed McCaleb and Sam Yagan), using the Multisource File Transfer Protocol. It supported both the eDonkey2000 network and the Over ...

network. Seedboxes are usually connected to a high-speed network, often with a

throughput Network throughput (or just throughput, when in context) refers to the rate of message delivery over a communication channel in a communication network, such as Ethernet or packet radio. The data that these messages contain may be delivered ov ...

of 100 Mbit/s or even 1 Gbit/s. Some providers are testing and offering 10 Gbit/s shared servers, while others are developing other systems that will allow users to scale their needs on the fly. Once the seedbox has a full copy of the files, they can be downloaded at high speeds to a user's personal computer via the

HTTP HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is an application layer protocol in the Internet protocol suite model for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems. HTTP is the foundation of data communication for the World Wide Web, wher ...

FTP The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard communication protocol used for the transfer of computer files from a server to a client on a computer network. FTP is built on a client–server model architecture using separate control and dat ...

, SFTP, or rsync protocols. This allows for anonymity and, usually, removes the need to worry about share ratio. More expensive seedboxes may support VNC or Remote Desktop Protocol, allowing many popular clients to be run remotely. Other seedboxes are special-purpose and run a variety of torrent-specific software including web interfaces of popular clients like Transmission, rTorrent,

Deluge A deluge is a large downpour of rain, often a flood. The Deluge refers to the flood narrative in the biblical book of Genesis. Deluge or Le Déluge may also refer to: History *Deluge (history), the Swedish and Russian invasion of the Polish-L ...

, and μTorrent, as well as the TorrentFlux web interface clients. Mobile interface support is also offered by clients such as Transmission. Seedboxes on high-speed networks are typically able to download large files within very quickly, provided that the swarm can actually handle such a high upload bandwidth. For example, a seedbox with a transfer rate of 300 Mbit/s can finish downloading a 1 GB file in under half a minute. That same 1 GB file can be uploaded to other users in the same amount of time, creating a 1:1 share ratio for that individual file. The ability to transfer files so quickly makes them very attractive to the P2P communities. Because of the mentioned high speeds, seedboxes tend to be popular when using private

torrent tracker A BitTorrent tracker is a special type of server that assists in the communication between peers using the BitTorrent protocol. In peer-to-peer file sharing, a software client on an end-user PC requests a file, and portions of the requested f ...

s, where maintaining a share ratio above 1 can be very important. Seedboxes are also used to circumvent bandwidth throttling by

Internet service provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides a myriad of services related to accessing, using, managing, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, no ...

s or to evade laws such as the

HADOPI law The French HADOPI law (, English: "Supreme Authority for the Distribution of Works and Protection of Copyright on the Internet") or Creation and Internet law () was introduced during 2009, providing what is known as a graduated response as a mean ...

in France.

References

{{File sharing File sharing networks File sharing