BitTorrent DNA

BitTorrent DNA, which stands for BitTorrent Delivery Network Accelerator, is a program designed to speed up the viewing of streaming video files, downloading software (with or without the BitTorrent protocol) and playing online video games. It does so by distributing the end users' downloads between each other. In this way, the developers intend that content providers should take less load on their servers so the end users can receive the content more quickly. cite web| url=http://www.bittorrent.com/dna/| title=Official site| accessdate=2007-10-27]

The product runs in the background, whenever the computer is switched on. cite web| url=http://support.bittorrent.com/faq/bittorrent-dna| title=The relevant section in the official FAQ| accessdate=2007-10-27]

Protocol

Original research|section|date=August 2008.

DNA is different from traditional BitTorrent in that it draws from HTTP servers in order meet a customer specified quality of service. The quality of the file transfer is specified in terms of a long-term average bitrate for data and in terms of meeting deadlines when streaming. It also can give bandwidth to TCP and other traffic.

Relation to the official BitTorrent client

Apart from being installed by third party websites and software companies, the program for end users is also installed when the official BitTorrent client is installed (starting with the rebranded version 6.0). However, it can be independently uninstalled without disabling BitTorrent itself.

Until version 6.1 (and since version 6.0) of the official BitTorrent client, it was also possible to keep the DNA application installed and yet temporarily stopped until the next system restart (in Windows XP, it was done through the system's control panel ).

History

Since October, 2007 BitTorrent DNA has been offered by BitTorrent, Inc. as a commercial service that content providers can purchase (for an undisclosed price) and as a free background program for end users. Company President Ashwin Navin launched the product claiming that "Implementing BitTorrent DNA on top of legacy infrastructure has the profound impact of allowing our customers to deliver a better user experience, higher quality video, faster software downloads, all with the security and reliability of a managed service." [cite news|url=http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20071009005561&newsLang=en|title=BitTorrent’s Delivery Network Accelerator (DNA) Service Improves the Online Experience for Streaming Video, Downloadable Software and Video Games| publisher=businesswire.com]

Navin in a podcast interview claimed that he attempted to sell BitTorrent DNA in January, 2005. After finding that BitTorrent's brand was too polarizing for potential customers, they delayed the launch until after partnering with nearly 50 media companies in the [http://www.bittorrent.com/pressreleases/2007/02/26/bittorrent-inc-launches-the-bittorrent-entertainment-network/ BitTorrent Entertainment Network] . That provided the company enough public validation to finally launch BitTorrent DNA two and half years later. [cite news|url=http://edcorner.stanford.edu/authorMaterialInfo.html?mid=1822|title=Delivering a Digital Torrent| publisher=edcorner.stanford.edu]

The service's first customer was the company Brightcove, that chose to use it to distribute streaming video files. [cite news|url=http://www.forbes.com/technology/2007/10/08/brightcove-fox-paramount-tech-cx_ag_1009bittorrent.html| title=Brightcove Unleashes A BitTorrent Stream| publisher=Forbes| author=Andy Greenberg| date=2007-10-09| accessdate=2007-10-27] [cite news|url=http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,138210-page,1/article.html| title=BitTorrent Moves to Video Streaming| publisher=PC World (magazine)| author=Jim Finkle| date=2007-10-09| accessdate=2007-10-27]

Criticism

WeFixedTheGlitch cited concerns shortly after the launch of BitTorrent DNA about possible exploits of the software, rating it as a "high" level risk and recommending the software to be avoided. [cite news|url=http://wefixedtheglitch.tumblr.com/post/22786974a|title=WeFixedTheGlitch: Extracting the BitTorrent DNA| publisher=wefixedtheglitch.tumblr.com] . BitTorrent replied that DNA only "accelerates" authorized URLs, but the possible exploit remains untested.

Other criticism includes the setup of DNA, which automatically starts with windows, and is installed with Mainline, making it hard to be noticed by some users. BitTorrent claims that this will be fixed when DNA is fully integrated into Mainline. Numerous applications install DNA to assist in content delivery, without informing the user that DNA is being installed. It then continues to occasionally utilize bandwidth in the background until uninstalled.

Since version 6.1 of the official BitTorrent client, the DNA does not have any GUI to control it (see relation to the official BitTorrent client). When introduced in version 6.0, it used to install a control panel that allowed it to be temporarily disabled, but provided no other method to control bandwidth usage, relying entirely on autodetection of acceptable transfer speeds. DNA's autodetection is not optimal for all ISPs, causing some users to experience significant lag in other network applications when a large transfer is in progress.

Like most peer-to-peer applications, DNA can cause poor performance when running alongside other peer-to-peer delivery systems; unfortunately, due to DNA's subtleness, often the user is unaware that their content is being delivered in a manner that requires both numerous connections and utilisation of their upload bandwidth, and may be surprised at a sudden drop in performance of unrelated transfers..

References