Incentives Build Robustness in Bit-Torrent
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TL;DR
The BitTorrent file distribution system uses tit-fortat as a method of seeking pareto efficiency, which achieves a higher level of robustness and resource utilization than any currently known cooperative technique.
Abstract
The BitTorrent file distribution system uses tit-for-tat as a method of seeking pareto efficiency. It achieves a higher level of robustness and resource uti-lization than any currently known cooperative tech-nique. We explain what BitTorrent does, and how economic methods are used to achieve that goal. 1 What BitTorrent Does When a file is made available using HTTP, all upload cost is placed on the hosting machine. With BitTor-rent, when multiple people are downloading the same file at the same time, they upload pieces of the file to each other. This redistributes the cost of upload to downloaders, (where it is often not even metered), thus making hosting a file with a potentially unlim-