Think BitTorrent and most people think piracy — an easy way to get music, movies and software on the Internet using the peer-to-peer protocol, which was founded in 2004 by San Francisco’s BitTorrent Inc.
But BitTorrent is a hugely useful file-sharing tool for legal purposes, too, and has become more so with the commercial release this week of its new peer-to-peer file syncing service, BitTorrent Sync.
Started as a technology experiment in January last year, the product allows people to share and manage personal files between multiple devices. Essentially, it allows users to set up a shared folder and uses BitTorrent’s clever distribution protocols to share files.
Each device that has access to the shared folder also becomes part of the distribution network, seeding the data to those devices that don’t have the data yet. If devices connected to the shared folder are on the same network — an Ethernet or Wi-Fi local-area network, for example — Sync will copy the data locally without ever breaking out onto the Internet.
We tested the technology in TechCentral’s offices with a number of large files we use for production purposes, and the transfers were snappy. And because the the data never touches a “cloud” server, privacy and data security remain the domain of the devices set up to sync with that folder.
BitTorrent Sync quickly gained traction when it was opened to a alpha-testing programme in April 2013. Two weeks later, more than a petabyte of data had already been synced between users, equating to over 70TB of data synced daily. Less than two months later, the number has grown to 8PB synced.
BitTorrent Sync how has more than 10m active users who have synced more than 80PB of data.
The system works across virtually all platforms, including Windows, Mac OS X, Android, iOS, Linux, Windows Phone and even FreeBSD. The company has also struck deals with external manufacturers such as Netgear, Seagate, and QNAP to make the technology available on network-attached storage devices, effectively giving users the ability to host their own “in-house cloud service”.
This is a big deal. BitTorrent has managed to take one of the key features of cloud storage — the syncing capabilities — and removed the need to have online storage from the equation. There are of course many benefits to have offsite storage on a cloud server somewhere, but for sharing files among friends, work colleagues or devices at home, Sync has certainly managed to capture the market. Its technology has also enabled cross-device synchronisation, something which has always been tricky to do easily — now getting a file from your MacBook to your Android phone is as easy as dragging and dropping it.
Although the developers have said that BitTorrent Sync is not meant as a competitor to cloud-based file syncing services such as Dropbox, this is where it has attracted most of its users. This platform also addresses many of the concerns faced with cloud storage and syncing services such as privacy, cost and performance.
Where cloud storage services still remain dominant for things like backup, BitTorrent Sync could easily become the choice for sharing personal files.
Piracy
Of course, pirates will love the service, too. Considering that the files shared are only visible to those users or devices connected to the folder, BitTorrent Sync will appeal to those wanting to share music and movies.
Of course, the technology shouldn’t shoulder the blame for what people do with it. It makes a great collaboration tool for sharing legitimate material.
The developers realised this early on and launched BitTorrent Bundle, a clever system leveraging BitTorrent’s technology to give artists a platform to share not only music to their fans, but also images, notes and other media files. Sharing can be done for free, or artists can develop unique ways for their fans to unlock content.
It seems BitTorrent has its sights set on a much broader platform of offerings to allow users to share files and data using nothing more than the peering technology it pioneered. While this technology can and will be used for piracy, it also offers law-abiding citizens one of the most effective ways to share data while disintermediating the big cloud players.
And those wanting guarantees of privacy will welcome it.
With application programming interfaces for third-party developers on the way, a wave of innovation on the platform is likely. Heck, BitTorrent may even be able to shed its primary image as a tool for Internet piracy as consumers adopt Sync for a wide range of legitimate purposes. — © 2014 NewsCentral Media
