eDonkey for Absolute Beginners
____________________________ Introduction ^ As you probably know, p2p stands for peer-to-peer. Different kinds of p2p networks stand for different ways for peers to connect to each other. In other words: your computer and those of other users connect in different ways depending on which network you use. In order to connect to users in a specific network, you need to use a program called a client, that is designed to work on that specific network. This guide is about the eDonkey, or ed2k, network. Many ed2k clients will provide the opportunity to connect to some other kind of network as well, but those other networks are not treated in this guide. ____________________________ About the eDonkey Network ^ The ed2k network is centralised. It means that the peers are connected to each other by connecting to a server that is in the “centre”, so to speak. Or, rather: when you connect to the ed2k network, you connect to one out of many servers, that all take care of a number of connections, and “talk” to each other so that all the users can download from and upload to each other. Any day, any time of the day, there are usually over two million computers connected to the ed2k network. To be sure, the grand ed2k network is more and more turning into one eMule network, one Shareaza network, etc., but there are still millions of users connected to those smaller ed2k networks. The users on the network do not exchange complete files with each other. The files are divided into small chunks, and it is those chunks that are exchanged. Think of a file as a large picture. Then imagine that the picture is turned into a jigsaw puzzle. The peers exchange pieces of that jigsaw puzzle. Your client keeps check on what pieces you have already got, and what pieces you need to complete the picture, and then asks other peers for the pieces you need. By default, you always share at least those pieces of a file that you have received while downloading it. You can choose to share other files, too. More about that in the sections about configuration and about sharing! The ed2k network is known to be relatively slow. This is partly because of the way you get access to files. When you load a link to a file in your client, the client asks the server for computers on which that file is stored. You are placed in a queue for downloading pieces of the file from the computers that have it. Sometimes it will take a long time before the actual download begins, sometimes both connecting to your peers and downloading of your file will be fast. As a rule, things will go faster if there are many sources for a file. You will have to be patient, though, and be prepared to stay connected to the network for days. If you disconnect, you may lose your place in the queues to your peers. The ed2k network has one big advantage over many other networks. It contains a very large number of files, including older ones that have not “survived” on other networks. Often you can find files on the ed2k that you have not found on other networks. ____________________________ Choosing and Downloading a Client ^ There are a number of ed2k clients out there. Some you will have to pay for, others are freeware but include adware. Still others are free with no adware strings attached, such as the open source clients eMule and Shareaza. I have written this guide with those two in mind, but I have given a few more examples below. You can find more clients here. The basic thing to keep in mind when downloading a client is to choose a client that will work on your platform/OS (operating system), that is, your version of Windows, Mac or Linux. Different clients may split files into chunks in different ways. Even if some clients allow imports of partial downloads made with other clients, it is still a good idea to not to switch clients in the middle of a download, but let the file you are currenly downloading complete first. If you decide to try one of the open source clients, make sure that you download your client from its homepage, or from sites that are recommended there. Open source clients are sometimes offered on other sites bundled with adware and/or spyware, or as part of becoming a member of a community for a fee. Opens source clients are truly free to download and use, but if you use and appreciate them, you are of course free to show your appreciation by donating to the projects ;-). aMule for practically all platforms including Mac, Linux and Windows eMule for Windows MLdonkey is mainly being developed for Linux/Unix, but is also compiled and running on Windows and even MacOS X. Shareaza for all 32-bit MS Windows (95/98/NT/2000/XP), all POSIX (Linux/BSD/UNIX-like OSes),and OS X. ____________________________ Configuring the Client ^ Like many applications, both eMule and Shareaza sport “wizards” or “quick guides” to help you configure the client when you launch it for the first time. You can always change your settings later if you wish. There are also comprehensive guides on their respective homepages. Here, I will merely point out a couple of important details. Shared Directories You can also specify one or more Shared directories, that is, folders in which you place other complete files that you want to share on the network. Make sure that no other folders are marked for sharing. Do not EVER share your system files, program files, Windows files, etc. Bandwidth ed2k Links Firewalls You need to forward ports if you have a hardware firewall, or a router that includes a firewall. This page is very useful if you need help with port forwarding. If you click the “Forwarding” link at the top of that page, you will see a number of firewalls/routers listed. When you choose the one you have got, you will be offered a choice of clients, including eMule and Shareaza. You will be told that you need to open three ports for eMule. That is not quite true. It is enough to open port 4662 (TCP) to run the client on the ed2k network. You need to open port 4672 (UDP) to use an extended eMule protocol, and some other features, and port 4711 (TCP) if you want to use the web interface (that allows you to remote control eMule from another computer). If you decide not to use those features, you do not need to forward those ports. Shareaza only uses one port for all its connections, by default port 6346. If you know what you are doing, you can choose other than the default ports. The important thing is to open the same ports in the firewall as those you specify that you will use as you configure the client. Using other than the default ports may be a good idea, since the default file sharing ports are sometimes blocked by some servers, and are thought to decrease performance by being overused. In theory, you can pick any port number, but in practice it may be best to choose ports between 49152 to 65535. Other ports may be “well known” or “reserved”, meaning that your client might have to compete with another activity when trying to use such a port. See http://www.iana.org/assignments/port-numbers for precise information about assigned port numbers. IP Blocking ____________________________ Finding Files to Download ^ The clients usually include a search function. In addition to that, you may get tips at forums, you can use an online search engine such as FileDonkey or Filehash , and you may visit link sites. An ed2k link is basically an identifier for a file, that uses a hash function to guard against fake files given the same name as the “real” file. This page lists a number of such link sites. Be warned that so-called adult material is common on some sites. The ed2k network contains a number of fake files, that are either deliberately corrupted files, or files that have a different content than advertised. Sometimes, for example, adult movies are renamed into something that sounds innocent, and are sometimes even given the title of some popular download. According to the eMule FAQ, "you can easily recognize fakes by looking at the found filenames. Right click on any download -> Show File Details -> File Name or middle mouse button opens a list of all found file names for a download. If the file names differ a lot or are contradicting it is probably a fake. Search results showing an explorer style + also have different file names found." You may want to use the preview feature, if your client sports one, to check that you really download what you think you download. Using link sites (or forums) is a bit safer than just searching for files as far as fake files are concerned, but there are no guarantees. Fake files are not the same thing as corrupted chunks. If you spot a message in your client about a corrupted chunk, you do not need to worry. Chunks of files can be damaged (and thus “corrupted”) during normal transfer. Your client will simply discard such chunks, and re-download the missing chunk again, or it might even be able to repair the corrupted one. ____________________________ Sharing Files ^ Since p2p is very much about sharing, you should aim to upload as much as you download, so that your sharing ratio is 1:1. Also, it is bad form to disconnect and/or remove the file from the Download directory if there are just a few complete sources for a file. If you keep your downloaded files in the Incoming/Download directory, they will remain accessible for other peers on the network. If, in addition to that, you want to add to the number of files accessible on the ed2k network, it is very easy to do so. Simply place the files you want to share in your Shared directory. Be careful not to share personal material that you may later regret having shared. It is not possible to retrieve your material once it has been shared on the network. If you become a member of an online community for people sharing files on the ed2k network, you may submit your files to a database for ed2k files, and post in the community forums to inform other members about your releases. ____________________________
Useful Links ^ VLC - Videolan. Great player if you are not too well aquainted with codecs and bin-cue formats. Not the best quality player, but quite useful in order to play just about any format of file on any kind of plattform. Read about video formats and codecs at PC Answers (for Windows, but the explanation is good for other OSs, too) and here. The homepage for AVIcodec, a multimedia file analyser, also contains plenty of good links to information about codecs and file formats. FreeCodecs.com offers downloads of all kinds of codecs and tools.
By DSO - admin ClawsOrPaws |