BitTorrent open sources more "polite," congestion-aware protocol

Peer-to-peer applications -- including torrent apps like BitTorrent and µTorrent -- are often given the smackdown by ISPs because they can be a little hard on networks. With the open-sourcing of their µTP protocol, BitTorrent hopes, despite the outcry from various private trackers, to usher in a new era of more gentlemanly P2P file sharing.

µTP is network-aware, detecting congestion and automatically reigning in bandwidth usage. That should, in turn, mean less traffic shaping by providers and healthier networks. BitTorrent reports positive results from their own testing so far, and its spokesperson Jenna Broughton told TorrentFreak "Informally, several technical insiders have confirmed a noticeable shift in traffic from TCP to uTP, and they seem generally positive about the deployment thus far. Universally, they commend the spirit of cooperation in helping manage congestion on the network."

No ISPs have been willing to offer formal statements, however, and some users report significantly slower downloads with µTP. It's still quite nascent, however. As the protocol matures, issues are resolved, and adoption picks up steam, µTP could play a major role in the next generation of peer-to-peer.

[via TorrentFreak]

Tags: bittorrent, p2p, peer to peer, PeerToPeer, torrent, utorrent, uTP