Community Networking Discussion: Torrents, Databases, etc.

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Sparky
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Community Networking Discussion: Torrents, Databases, etc.

Post by Sparky » Sat May 11, 2013 7:40 am

Researching what options are provided by web hosting companies is what I just did. I don't like the options, as they all cost money and provide services that are insufficient for my plans.
I would like to present an idea to you: projects like HaloMD and Zeus can connect to a server in order to download resources like maps and tags, but this could be done as a secondary option to using torrent files. The main benefits to using torrents, which connect clients with each other just like Halo connects clients with each other in multiplayer games, are storage space sharing and bandwidth sharing. Torrents have each client computer share the network and storage burdens related to sharing files, whereas a single server or datacenter would need to do a lot more processing on its own and use a lot more network traffic in order to serve files. This workload impairs a server's or datacenter's ability to meet more expectations than these basic things, because they become the focus of its processing and hardware stress, so it cannot process other tasks -- the bandwidth and hard drive space become sort of dissipations from improvement, both for the person handling those computing resources and otherwise. Anyway, not to be dramatic about this or get into a deep discussion about it or about the future of technology (if there is any future of technology as people imagine it), so I will simplify this to say that torrent files can be used by Halo programs as a primary way of sharing asset files, so the client's hard drive storage is useful more than just keeping the files to themselves, and a "library" of files can be archived on free file hosting services like MediaFire, stored on backup drives by the modders, and stored on server hard drives that are paid for via the business model (which I presented in its own topic) used by the Blam! Developer Communities Network.

In short, with programs like HaloMD and Zeus and other projects in development for the BDCN like the INCY Online, a plethora of file sharing and network bandwidth resource considerations should be integrated. nil already included difference patches with file updates, so consider further the efficiency if you had, for example, a zipped or g-zipped differences patch file whose torrent file was hosted on MediaFire and automatically processed by a map-authoring program like Zeus and a game front-end like HaloMD.
Either you are groping for answers, or you are asking God and listening to Jesus.

Modzy
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Re: Community Networking Discussion: Torrents, Databases, et

Post by Modzy » Sat May 11, 2013 10:22 am

The patches implemented are already compressed.

Sparky
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Re: Community Networking Discussion: Torrents, Databases, et

Post by Sparky » Sat May 11, 2013 12:23 pm

They are zipped, right? Zipping a file is typically the last step before sending it over the internet.
Either you are groping for answers, or you are asking God and listening to Jesus.

nil
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Re: Community Networking Discussion: Torrents, Databases, et

Post by nil » Sat May 11, 2013 6:36 pm

bsdiff uses bzip2 compression.
I am no longer active to Halo or MGM, and don't guarantee a response on the forums or through email. I will however linger around the discord room for general chatting. It's been fun!

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