Torrent of the latest blockchain checkpoint

[novusordo]

Would anyone be willing to seed a torrent of the latest blockchain snapshot from SourceForge? I'm getting 80KB/s downloading it right now... 

I'll make a torrent once I've downloaded the blockchain from SourceForge, let me know if you'll seed it. Alternatively, if a torrent is already out there, let me know so I can seed THAT instead!

[archetyp]

I tink the best way would be to intergrate bittorrent in the bitcoinqt client.

[jgarzik]

There is already a blockchain torrent.  See this:  https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=117982.0

Additionally, if you are getting a slow network sync inside the bitcoin client, simply stop and restart.  This will get you a new download peer.

[novusordo]

There is already a blockchain torrent.  See this:  https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=117982.0

Additionally, if you are getting a slow network sync inside the bitcoin client, simply stop and restart.  This will get you a new download peer.

I wasn't getting a slow sync, I asked because I wanted to make sure a better option was available for newcomers who want to download a copy of the blockchain, but don't want to face slow download times. Thanks for the link Jeff, I'll be seeding!

[MysteryMiner]

And why you think that downloading torrent separately and placing it in Bitcoin data directory is easier for first-timers than simply running the Bitcoin client that synchronizes automatically?

There might be something to improve in Bitcoin such as requesting different blocks from multiple nodes for better download speed and reduced load on uploading nodes.

[novusordo]

And why you think that downloading torrent separately and placing it in Bitcoin data directory is easier for first-timers than simply running the Bitcoin client that synchronizes automatically?

There might be something to improve in Bitcoin such as requesting different blocks from multiple nodes for better download speed and reduced load on uploading nodes.

It's more complicated, sure, but downloading the blockchain via torrent is significantly faster at this point. If blockchain sync/download improves in the Satoshi client, that might change, but I'm talking about now.

[Sukrim]

As far as I understand, most of the time transfer speed isn't the limiting factor, but calculating the correctness of the database (e.g. no fake transactions in a block you received). As bitcoin-qt is the reference implementation, I fear some potentially even slightly less secure methods wouldn't make it.

Maybe however it might be possible to just get any block it can get without processing at all and then reassemble it to a proper, unforked blockchain. This might again have some DoS potential though... a compromise would be to first get all headers until the current block and then get the content for these asap.

On the topic: As already said, there's a kinda current snapshot + torrent for it already linked, also the torrent is quite well seeded. Integrating this in the client might on one hand be nice, but on the other hand undermines bootstrapping security minimally. I still think something like a "rolling release" magnet link that contains a torrent from the blockchain 120 blocks ago which gets loaded by a client is surely nice to have, won't make it in the reference client though.

[ptshamrock]

http://eu2.bitcoincharts.com/blockchain/

A little bit of help at least