Public repository and distributed bandwidth (like BitTorrent)

Support
1

I’d like to create some semi-public (master) repository, and avoid manual adding a lot of peers to server.

With both BitTorrent Sync and Dropbox that’s “by design”.

But with Syncthing, I have to add each peer to master also, which isn’t any handy. Will this be addressed, so I can mark a repo “public”, and anyone who knows node and repo IDs can fetch it?

Also, with BitTorrent Sync that becomes bandwidth-distributed automatically, like with conventional BitTorrent Downloads.

IIRC, with current design bandwidth distribution won’t be possible with Syncthing, so it’s not any different from conventional overwhelming simultaneous rsync pull requests?

2

Correct. This is not a good use case for syncthing.

Edit: The bandwidth will be distributed just fine, but only if all the nodes know each other. Dynamically building a swarm of nodes isn’t a goal, think more “close knit circle of friends” than “distribution of content to the general public”. BitTorrent sounds like an awesome alternative for the latter. :slight_smile:

1 Like
3

It seems btsync devs are not going to open their protocol or go opensource, and they moving to make their product too commercial, so opensource alternative is still needed. I struggle to run btsync on my two NAS devices and no help from btsync devs, and it seems it would not come. On other hand someone already made a patch to run syncthing, and that is a power of opensource.

But btsync approach is alot more convenient and it would be great to see such a functionality in a syncthing especially given that it already has all the bricks to acheive that. Do you still think that you do not want that in synkthing, or I can hope to see it implemented in future?

4

I agree that if you want to distribute something, you should use BitTorrent. Not BTSync, just good ol’ BitTorrent.

You can automate the process, e.g. if you want to offer a podcast for download, almost completely. Just create a torrent-file via command line tools, upload them to your webserver and users have choice to download via HTTP or P2P.

Also all new clients support web seeding, which means you can add a HTTP source so that you never run out of seeding peers. If you want you can set private or public flags, add public trackers or set up your own - the technology is already there :slight_smile:

5

In my perception both behaviours could be implemented as two security modes:

  1. the shared secret mode of btsync is very convenient and could be part of a regular mode
  2. the ‘only allow known peers’ could be part of a high security mode

Both modes have there use cases.

Besides it would open a constructive competition with btsync. As I read in many issues and discourses btsync is the ONE to compare to.

6

No, good old bittorent is very limited, it does not work in cases when you have frequently updated directories, ubuntu repositories as one practical example.

7

Dont focus on btsync, just the easy handling I like and prefer.

8

I focus on workflow, and ease of use, syncthing one is confusing currently.

9

What confuse you. Describe the workflow you Werke annoyed oft!