Trackhub Offers a Solution for Failing BitTorrent Trackers

Ernesto
September 12, 2009
66
Trackhub
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Trackers are the Achilles’ heel of BitTorrent. Tens of thousands of downloads will slow down or stop working entirely when some of the bigger trackers go offline. Trackhub is a new service that addresses this problem by distributing downloaders to a working tracker in case the main tracker fails.

At the time of writing the two biggest BitTorrent trackers are down. The Pirate Bay and OpenBitTorrent’s tracker were handling the downloads of some 20 million people, and those downloads have stopped working entirely unless downloaders have DHT enabled in their client.

Luckily there are a few alternative trackers out there that still work, but the problem is that those trackers are not listed in the majority of torrents that are out there now. In an attempt to solve this recurring issue, Trackhub has developed a service that will act as a hub and distribute the various downloads over working tracker in case the main tracker goes down.

All users have to do is add the Trackhub announce url to the torrents they create and Trackhub will then redirect the download request to a working tracker. It is of course wise to add another tracker in addition to the Trackhub url in case the service itself goes down.

Trackhub’s developer Pedro told TorrentFreak that his service will not slow down downloads and that all peers downloading the same torrent will be linked to one tracker.

“Trackhub will choose one of the trackers in the list based on the info_hash, this means every client requesting peers for a certain torrent will be redirected to the same tracker. Trackhub does not make the requests directly, the clients do after being redirected,” he said,

“I have made sure that this would not break swarms and slow down the download even when a tracker goes down, Trackhub should be able to maintain some degree of consistency for the swarms,” Pedro added.

One of the downsides of Trackhub might be that it currently runs on Google’s App Engine platform which is based in the US. Unlike most existing trackers Google does keep logs and it is therefore advised to use the secure (https) announce url if you value your privacy.

Despite this minor issue, Trackhub offers a great service that can help to make BitTorrent a bit more stable and redundant. Now let’s hope Trackhub can handle all the traffic if this catches on.

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Lynx

I’m sure it would take long to be taken down, US based…
Wow

This is pretty god idea.
Hmmmm

So what happens if Trackhub goes down?
http://www.eZee.se www.eZee.se

Very nice… but still there IS a head to cut off, we need to get de-centralized faster.

Just my $0.02
Sir-Real

@4 I completely agree with you, but that takes time, in the mean time this sounds like a good temporary solution.
anon

@3

do not rely only on trackhub, use at least one other tracker. get your own trackhub running for free, etc
afl

OpenBitTorrent is working all the time
anon

@7
so was tpb a few weeks ago.
meepmeepmeep

Question to TF:

Why do you keep pretending that openbittorrent is something else than the piratebay tracker with a different url?
Anon

Openbittorrent is working fine for me, and has been for the last two days.

And yes, everyone knows that openbittorrent is TPB, and so is torrage.com. It was all part of their plan.
http://www.eZee.se www.eZee.se

@Sir-Real,
Yep, thats why i said “very nice” :)

Wish i had the skill/talent to make something like that, but since i dont – i have no other choice but to sit by the sidelines and try to urge the people who do to please hurry the f**k up because we have a lot of antipiracy morons trying to make us bend over.
Anonymous

Oh well, I just send and recieve files via e-mail and instant messaging clients. Then the transfers are only between people that know each other, no central hub, no snitches and it’s all protected by mail secrets in most countries.

Just get some better friends ;)
Anonymous

why isn’t DHT good?
Anonymous

Can DHT be shut down? sorry doublepost
jemoer

@13
It isn’t as good because it’s less effective but I don’t think it can be shut down
MissedMemories

Well… actually… why don’t someone hosts a tracker that justs sends online people, without caring about your torrent? It would slow down the process of finding peers for your torrents, but then you couldn’t be tracked, since you just recive and send adresses… All that.. Anywho.. We need a de-sentralizated way to send stuff.. that doesn’t involve logging, or servers, or trackers.
Admin

Good rinse to public trackers, private all the way…
anno

idon’t get it piretbays tracker and openbittorrent’s tracker work just fine for me
Anonymous

Why is private better than public?
Not Owned by Google

> One of the downsides of Trackhub might be that it currently runs on
> Google’s App Engine platform

“one of the downsides”? That’s putting it mildly. How stupid do they think people are?
Anonymous

@13 @14: No, DHT cannot be shut down because it’s a true P2P network (no central point like a tracker).

Most of the time it works just fine but when it does not a tracker like this one might help.
Anonymous

@19 Faster, better, stronger. Seriously.

You can’t just download everything you want like mad the first thing you do though because on almost all private trackers there are rules for how much you must seed (usually between 0.5 to 1.0 ratio minimum or a certain amount of time).

It’s worth it though because that means the speed will be much better and torrents will not go unseeded. Usually only some users can upload, called uploaders. They got access to the scene and can upload releases minutes after the release and there are never, ever, any virus, fakes or shit. At least if you’re on a good private tracker that is.
ROLF

@12

yeah, isn’t that actually the idea behind openBT/torrage

everybody would be able to just share an info hash, plaintext, via icq, skype, via facebook, via email, forums, blogs – and everybody knows putting that hash in the right place will result in an up-to-date-well-seeded-torrent.

problem is only that openBT/torrage seamingly depend on TPB and so on it’s up/down state.
that has to be kinda fixed, and TPB has to finally let go – in order to move on, sorry, but otherwise i don’t really see movement.

well…its ok, as it lasts of course.
Jj

It’s way hard to get in a decent private tracker. And if they don’t have what you want you have to find another and so on. I guess that’s how it’s gonna be though.
Emule User

remember that there is still http://www.openbittorrent.kg to use also as there are more openbittorrent trackers than just one.
dude

Not a bad concept. Just need to have a crapload of reliable trackers out there. And hope this hub doesn’t go narc.
Anonymous

@24

It’s hard if you have that mentality. I found ONE private game tracker that had an “Invite” and “Request” section for private trackers in the forums, I am now a member of 14 private trackers.

Idling in irc helps too.
Matheus Svensson

Can someone explain to me how the use of the secure URL protects privacy? It’s Google’s server certificate and Google’s web servers decrypt and encrypt the data. Those servers will, necessarily, be handling data when it’s unencrypted. I’ve looked at the Google App Engine Privacy Notice, and it doesn’t say that there will be any less logging for secure connections.
Jimmy

It’s not hard to get into private trackers. After getting into an entry-level one you just have to put some effort into it building good ratio numbers and meeting the right people in the forums.
Semper Fidelis

@19

In some intances, Private is better. In the instances I care about, they aren’t. Anonymity is much more difficult with private trackers, mostly because the (decent) ones I’ve come across either require payment and thus link to a credit card (typically yours), or store unreasonable amounts of information on accounts. In addition, Private trackers seem to have a great deal *fewer* torrents than public trackers. But at least you know you’ll never be able to get what you want… all the time ?
sunny

its nice idea.

@19 private trackers are always good. Its more safe, more download speed and better administration than public. your identy and information is never shared else where.

Sunny @
http://www.torrentkit.com
Bluneon

Some of my research seems to indicate that your IP can be tracked through DHT. Anyone up on that? I anonomize my connection through Tor. Don’t download through the Tor network, just anonomize the connection.
sunny

@32 Yes I believe it is possible since your connection is not set to an exact connection and it tries to connect to as much peer as possible.

Sunny @
http://www.torrentkit.com
anon

@16
that sounds like gnutella and the gnutella web caches :)

@20
if you are releasing .torrents you are definitely somewhat versed on the technicalities of a tracker, and you know how secure or insecure GAE can be. trackhub is not for pirate .torrents only mind you and now where is it hidden that trackhub will keep logs. But if you use https at least you know that only you and google know what happened when your BT client contacted trackhub.

@25
openbittorrent.kg does not run on port 80 or 443, otherwise it would be listed on trackhub.

@26
in case trackhub goes down or is taken over by rogue admin, there’s the development page to get news from.

@28
actually https is dealt exactly like http, except it’s encrypted between the client and the server. logs are kept just like in http.
remember that privacy means no one can snoop the logs without a warrant. and without knowing what happens in there i doubt anyone can snoop the logs for random data.
Anonymous

Sorry sunny but you are talking bs. In pubblic trackers no info is required so no info can be shared. You could want to use a temporary email or a proxy and that’s it. Profiling is harder then on private trackers, especially those requiring uploaders to be senior members.Also private tracker doesn’t mean the staff checks torrent for malware, but there are pubblic trackers that do it (Vertor, H33t, maybe more). Only thing I agree is that they are usually faster, but I must say I don’t mind if a download takes hours, also because you should or will have to seed anyway. Lastly, I think pubblic trackers are better for P2P releases (more staff) and IRC is better for pres. To me only worthing trackers are those that have “internal encoders”, so I hope private trackers will never become popular or you’ll have to sign up in many sites and WASTE time partecipating in each, beacause the only thing I care about is sharing. Sorry for my english and prolongation.
IRC?

What do you mean you ‘idle’ in irc channels? I’ve tried to get in certain channels but I am always shut out. Does anyone know any good channels for p2p?
yapapanya

?? ??? ???? ??? ????! ?????? ???? ??? ? ????? ??????)) ???????!
??????????? ????? ??? torrentfreak.com !
Anonymous

So Long and Thanks for all the Fish!
Anonymous

whats the difference between just googling the hash to find other announce URLs?
Jim

This idea isn’t going to work at all. Most clients DO NOT accept HTTP redirects from trackers, and rightly so since it is a bit of a security risk. Regardless, clients that this will work with are probably using a 3rd party HTTP stack (as opposed to a simple request/reply implementation on plain sockets), which opens you up to all sorts of other fun things that can be done by a malicious tracker.
Anonymous

Retroshare, GNUnet, stealthNet all work fine and are decentralized anonymous encrypted networks.

Bitorrent probably will not go that way so is time to move on.
Le Fake

People, people… eMule/Kademlia. ;)
chak

It’s a bit sad that people just INSIST on seeing this and other similar issues as a THIS vs. THAT scenario. Please stop thinking that Public or Private trackers are ‘better’ than the other. They each serve their purpose.

The point of this tracker hub is one step in the effort to transition ‘public’ trackers to a more open and peer distributable framework… one that cannot be shut off at the source, since the source is EVERYONE.

I love my private trackers as much as the next person but private AND public trackers will BOTH survive by adapting and evolving. This is one such evolution whether you like it, agree with it, or plan to use it.

The more true distribution is built into the process, the more impossible it becomes for any central authority to ever even THINK about ‘shutting down’ a tracker.

If you love Limewire or eMule descendents then rock them. If you prefer downloading services, then do that. If you like private trackers… fine that doesn’t mean that the rest of the world has to do what you do.

The MORE types of file distribution that are reliable and stable, the better they ALL are in the long run.

Stop bitching and sniping at each other and realize you’re all on the same side, looking to accomplish the same thing. The more you fight amongst yourselves, the happier the MAFIAA is.
basement dweller

People seem to be under the impression that decentralization is something magical, but it won’t give you any anonymity or additional privacy. If you found the torrent, then the RIAA can find it too and you are busted. The only solution is an encrypted network with intermixed confusion.

“everybody knows putting that hash in the right place will result in an up-to-date-well-seeded-torrent”

I’m not sure exactly what you mean but it is impossible to recreate a torrent metafile from the info hash. That should be pretty obvious…
Julio

private trackers are the easiest to take down because the admins are pussies who gets scared easily. they dont care about their users and will gladly provide your personal info.
Hm?

I dont know whats with you Ernesto, but you wrote the last article I read that Openbittorrent was offline, too.
But then and now, the tracker is online for me.
HM?
anon

@ julio
you must be on some prettty shitty private trackers. All the admins I know are pretty nice people
TO YOU PUBLIC USERS

Seriously….get with the PROGRAM! It is NOT hard to get into a private tracker: to name a few easy to get in
-iptorrents
-leecherslair
-scenerace
-tehconnection

most of these if not all have invite requests in IRC. If not just f**** sit in the irc and make friends and they will give you an invite – dont be pushy.

another way to get into a private tracker is to register on a forum such as torrent-invites. when you register there READ THE RULES how to gain access to the private tracker invites – its easy.

yes, this all takes more time than simply downloading from a public tracker but its worth it. i dont understand how you guys can handle the crappy speeds you get on public trackers – the crap quality releases – the lack of a community and the lack of COMMENTS on torrents.

seriously wake up! stop using public trackers! you are stuck on old technology – you are using fax machines while we are using email…get it?!

SUMMARY:
all of you saying its SOOOO hard to get into private trackers simply have not spent more than 10 minutes trying to get into one. do some googling, join a private tracker invite forum and actually spend some time SHARING and not downloading and closing uTorrent selfish swine.

I guarantee you can get into a very good private tracker such as iptorrents in less than 8 hours if you actually tried and used half a brain. eventually you will climb the ladder of tracker levels and get into more and more private trackers. its all about SHARING and COMMUNITY!

/rant
Also

Also good way to get into private trackers is

http://www.opentrackers.net/

tells you when open registrations are
Torrentino

A centeralized tracker for decentralized trackers? Great.
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anon

@49 without really being a tracker

@any saying pvt trackers are cool:
tl,dr

\o bye
anon

“Most clients DO NOT accept HTTP redirects from trackers”

you obviously know nothing about BT, gtfo
Jan Schotsmans

A great idea?

Uhm, and what if trackerhub fails or quits?

You’ll just be stuck with the same problem no?
Reasoned Pinapple

Private trackers are less secure than public ones. They track and hold onto user info (e-mail address, torrents shared, credit card info, comments, etc) which is a necessity for them. They are far from being immune to investigation by the law as well. After all if I can get an invite and befriend other users then anyone can.

Private trackers are only in it for the money. They want you to pay them (in the guise of a donation) which in turn allows you to circumvent the rules. This is hardly a fair system and goes against the core ideals behind file sharing. Yes, you do have a choice and don’t have to “donate” if you do not want to, but private trackers tend to be set up in such a way as to encourage it. One of the worst ways is by fudging your ratio slightly. Most folks won’t even notice it because it is configured to add up slowly over time. The ideas is that if you can get a user to pay you just once, the odds are high that user will continue doing so by using an automated monthly payment system (such as Paypal for instance).

People say private trackers are faster, implying public ones are slow. This isn’t true at all. I have never had a single speed issue when using public trackers. Believe me, I’ve downloaded a lot over the past decade. When it comes to P2P, I’ve used them all. Of course, my ISP does NOT throttle nor monitor/block any sites so that may have something to do with it.

The fastest speeds I see are when DHT is enabled on the torrent, something you’ll never see when it’s originating from a private tracker. After all, it circumvents the ratio controls these sites employ.

Which brings me to another point. I’ll admit that, when handled truthfully, ratios are a good idea for the most part. Unfortunately a lot of folks out there have asynchronous internet connections and this increases the difficulty in trying to maintain a good ratio. Once the first 48 hours have passed, downloaders to seed to become far and few between.

Now I’m not saying public trackers are perfect. Public and private each have their place when it comes to file sharing. I just hate seeing misinformation and FUD being spread by folks who think private trackers are somehow infallible. Like someone else pointed out, it’s not as simple as black versus white. Neither are perfect. Choose according to your needs.
anon

@52
“It is of course wise to add another tracker in addition to the Trackhub url in case the service itself goes down”.
Jasper van Weerd

@9 I see the total plans as a whole idea, by 1 souce

opentrackers
decentralised sources
decentralised meta searches
tracker distribution site
TO YOU PUBLIC USERS

@54

you have obviously never or rarely used a private tracker. you do not have to donate at all, and if you are worried with giving them your email use a hushmail account. most privite trackers use the donation money for their server cost and most do not give you upload credit. I am a member of many and only a few of them do and they are the lower end ones.

and you dont think public trackers are profiteering?….they are add infested.

your claim that private trackers are less secure is just silly.
Jupiter

Trackers down.

It worked very well while it lasted though.
Anonymous

@58
it’s backup

http://trackhub.appspot.com/

reached quota limits
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meme

so there’s openbitt, now trackhub, 2 weeks later maybe another one until we are all so flooded with good trackers nobody will fuck with us
yay
Leishtek

with the help of this:
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-s773/show
Obama will soon own the entire Internet, everything you say…and YOUR IMMORTAL SOUL!!
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Trackhub Offers a Solution for Failing BitTorrent Trackers

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