uTorrnet fixating on selected hosts

[Merkwurdigliebe]

I've noticed that on the last two versions of uTorrent for the Mac the app has displayed an unhealthy tendency to fixate on one client and dump essentially unlimited bandwidth to that one guy to the near exclusion of all other peers.

I just watched it dumping 4.8 MB/s to a peer running uT 2.2.1. It dumped my entire upload bandwidth less a couple of k to that one peer, finished him, and then of course he bailed. As soon as he was gone, the app started apportioning bandwidth more equitably (and using most of it - ~3.5 MB/s) - until it fixated on yet ANOTHER 2.2.1 peer and started dumping everything to him.

This behavior i not promoting effective sharing. I call it Republican sharing. One guys gets super-rich and everybody else gets crumbs - if they get anything at all. There are 95 connected peers and only five of them get anything.

I think it could do a better job of spreading the wealth and promoting healthy swarms.

[DreadWingKnight]

and then of course he bailed

According to what? You have no way to verify this because seeds NEVER retain connections to other seeds.

[Merkwurdigliebe]

I never said I was a seed, so it's according to the fact(s) that I am still at 85% or so, we had been connected for hours, he never connects any more, and the number of seeders did not increase when he finished.

It's a really large torrent; the swarm numbers are quite stable so you can see pretty easily when people bail at 100%. Peers drop by one and seeders stays the same. Happens all the time. I think it's why they call them leeches.

Did you have anything to offer about the observation on the behavior of the application and the negative impact it may be having on the health of torrents worldwide? Why would it be prioritizing uTorrent 2.2.1 clients to the detriment of everyone else? I've never observed it doing this with any other type of client, just uT 2.2.1.

It certainly seems that this type of behavior would be detrimental to the community at large.