Faster Torrenting With a VPS Seedbox

If you've ever used BitTorrent to download the version of your favorite Linux distro or, well, something else, you'll know that it's all about bandwidth. Obviously, the faster your downstream speed, the quicker the download completes -- but did you know that your upstream connection dictates your maximum download speed?

You might not appreciate it as an "end user", but the entire point of the BitTorrent protocol is to create a network of high-speed seeds. The fact is, if you have a faster upload speed, BitTorrent wants you to complete the download faster, so that you can help keep the torrent alive.

The problem, though, is that most home internet connections are still fairly weak. If you're near a city, you might be able to upload at a few megabits per second, but many internet users are still limited to just a few hundred kilobits. If a torrent is well-seeded, you still have the possibility of maxing out your downstream, but it's unlikely. The best solution in such cases is to stop using your own upstream link and get a seedbox -- a virtual private server (VPS) -- that's connected to the web at 100 megabits per second.

A seedbox is, fundamentally, a shared Linux server that sits in a well-connected data center. You log in remotely, via SSH, Web control panel, or smartphone app, and simply start queuing up torrents. When they're done -- which only takes about a minute -- you download them directly to your home computer. The privilege costs a few dollars a month -- but can you put a price on almost unlimited traffic and downloading everything at 10MB/sec?

Before we proceed, a word of caution: you can set up a seedbox without prior Linux experience, but it won't be very easy. If you can follow guides to the letter, you'll be OK. There's absolutely no risk of harming your computer or data, though -- so if you've been looking for an excuse to learn more about Linux, here's your chance.

For the most part, all VPS providers are pretty similar, with the only real difference being location -- as in, where the data center is -- and the price. Location-wise, try to find a VPS that's located in the same country as you; price-wise, you shouldn't have to pay more than $20/month, but the price will vary from country to country (the US is cheaper than the UK, for example).

All VPSes should have at least a 100Mbps connection to the internet, but be sure to check the small print.

We can recommend Linode as one of the best VPS providers -- but if you're looking for something a bit cheaper, simply typing "VPS" into Google is a good bet. Most VPS providers offer some kind of money back guarantee, too!

Once your VPS has been set up, and you've been sent the root login details, things start to get a little trickier. If you're not confident with command line interfaces and hacking config files, it might take a few attempts to actually get your VPS seedbox working.

If given the choice -- it will vary from provider to provider -- you should ask for Ubuntu to be installed on your VPS. If you went with Linode, you can install Ubuntu yourself as part of the set up process.

Some VPSes will give you a control panel from which you perform the next few steps -- but if not, you'll need to grab a client like PuTTY to log in to your VPS via SSH. If you haven't used PuTTY before, we suggest you read a guide -- and then follow that up with some basic Linux command line interface (CLI) tutorials.

Next, you need to install rTorrent, which should be as simple as typing sudo apt-get install rtorrent -- but it's easy enough to build from source, too.

Installing and Using the ruTorrent Interface

Once you've set up rTorrent, you can dive straight in and start downloading torrents, but it's a lot easier in the long run to use a web interface.

With ruTorrent (note the addition of a 'u') you can manage your torrents easily from any web-connected computer, including your smartphone or tablet. The only problem is that installing ruTorrent will require a little bit of work -- it's not difficult, but it is a bit daunting.

FileShareFreak has an excellent guide on setting up a secure installation of ruTorrent (skip ahead to the 'Configure your Server' section) -- but the ruTorrent site itself has plenty of good resources, too.

Have you ever been on the move -- your morning commute, perhaps -- and wished you could queue up some downloads, so that they're ready for your delectation once you get home? With the Android app Transdroid, you can do just that. There's a handy guide for setting Transdroid up with Ubuntu and rTorrent, but make sure all of the ports and sockets line up with what you've done so far.

If you have an iPhone, BlackBerry or Nokia phone, you can't use a native app -- but the ruTorrent web interface should work just fine.

Downloading Finished Torrents to Your Home Computer

Once rTorrent has completed your torrents, it's time to bring those files down to your home computer. The easiest way to do this is with FileZilla, a free SSH and FTP client for Windows, Mac and Linux. It should be as simple as entering your VPS login credentials, using SFTP (port 22), and hitting 'Connect.' Be sure to check the FileZilla documentation if you have any issues, though.

If you can't get rTorrent and ruTorrent to work, don't worry -- there's an alternative: pre-configured seedboxes. They're a little more expensive, and no where near as flexible, but they have the added benefit that you can just leap in and start torrenting straight away.

The price and quality of seedboxes varies a lot, but generally you will have to spend more than $30 per month if you want to download more than 1 or 2 things a day. It's a highly competitive area, too, with prices jumping up and down on a daily basis. Your best bet is to type "seedbox" into Google and see what pops up. Some seedbox services offer a trial account or a money back guarantee so that you can see what you're going to get for your money -- but be sure to check some reviews before diving in!

Finally, if you like the idea of remote control torrenting, but you don't need the 10MB/sec download speeds made possible by a VPS, the latest version of uTorrent has an excellent feature called uTorrent Web. From any web browser, uTorrent Web lets you access your home or office PC and queue up some downloads. The interface is virtually identical to the installed version of uTorrent, too.