Change the Default Port in BitTorrent Client

By default, all BitTorrent client uses port 6881-6999. Since BitTorrent accounts for a lot of the total internet traffic, your Internet Service Provider like to limit the connection offered on these ports. Since most BitTorrent client allow you to change the ports to another range, just choose anything you like.

Typically, I would choose a number between 1024-65536. For example, 5555-5559 or 8880-8889. Never choose a wide range like 5555-7777. This may result in slowing down your connection, rather than optimizing it.

2 things to take note if you are behind a router:

1) Ensure that you have the ports forwarded in your router.

This can be done from your router web interface. Enter any name for the Application field (this is for your reference); enter your port range (for example 5555-5559); set to both TCP and UDP for under the Protocol; forward to the IP address you want to port forward to. Do remember to check the “Enable”, else it will not port forward!

2) Uncheck “Randomise port each time uTorrent starts”.

Leaving this option checked will use a different port every time you launch the BitTorrent client, resulting in improper BitTorrent port forwarding through your router.

For example: You port-forward port 5555-5559, and left the randomise option checked. Each time you start the BitTorrent client, it chooses a number from 1024-65536. You may define it through the configuration menu shown above, but if you exit the client and re-launch it, the port will change.

Check the Available Number of Seeds and Peers

Check Seeds and Peers

An effective gauge, but often overlooked.

People always complain:
“I cannot get high speeds and I’ve done everything you advised me to do. Why is it so?”

The first thing I would ask is:
“How many seed and peers are you connected to?”

And he would answer:
“I’m not so certain. Let me check.”
*Couple of minutes later*
“Oh… 1 seed and 25 peers.”

Of course your speed is not good! Just look at your seed:peer ratio! It is horrible!

Wait a minute. What is a peer?

A peer is another computer on the internet that is sharing the file you wish to download. Typically a peer does not have the complete file; if it did it would be called a seed. Peers are also called leeches, to distinguish them from those who have completed their download and continue to leave their BitTorrent Client running and act as a seed.

Ok. So what is a seed?

Well, a seed is a user that has a complete copy of the specific torrent you are downloading. Once your client finishes downloading, it will remain open until you stop it. This is known as seeding.

You can also start a BitTorrent Client with a complete file, and once BitTorrent has checked the file, it will connect and seed the file to others.

It is good to continue seeding a file after you have finished downloading, to help others download faster.

Also, when a new torrent is posted to a tracker, someone must seed it in order for it to be available to others.

From the above case, it is likely that my friend must have just download a torrent that is just posted on a tracker, since the number of seeders is 1.

A rule of thumb is to always check the torrent’s current seeds and peers. The more seeds (compared to peers) the better.

Hence, a torrent with 50 seeds and 50 peers (1:1) is better than 50 seeds with 100 peers (1:2).

Patch Half-Open TCP Connection

Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 introduces a limited TCP connection, which is set to a maximum of 10 (the previous limit was over 65,000). This is “supposed” to protect the host PC from connecting to a high amount of random IP numbers.

Since some malicious worms could spread by connecting to a high amount of random IP numbers, Microsoft, in their infinite wisdom, introduced a patch in SP2 to limit the TCP connection to 10.

Regrettably, this also slows down application that relies on many connections (such as the BitTorrent client). This limit has the potential to cause slowdowns in certain situations.

An unofficial patch will modify the locked tcpip.sys and let you set the limit to whatever you wish. 75 half-open connections is a reasonable limit or you can set the limit back to 65,535 which it was before the SP2. The patch is called EventID 4226 Patcher and can be found on LVL Lord’s web site.

Just bear in mind that every time you update Windows, it will revert back to the original connection number (i.e. 10). So my recommendation is that once you have updated Windows, run the patcher again to change the number of maximum connection.