Bitstorm: the easiest bittorrentovy tracker in the world

Always wanted to be a BitTorrent tracker admin, but never could because there was a lack of technical knowledge? Then came your happy day. With Bitstorm, anyone can set up a bittorrent tracker in just a few seconds, since Bitstorm only needs hosting that supports PHP. Simply upload a single file to the webserver - and get your own valid BitTorrent tracker.

To begin with, let's admit: to launch and maintain a reliable tracker with tens of thousands of peers - this is not for everyone. For this, both skills and knowledge are needed so that everything works without a hitch. In addition, large trackers (such as PublicBitTorrent ) need a gigabit channel, and not everyone has it.

Despite the above, there are thousands of small trackers in the world, distributing a handful of torrents each. Some people get their own tracker to distribute their files in private, while others just have a hobby. With Bitstorm, now anyone can start their own BitTorrent tracker relatively easily, and many technical knowledge is not required for this.

Using the services of any hosting that supports PHP, you can start the tracker faster than read the previous two paragraphs. Bitstorm is distributed under the GPL license, consists of a single PHP file with few lines of code. Just upload it to your server - and here it is, the newborn tracker.
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The developer, Peter Caprioli, explained that the creation of Bitstorm was pushed by his failure to find a simple and non-fluffy bit torrent tracker.

“Some time ago I had to distribute a couple of large files to a couple of dozen people. I preferred the BitTorrent protocol - it is fast, and I would not need to download all these files twenty times. Therefore, I began to look for a tracker to install it on my server. ”

“Having searched for a while, I didn’t find a single tracker that would work as I wanted. All of them had a lot of additional functions built in that I didn't need - I needed a simple tracker, just serving peers, and nothing more. After reading that wonderful article, I came up with Bitstorm, ”adds Caprioli.

It was hardly possible to come up with a tracker that is easier to install than Bitstorm. On most Linux web servers, it will work as it is - even it will not have to be configured. For other operating systems, you will need to open the PHP file with a text editor, rewriting the path to the database about the peers - all other parameters are optional.

We have not seen yet a standalone BitTorrent tracker simpler and more secure “from a fool” than Bitstorm. Clearly, in terms of performance and breadth of possibilities, it is inferior to the excellent Opentracker software, but for fans, no doubt, it will fit in well.

Those interested can download the Bitstorm source code and get more information on this project page . You are also free to mention your open tracker (whether it is on Bitstorm or not) in our comments .