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How does the Blizzard Downloader
work?
The Blizzard Downloader allows users to download large files
using a peer-to-peer protocol.
Each person downloading the file will offer a portion of their
upload bandwidth to allow other users to download the same file.
By using the upload bandwidth only, the individual user will not
see a decrease in their download speed - in fact, the more users
there are downloading the file, the faster everyone's individual
download speed will be.
The Blizzard Downloader is only active when you are downloading
files, and only accesses files associated with the data that you
are downloading. Blizzard will not access or upload any other
files, or obtain any personal information about you as a result
of this activity.
Why isn't Blizzard supplying its own bandwidth to distribute
patches and other content? As in the past, Blizzard provides a
large amount of its own bandwidth for distributing content.
Peer-to-peer bandwidth is added on top of that to make the
download faster for everyone.
Why isn't Blizzard buying more bandwidth to distribute content
by itself? Due to the incredible popularity of our games, buying
enough bandwidth to deliver large amounts of content to our
users as fast as they can download it is simply not an option.
It is not feasible to get that amount of bandwidth at our
datacenters. Peer-to-peer transfer of files scales much better
when distributing large amounts of data to a large population of
users in a timely manner.
What if I can't or don't want to use a peer to peer download If
you would like to use the built-in alternate download method,
you can un-check the box for peer-to-peer downloading. This will
reduce the potential download speed, since it is not as fast as
peer-to-peer, but will draw the patch file directly from
Blizzard's servers.
What files are being shared by the Blizzard Downloader? The only
files that are shared are the ones that the downloader is
currently downloading. The downloader does not allow other peers
to access arbitrary files on your computer. Files are only
shared while the downloader is running.
Can I resume an incomplete download with the Blizzard
Downloader? Yes, when restarting the downloader, you can resume
your existing download if you save to the same location.
Why would I want to use the Blizzard Downloader? If you have
ever downloaded a file from the internet, you know it can be
time consuming and is often limited by the host's available
bandwidth. By using the Blizzard Downloader, the user is not
limited by any one host's capabilities - instead, the files are
distributed across a wide range of users, allowing for a quicker
download for everyone. By using the upload capabilities of each
downloader, the overall file distribution is much more efficient
for everyone.
Another benefit of using the Blizzard Downloader is that unlike
a standard website download, it checks each segment of the file
download to make sure that its size is correct. This built-in
error checking can prevent download corruptions commonly
associated with standard FTP downloads.
Can I receive corrupt data from other people downloading? Every
piece of data received from other users is verified before being
written to the disk, so it is impossible for you to accept bad
data from other users.
I have played other online games, and they all offer a direct
download for patches. Why does this game require use of the
Blizzard Downloader? Due to the size of our updates, the
Blizzard Downloader is the fastest way to distribute patches and
content to our users. If we did not use the Downloader, users
would experience long wait queues and/or slower download rates.
The Blizzard Downloader distributes patches faster than the
method used in all of our previous games.
The 'Estimated Download Time' is displaying "Calculating"! How
long is the download going to take? The 'Estimated Download
Time' field will not be displayed until you have connected to an
optimal number of peers and your connection speed has reached
optimum levels. This is to prevent inaccurate estimates from
causing confusion. When the Downloader switches peers, this may
revert to "Calculating" but it should eventually return to a
normal estimate. ..
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