print

Frequently Asked Questions

Who runs the repository?

The UMass Trace Repository is maintained by the Laboratory for Advanced System Software. Questions or comments should be sent to Tim Wood or Prashant Shenoy.

I want to contribute to the repository.

There is no automated way to contribute to the repository. If you wish to contribute, contact Tim Wood with details. With any trace you wish to submit, you will need to also include a one paragraph description of the trace and a documentation file giving the specifications of the trace data. Please see the Contributions Page for the full details.

I want to mirror all or part of the repository.

Here are the requirements for mirroring part of the repository:

  • A running webserver that allows directory indices,
  • Installation of a client that keeps your mirror synchronized with the main repository and provides data to clients via BitTorrent, and
  • Enough disk to mirror whichever branches of the repository you're interested in. This could be a LOT.

If you're still interested, email Tim Wood and we'll get you set up.

What is BitTorrent?

Note: The repository does not currently support BitTorrent downloads.

BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer 'fileswarming' program that allows clients to download pieces of a file (or set of files) out-of-order as well as distribute those pieces to each other. Rather than have the repository itself serve every byte of data to every interested client, BitTorrent distributes some of the load to the clients receiving the data. Benefits include reduction of load on the repository and mirrors as well as faster downloads for everyone involved. For more on BitTorrent, check out the BitTorrent homepage.

What are the differences between your BitTorrent client and vanilla BitTorrent?

Our client has preliminary support for versioning of data. If you have an existing copy of some data, we update, and you download again via BitTorrent, you will only need to retrieve the files that have changed rather than retrieving the entire contents of the torrent.

Please note that you can use your choice of BitTorrent with the repository without issue, but if you want to save yourself some bandwidth you're better off with ours.

What do the numbers in parentheses after a BitTorrent link indicate?

The first number is the number of seeds, or connected peers with the entire trace. The second number is the number of peers who haven't completely finished downloading the trace. Generally speaking, the more users connected, the better your BitTorrent experience will be.

login · print
Page last modified on April 12, 2006, at 03:31 PM