Microsoft Avalanche

ElementalDragon

The One and Only
Joined
8 Aug 2002
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Guess what everybody....... Microsoft is basically making an idiot out of themselves again as usual. Microsoft Avalanche is a P2P app that the people at MS are working on that is similar to BitTorrent. have to ask yourself why on earth they'd put out an app for file sharing when they're always b*tching about people using file sharing apps to download Windows.....

Here is the full article at The Register. If someone would put it in one of the News sections, that'd be sweet.
 
Your first sentence could also read "Microsoft had a change of heart and is now making an effort to move P2P applications into the mainstream of technology".

:squareeye
 
It's already on the frontpage. Been there since yesterday.

What's with the negativity? Perhaps you should read the InfoWorld report, and you'll realize that it's meant to be a P2P system for legal file sharing (all shared files need to be digitally signed)...not for downloading illegal copies of Windows. :rolleyes:

http://www.infoworld.com/article/05/06/16/HNmsbittorrent_1.html

For example, it could be used to distribute updates, patches and service packs, not only for Microsoft products, but for games and other applications as well. It would help to take quite a bit of load off servers.
 
MS P2P app would probably make it much more easier for them to block warez/pirate copies of MS software if it becomes as popular as BT itself.
 
Ming, if what NetRyder said is actually true, and it'll only be usable with files that are digitally signed like patches and updates and stuff...... then i doubt it'll become as popular as BT.
 
Yeah, that's not what it's meant for. A quote from the InfoWorld report:

Perhaps more importantly for content creators, Microsoft claims its system prevents users from redistributing copyright material, because Avalanche will only forward files that have been signed by the publisher.

Microsoft has developed a prototype of Avalanche and is testing it by using it to distribute software applications to several thousand of its software beta testers, according to a research engineer demonstrating the software in Cambridge. The company has distributed a 4GB application in as little as a day, down from about two weeks when it sends a program directly, he said.

The software may also be interesting to TV broadcasters and movie studios. Microsoft has been in talks with both groups, and Avalanche may be introduced to users in the U.K. as early as next year, he said.

A list of proposed applications from the MSR page:
- TV-on-demand and media distribution
- Updates and critical patches
- Software distribution
- Group Information Sharing
- Corporate information dissemination
 
I can see M4 doing it for updates and such, but the notion that they would even do it is quite funny.
 
NetRyder said:
- TV-on-demand and media distribution
I would love to see this w/ a cross-platform client. I would pay a few dollars to grab a show or movie or whatever.
ElementalDragon said:
Ming, if what NetRyder said is actually true, and it'll only be usable with files that are digitally signed like patches and updates and stuff...... then i doubt it'll become as popular as BT.
It could become just as popular if used in things like games and such w/out users even thinking of it as "p2p". There are game companys now using a patching system thats similiar to BT.
 
I would assume they would offer a P2P package for corporate file sharing. They already have a software/patch distribution server.
 
madmatt said:
I would assume they would offer a P2P package for corporate file sharing. They already have a software/patch distribution server.
Yeah but with something like Avalanche it would take TONS of load off those servers, as most of the traffic would be from peers. :) That means that things like a big service pack can be grabbed by everyone at the same time instead of releasing it over weeks like MS had to do with SP2. They would then have bandwidth free for something else.
 
Good point. Better than BITS.
 
yeah..... it could take the load off of their servers........ and it could also turn out like some torrents you find now are....... nobody seeding at all, wind up downloading at like 30 B/s
 
All I know is that I just put in two Server 2003/Exchange cluster servers and it turned out great. Works so well and that makes me a happy admin.
 
Xie said:
Yeah but with something like Avalanche it would take TONS of load off those servers, as most of the traffic would be from peers. :) That means that things like a big service pack can be grabbed by everyone at the same time instead of releasing it over weeks like MS had to do with SP2. They would then have bandwidth free for something else.
Exactly! That's going to be one of the biggest applications of something like this.

ElementalDragon said:
yeah..... it could take the load off of their servers........ and it could also turn out like some torrents you find now are....... nobody seeding at all, wind up downloading at like 30 B/s
That happens to be one of BT's weaknesses that they're attempting to improve on. If they succeed, it'll be very cool. :D

madmatt said:
All I know is that I just put in two Server 2003/Exchange cluster servers and it turned out great. Works so well and that makes me a happy admin.
I'm actually setting up an Exchange server here next weekend. Outlook Web Access...mmm! :)
 
ElementalDragon said:
yeah..... it could take the load off of their servers........ and it could also turn out like some torrents you find now are....... nobody seeding at all, wind up downloading at like 30 B/s
Well chances are that with large companys with big pipes hosting the files that you won't find many 30 KB/s torrents even if they are the only seeders. :)
 
I saw the story on /. a few days ago but never bothered to follow the links. Well I just read that register article and I don't see how after reading that you could be negative about it ED.
Collect enough of these pieces, and you will have enough information to reconstruct the whole file. Even if you don't have all the original pieces distributed by the person who held the original version of the file.
I think that part in of itself is crazy cool. :D
 
Collect enough of these pieces, and you will have enough information to reconstruct the whole file. Even if you don't have all the original pieces distributed by the person who held the original version of the file.

Sounds like QuickPar, which I use frequently for my newsgroups downloads. MS is bringing the best of features of all things together, it looks like.
 
Not surprising, considering this is an MSR project. They don't take ordinary people. Almost everyone there has a Ph.D. in C.S., Math or some related field. :D

The only thing is not every MSR project makes it out into the public. Lots of them stay in the labs for years before popping up in a new or existing product. Hope this one sees the light of day soon. As Xie pointed out, it definitely sounds very cool.
 
N/R, the new OWA is awesome compaired to past versions. You might also look into setting up RPC over HTTP which is even better for working from home.
 

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