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Segmented downloading, (multisource downloading, swarming download), can be a more efficient way of downloading files from many peers at once. The one single file is downloaded, in parallell, from several distinct sources or uploaders of the file. This can help a group of users with assymmetric connections, such as ADSL to provide a high total bandwidth to one downloader, and to handle peaks in download demand.
This technique can not magically solve the probem, in a group of users that has insufficient upload-bandwidth, with demand higher than supply. It can however very nicely handle peaks, and it can also to some degree let uploaders upload "more often" to better utilize their connection. However, naïve implementations can often result in file corruption, as there is no way of knowing if all sources are actually uploading segments of the same file. This has led to most programs using segmented downloading using some sort of checksum or hash algorithm to ensure file integrity.
See also
Swarmcast
BitTorrent
KaZaA
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