Downloading with DNA Downloader
Overview:
There are 3 basic steps to using the DNA Downloader for DNA Download service to deliver content through the DNA peer network:
- Enter the URL of the file to be delivered into Create Downloader. This will check that the existing distribution infrastructure conforms to the Basic DNA Integration Requirements and generate a DNA Downloader.
- Link to the DNA Downloader (generated by Create Downloader) from your website. Users that click on this link will have the file delivered using the DNA peer network.
- (Optional) Customize the behavior of the DNA Downloader
1. Enter the URL of the file to be delivered into Publish File
Enter the URL of the content that is intended to be delivered using DNA into the text box of Create Downloader
This will confirm whether the existing distribution infrastructure for that content conforms to the Basic DNA Integration Requirements, and that the file can be delivered thru the DNA peer network. In cases where this distribution infrastructure does not conform to these requirements, Publish File will provide an error message as to the issue, and the infrastructure should be reconfigured accordingly. For a list of potential error messages and corresponding solutions see DNA URL Requirements Tester Tool . For any additional assistance use BitTorrent DNA support.
The following is the list of requirements for your distribution infrastructure to conform to ideal DNA requirements:
Web-servers:
- You must have access to web servers and have permissions to host a DNA JavaScript file to be provided by BitTorrent Inc.
- You must have permissions to adjust HTML on your website to load the DNA JavaScript file on each relevant page and be able to modify content URLs on the page to invoke functions that the DNA JavaScript file provides.
Content-servers and Content:
- Your content servers must support “range requests” and should support “persistent” or “keep-alive” connections of at least 2 seconds duration.
- You must have exclusive use of the domain or domains from which the content is served.
- You must know the fully qualified URL or URLs for each piece of content to be DNA-enabled.
- The fully qualified URL or URLs for each piece of content must be persistent over time.
- The actual files to which the fully qualified URL or URLs point must remain unchanged over time.
- Content servers must not require any form of authentication to enable downloads. BitTorrent DNA only supports HTTP (HTTPS is not yet supported).
- All popular content servers are supported with the exception of Microsoft IIS v5.1 (which does not support range requests).
2. Link to the DNA Downloader from your website
Assuming the content entered into the Create Downloader text box conforms to the Basic DNA Integration Requirements a DNA Downloader will be generated.
This DNA Downloader is a small executable bootstrap (approximately 300kB) that automates:
- installation of the DNA client (if not already installed);
- download of the content specified in Publish File thru the DNA peer network (using the DNA client);
- execution the downloaded file
During the download process the DNA Downloader provides end-users with visibility into the file download completion via a progress bar.
A remote link to the Generated DNA Downloader is also generated which can be included in the html of web pages.
End users that click on this link will download the DNA Downloader which will result in the delivery of the specified content thru the DNA peer network.
If you choose to host a copy of the DNA Downloader yourself (rather than using remote linking) you must be prepared to re-generate new versions the DNA Downloader periodically in order to keep up with any updates (for new features and/or bug fixes) made to it by BitTorrent, Inc. Using remote linking to the DNA Downloader will ensure that the Downloader automatically remains updated to the latest version by BitTorrent, Inc.
3. (Optional) Customize the behavior of the DNA Downloader
Create Downloader also enables the DNA Downloader to be optionally customized. On the DNA Downloader generation screen selecting Customization Options will expose a variety of parameters that can be modified which will influence the behavior of the DNA Downloader.
General Settings
| Parameter: |
Company Name |
| Explaination: |
Defines the Company name that is visible in the DNA Downloader. This name appears in the following:
|
| Default value: |
???? |
Figure: Company Name Customization
| Parameter: |
File Name to Save |
| Explaination: |
Defines the name of the file that the DNA Downloader will save. This name also appears on the Destination Folder page – “Company_Name will download File_Name to the following folder.” |
| Default value: |
???? |
| Parameter: |
Post Action Download |
| Explaination: |
Defines the action that the DNA Downloader will take after the file download has been completed. There are three options:
|
| Default value: |
Execute the file |
| Parameter: |
Prompt User to Change Destination Folder |
| Explaination: |
Determines whether the user has the ability to set the folder to which the file download will be saved. There are two options:
|
| Default value: |
Yes |
Figure: Enable user to change Destination Folder
Company Branding Settings (Images, Icons, and Text)
| Parameter: |
Custom DNA Downloader icon |
| Explanation: |
Determines if a custom icon is used for the DNA Downloader. There are two options:
|
| Default Value: |
No |
Figure: DNA Downloader Icon
| Parameter: |
Display icon in system tray during download |
| Explanation: |
Determines if the icon defined Custom DNA Downloader icon is displayed in the system tray or not. There are two options:
|
| Default Value: |
Yes |
Figure: System Tray Icon
| Parameter: |
Use an image in the DNA Downloader header |
| Explanation: |
Determines if a custom image is to be displayed in the header of the DNA Downloader. There are two options:
|
| Default Value: |
No |
Figure: DNA Downloader Image Header
| Parameter: |
Launch web page automatically on download completion |
| Explanation: |
Determines if a user’s browser is launched to display a web page upon completion of a download. There are two options:
|
| Default Value: |
No |
| Parameter: |
Display completion page after download |
| Explanation: |
Determines if a customized completion page is displayed in the DNA Downloader dialog upon completion of a download. There are two options:
|
| Default Value: |
No |
| Parameter: |
Custom QOS |
| Explanation: |
Defines the Quality of Service that the DNA Downloader will use to download the specified file. Quality of service is defined as the minimum acceptable download speed for downloads – it does not guarantee a quality of service from the DNA peer network, but rather indicates a delivery speed which DNA will attempt to achieve from the peer network but will fall back to the web server to maintain in case the peer network is not sufficient. The qos parameter is specified in bytes-per-second. (NOTE – this is not bits per second – there are 8 bits for every byte, and 1024 bytes in a kilobyte etc.). Setting a quality of service of 1 byte-per-second will result in the maximum possible bytes being pulled from the peer network. DNA will pull everything it can from the peer network and will only pull from the HTTP server to ensure that it can maintain a minimum data rate of (in this case) 1 byte-per-second. In this scenario, if there are no peers available, the download may take a long time. This may not matter if the end-user is not expected to be actively watching a download (e.g. in the case of background downloads.) Setting a quality of service at a higher value (e.g. 100,000 bytes-per-second (i.e. 800 kilobits-per-second)) will cause DNA to pull everything it can from the peer network but fall back on the HTTP server if necessary to maintain a minimum data rate of 100,000 bytes-per-second. Setting a quality of service at 0 is a special setting which is essentially the same as setting it to an infinitely large amount. The behavior of DNA in this scenario is to pull data from the server and from peers as quickly as possible in unison. In practice the "offload" (peer-network-delivered bytes) will usually be lower in this scenario although DNA will always retain a small amount of bandwidth for attempting to obtain data from the peer network. In cases where peers can deliver faster than a server, those peers will be preferred over the server. In the case that no quality of service parameter value is specified, DNA will apply a qos value of 0 (which will eliminate any expected impact to the end-user experience but may reduce the level of offload). |
| Default Value: |
0 (pull data from the server and from peers as quickly as possible in unison) |
