EDonkey2000
Encyclopedia
eDonkey2000 was a peer-to-peer file sharing
application developed by US company MetaMachine, using the Multisource File Transfer Protocol
. The eDonkey client supports both the eDonkey2000 network
and the Overnet
network.
On September 28, 2005, eDonkey was officially discontinued following a cease and desist
letter from the RIAA (further info on the case).
s of sought-after files in the form of an ed2k link. Some of those websites also have lists of active servers for users to update.
MetaMachines has also created another file-sharing network called Overnet
, which interoperates with the eDonkey network
, but without the use of servers. Most eDonkey clients also now use the Overnet network. In 2004, MetaMachines announced it would stop development of Overnet to concentrate on eDonkey2000 (though the eDonkey2000 client now includes the Overnet protocol).
eDonkey has been closed down, and if the user attempts to visit the site he/she will be shown a screen stating that eDonkey is unavailable and that the user's IP address has been logged
.
eDonkey2000 was created by Jed McCaleb and was first released on September 6, 2000. On September 16, 2000, client and server versions were available for Microsoft Windows
and Linux
.
Compared to earlier P2P file-sharing program Napster
, eDonkey2000 featured "swarming" downloads, meaning that clients could download different pieces of a single file from different peers, effectively utilizing the combined bandwidth of all of the peers instead of being limited to the bandwidth of a single peer.
At first, servers were isolated from one another as with Napster, but later versions of the eDonkey2000 server software enabled servers to form a search network. This allowed servers to forward search queries from their locally connected clients to other servers, allowing clients to effectively find peers connected to any server on the server network, thereby increasing download swarm size. It also allowed clients to find and download files not available from clients connected to the same server.
A third improvement compared to Napster was the use of file hashes
instead of simple filenames in search results. File searches initiated by the user were keyword-based and matched against the filename list stored on the eDonkey2000 server, but the server returned a list of filenames paired with the hash values of those files to the client. When selecting a file from the list presented to the user, the client would actually initiate a download by hash value. This meant that a file could have many different filenames across different peers, but would be considered identical for purposes of downloading if its hash was the same.
The two-level (client and server) peer-to-peer network architecture offered a balance between centralized systems like Napster, and decentralized systems like Gnutella
. Where Napster ultimately proved to be vulnerable was its centralized server cluster, which was a stable target for legal action. Gnutella's original design, featuring total elimination of the server network in favor of purely peer-to-peer searching, quickly proved to be infeasible due to massive search traffic overhead between peers.
Later 2nd-level P2P file sharing systems use a similar design to eDonkey2000 (downloading files in pieces by hash from multiple peers simultaneously) but innovate in the design of the server network, such as in the case of BitTorrent, which separates the file search feature ("torrent search") from the download peer locating feature ("torrent tracker").
programmes of integrating downloads from multiple networks. This has the advantage of maximising the number of files available while limiting vulnerability to problems on a single network.
from the RIAA as a result of the June Supreme Court
ruling that makers of software that facilitates copyright infringement
are liable for that infringement. Many news sites reported that on September 22, 2005, MetaMachine's corporate offices have closed. This was apparently inaccurate, based on the aforementioned news sites checking for the old eDonkey headquarters in New York (the new ones being in New Jersey, as they had moved there).
However, on September 28, 2005, eDonkey officially closed its doors. MetaMachine President Sam Yagan said in a statement that the company would "convert eDonkey's user base to an online content retailer operating in a closed P2P environment," and "such a transaction to take place as soon as we can reach a settlement with the RIAA.". This had little effect on the network as a whole, as eDonkey clients only made up a small minority of the whole network.
On September 12, 2006 it was reported that MetaMachine, Inc. has agreed to settle with the RIAA for $30 million, and the website has been replaced by a text advertisement reflecting the RIAA's interpretation of copyright law.
Nevertheless, the eDonkey Network
is still available through other clients, such as eMule
, aMule
, Shareaza
or MLDonkey
.
Peer-to-peer file sharing
P2P or Peer-to-peer file sharing allows users to download files such as music, movies, and games using a P2P software client that searches for other connected computers. The "peers" are computer systems connected to each other through internet. Thus, the only requirements for a computer to join...
application developed by US company MetaMachine, using the Multisource File Transfer Protocol
Multisource File Transfer Protocol
In computing, Multisource File Transfer Protocol is designed for the purpose of file sharing. It is still under development, and therefore may acquire more features or other improvements in addition to those discussed in this article...
. The eDonkey client supports both the eDonkey2000 network
EDonkey network
The eDonkey network is a decentralized, mostly server-based, peer-to-peer file sharing network best suited to share big files among users, and to provide long term availability of files...
and the Overnet
Overnet
Overnet was a decentralized peer-to-peer computer network, usually used for sharing large files . Overnet implements the Kademlia algorithm. In late 2006, Overnet and all Overnet-owned resources were taken down as a result of legal actions from the RIAA and others...
network.
On September 28, 2005, eDonkey was officially discontinued following a cease and desist
Cease and desist
A cease and desist is an order or request to halt an activity and not to take it up again later or else face legal action. The recipient of the cease-and-desist may be an individual or an organization....
letter from the RIAA (further info on the case).
eDonkey2000 network
Users on the eDonkey2000 network predominantly share large files of tens or hundreds of megabytes, such as CD images, videos, games, and software programs. To ease file searching, some websites list the checksumChecksum
A checksum or hash sum is a fixed-size datum computed from an arbitrary block of digital data for the purpose of detecting accidental errors that may have been introduced during its transmission or storage. The integrity of the data can be checked at any later time by recomputing the checksum and...
s of sought-after files in the form of an ed2k link. Some of those websites also have lists of active servers for users to update.
MetaMachines has also created another file-sharing network called Overnet
Overnet
Overnet was a decentralized peer-to-peer computer network, usually used for sharing large files . Overnet implements the Kademlia algorithm. In late 2006, Overnet and all Overnet-owned resources were taken down as a result of legal actions from the RIAA and others...
, which interoperates with the eDonkey network
EDonkey network
The eDonkey network is a decentralized, mostly server-based, peer-to-peer file sharing network best suited to share big files among users, and to provide long term availability of files...
, but without the use of servers. Most eDonkey clients also now use the Overnet network. In 2004, MetaMachines announced it would stop development of Overnet to concentrate on eDonkey2000 (though the eDonkey2000 client now includes the Overnet protocol).
eDonkey has been closed down, and if the user attempts to visit the site he/she will be shown a screen stating that eDonkey is unavailable and that the user's IP address has been logged
Shock site
A shock site is a website that is intended to be offensive, disgusting and/or disturbing to its viewers, containing materials of high shock value which is also considered distasteful and crude, and is generally of a pornographic, scatological, extremely violent, insulting, painful, profane, or...
.
Early history and design
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
.
Compared to earlier P2P file-sharing program Napster
Napster
Napster is an online music store and a Best Buy company. It was originally founded as a pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service that emphasized sharing audio files that were typically digitally encoded music as MP3 format files...
, eDonkey2000 featured "swarming" downloads, meaning that clients could download different pieces of a single file from different peers, effectively utilizing the combined bandwidth of all of the peers instead of being limited to the bandwidth of a single peer.
At first, servers were isolated from one another as with Napster, but later versions of the eDonkey2000 server software enabled servers to form a search network. This allowed servers to forward search queries from their locally connected clients to other servers, allowing clients to effectively find peers connected to any server on the server network, thereby increasing download swarm size. It also allowed clients to find and download files not available from clients connected to the same server.
A third improvement compared to Napster was the use of file hashes
Hash function
A hash function is any algorithm or subroutine that maps large data sets to smaller data sets, called keys. For example, a single integer can serve as an index to an array...
instead of simple filenames in search results. File searches initiated by the user were keyword-based and matched against the filename list stored on the eDonkey2000 server, but the server returned a list of filenames paired with the hash values of those files to the client. When selecting a file from the list presented to the user, the client would actually initiate a download by hash value. This meant that a file could have many different filenames across different peers, but would be considered identical for purposes of downloading if its hash was the same.
The two-level (client and server) peer-to-peer network architecture offered a balance between centralized systems like Napster, and decentralized systems like Gnutella
Gnutella
Gnutella is a large peer-to-peer network which, at the time of its creation, was the first decentralized peer-to-peer network of its kind, leading to other, later networks adopting the model...
. Where Napster ultimately proved to be vulnerable was its centralized server cluster, which was a stable target for legal action. Gnutella's original design, featuring total elimination of the server network in favor of purely peer-to-peer searching, quickly proved to be infeasible due to massive search traffic overhead between peers.
Later 2nd-level P2P file sharing systems use a similar design to eDonkey2000 (downloading files in pieces by hash from multiple peers simultaneously) but innovate in the design of the server network, such as in the case of BitTorrent, which separates the file search feature ("torrent search") from the download peer locating feature ("torrent tracker").
eDonkey2000 client
The latest version of the official eDonkey2000 client included a plugin that allowed BitTorrent files to be downloaded. Once a torrent download begins the search facility within eDonkey can find the same file within the eDonkey/Overnet network and synchronise its download. This effectively allowed a torrent to be used as another source for the download, vastly increasing speed as well as virtually eliminating problems with fakes. Torrents are very "clean" in terms of falsely labelled files and their use as file size verifiers in addition to eDonkey2000's own user-based fake warning system has vastly improved the network's functionality. By effectively combining the range of the existing Overnet and eDonkey networks with the lightning-fast file distribution of the BitTorrent system, eDonkey2000 is following a growing trend amongst peer-to-peerPeer-to-peer
Peer-to-peer computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads among peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the application...
programmes of integrating downloads from multiple networks. This has the advantage of maximising the number of files available while limiting vulnerability to problems on a single network.
eDonkey sued by RIAA
In September 2005, officials from the company MetaMachine received a cease and desist letterCease and desist
A cease and desist is an order or request to halt an activity and not to take it up again later or else face legal action. The recipient of the cease-and-desist may be an individual or an organization....
from the RIAA as a result of the June Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
ruling that makers of software that facilitates copyright infringement
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
are liable for that infringement. Many news sites reported that on September 22, 2005, MetaMachine's corporate offices have closed. This was apparently inaccurate, based on the aforementioned news sites checking for the old eDonkey headquarters in New York (the new ones being in New Jersey, as they had moved there).
However, on September 28, 2005, eDonkey officially closed its doors. MetaMachine President Sam Yagan said in a statement that the company would "convert eDonkey's user base to an online content retailer operating in a closed P2P environment," and "such a transaction to take place as soon as we can reach a settlement with the RIAA.". This had little effect on the network as a whole, as eDonkey clients only made up a small minority of the whole network.
On September 12, 2006 it was reported that MetaMachine, Inc. has agreed to settle with the RIAA for $30 million, and the website has been replaced by a text advertisement reflecting the RIAA's interpretation of copyright law.
Nevertheless, the eDonkey Network
EDonkey network
The eDonkey network is a decentralized, mostly server-based, peer-to-peer file sharing network best suited to share big files among users, and to provide long term availability of files...
is still available through other clients, such as eMule
EMule
eMule is a free peer-to-peer file sharing application for Microsoft Windows. Started in May 2002 as an alternative to eDonkey2000, eMule now connects to both the eDonkey network and the Kad network...
, aMule
AMule
aMule is a free peer-to-peer file sharing application that works with the EDonkey network and the Kad Network, offering similar features to eMule and adding others such as GeoIP . It was forked from the xMule source code on August 18, 2003, which itself is a fork of the lMule project, which was the...
, Shareaza
Shareaza
Shareaza is a peer-to-peer file sharing client running under Microsoft Windows which supports the gnutella, Gnutella2 , eDonkey, BitTorrent, FTP, HTTP and HTTPS network protocols and handles magnet links, ed2k links, and the now deprecated gnutella and Piolet links...
or MLDonkey
MLDonkey
MLDonkey is an open source, multi-protocol, peer-to-peer file sharing application that runs as a back-end server application on many platforms. It can be controlled through a user interface provided by one of many separate front-ends, including a Web interface, telnet interface and over a dozen...
.
See also
- Comparison of eDonkey softwareComparison of eDonkey softwareThe following tables compare general and technical information for a number of available applications supporting the eDonkey network.- General :- Features :...
- Comparison of file sharing applicationsComparison of file sharing applicationsFile sharing is a method of distributing electronically stored information such as computer programs and digital media. Below is a list of file sharing applications....
- eDonkey networkEDonkey networkThe eDonkey network is a decentralized, mostly server-based, peer-to-peer file sharing network best suited to share big files among users, and to provide long term availability of files...
- MP3 RocketMP3 RocketMP3 Rocket is a YouTube downloader that allows users to download videos and music from YouTube.Released under the GNU General Public License, MP3 Rocket is free software. It also encourages the user to pay a fee, which will then give the user access to MP3 Rocket PRO.- History :The MP3 Rocket...
Client and Plugin
- edonkey2000.co.nr- Get eDonkey2000 here and how to install without problems. Alternative: www.edonkey2000.tk
Old client and plugin
- eDonkey2000 Archived News - November 9, 2000 Internet Archive snapshot of eDonkey2000.com home page showing original release announcement
- eDonkey2000 Overview - February 13, 2001 Internet Archive snapshot of eDonkey2000.com Overview page explaining network architecture
- eDonkey2000 - Overnet - August 27, 2006 Internet Archive snapshot of edonkey.com home page
News
- eDonkey Throws in the Towel - September 28, 2005 MP3 Newswire article
- Slashdot.org article "eDonkey Pays the Recording Industry $30M" - September 12, 2006