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A: You should read this if you are interested in learning more advanced technical information about how BearFlix operates.

A: Hashing is a calculation done on each file to produce a small, unique 'hash'. BearFlix compares hashes to determine if two files are identical. It is important to do this sort of comparison to guarantee that the files being compared are the same, especially when swarming.

A: BearFlix uses a unique method of collecting statistics such as the size of the network, the number of files shared, etc. A single computer called the 'Heartbeat Server' (HBS) sends a 'heartbeat' which spreads out into the network like a radar ping. When the heartbeat can travel no further it is bounced back along the same path but as it returns each servent adds it's statistics to the heartbeat. Eventually the heartbeat will return to the point of origin, the HBS, as a single message containing all statistics. The statistics are recorded here and included in the next heartbeat message so each BearFlix servent can display relevant statistics to you.
If the HBS is disconnected or experiencing other problems (it happens occasionally) then the heartbeat message isn't refreshed and you may not see any horizon statistics in BearFlix. This does not adversely affect BearFlix's ability to find and download files.

A: A host cache is a program which hands out IP addresses to gnutella clients. When a gnutella client is started it needs to find some other gnutella clients in order to connect to the network. The host cache provides those IP's. The hostcache is usually the first place you connect to when launching BearFlix. Once you have received some addresses from the host cache then you attempt to connect to those addresses. The only reason to communicate with the host cache after that would be if all the IP addresses you had were not working and you needed some more IP addresses to try.

A: A particular file may be available on more than one remote computer. With multi-source downloading these various sources are grouped together, and if one sources fails for some reason then another host can take its place.

A: A gnutella servent acts as both a client and as a server. The port number is relevant for the server functionality. Other gnutella clients contact you at this port number when they wish to download something from you. This is your publicly available port number and it must be reachable from the internet.

A: Due to various factors some servents cannot receive incoming connections from the internet. If you want to download from them you cannot form a connection directly so must request they form the connection to you. In this situation you send a 'push' through the network to other servents who are already connected to the uploader, the message contains enough information for them to know how to contact you. The push message finds it's way to the uploader along a 'push route' which is the trail of the query hit they previously sent you which was in turn sent along the trail of the query you sent them.
A push cannot succeed between two servents who both are unable to receive incoming connections. Approximately two thirds of the network have this affliction which is why it is imperative for everyone to attempt to configure their firewalls, routers and proxies to route incoming connection requests to BearFlix.

A: BearFlix authenticates each connection with a public key cipher to tell if it is connected to another BearFlix or a program pretending to be BearFlix. This is helpful because every BearFlix servent will trust every other BearFlix servent and the information it provides. When Secure Channels is activated BearFlix will reject any connection that fails to authenticate properly. This means you will connect to fewer sources for files but will not be fed false information.

A: Swarming is similar to multi-source downloads in that various sources for the same file are grouped together. In the case of swarming, small chunks of the file are simultaneously downloaded from these different hosts and re-assembled to form a whole file. Because swarming allows BearFlix to download from multiple hosts at the same time it can be very fast.

A: Ultrapeers are the backbone of the Gnutella network. An Ultrapeer handles most Gnutella traffic, shielding its Leaves from this traffic. Ultrapeers accept connections from the Leaves, giving them access to the network and handling their requests. Ultrapeers also connect to each other, bringing the network together, Leaves do not connect to each other. Leaves commonly do not meet the requirements for being an Ultrapeer. A Leaf now connects to two Ultrapeers, one used actively and the other kept just in case the first should fail. New versions of BearFlix regulate when you become an Ultrapeer based on a strict set of criteria and the overall need of the network.
'Peer' literally means 'Equal to one's rank', an Ultrapeer then means 'Beyond one's rank'. A Leaf is so named because it acts like a leaf on a tree, not connecting to any other leaf. Ultrapeers see other Ultrapeers as equal so they refer to each other as 'Peers'. A Leaf would refer to other Leaves also as Peers but since they never connect directly this does not come up.
If Ultrapeers are the backbone then without them all peers would be the same and form a much larger skeleton. Messages such as queries would have to travel further to reach the same number of people and so achieve the same result, that would take up much more bandwidth. Ultrapeers are chosen from the more capable computers and are able to form more simultaneous connections than many computers can, by doing this it takes fewer 'hops' for a message to reach it's target. Arranging Ultrapeers like this is known as 'high outdegree', this allows any other computer on the network to be reached in no more than 4 hops. Before BearFlix adopted this topology 4 hops would likely only reach 1% of the network!

A: You can no longer force BearFlix's mode as unsuitable hosts were choosing to become Ultrapeers and causing a worse experience for others. Now BearFlix will automatically determine if you are suitable depending on your operating system, computer speed, internet connection speed, the ability to accept incoming connections and your average connection time.

A: When BearFlix connects to the gnutella network and communicates with other BearFlixs, there is a 'reflection' of the IP address back to your BearFlix client. This is how BearFlix can now discover it's own IP address and you do not have to configure it in the Setup anymore. Likewise, the determination of whether or not you are firewalled is made based on the criterion of whether or not any incoming connection attempts have ever been detected. If you have never received an incoming connection then the chances are very good that there is a firewall blocking such connections.

A: This setting is controlled remotely so that everyone on the network has the same number of host connections. Were individuals allowed to make more connections than others (hetrogeneous) they would generate more traffic than others could handle and so cause instability. A hetrogeneous network encourages users to keep reseting their connections in hope of a better Ultrapeer. BearFlix operates a homogeneous network so everyone gets the same benefits in a fair way.

A: BearFlix hashes all your existing files when launched. This is a one-time activity and should not consume more than 25% CPU utilization.