P2P updates downloading

[AISguy]

Hi all.
My suggestion is to add a P2P option for downloading updates.
Because currently, for example, if one is trying to launch a FA campaign mission with a Steam version and a fresh copy of FAF, one is forced to download around 500 MB of data with the speed of 400 KB/sec.

If this was already suggested and discussed, feel free to delete this thread in order to decrease noise pollution of the forum.

[Brutus5000]

We do not throttle download speed. If you download with 400 kb/s due to your limitations, P2P updates won't help on that. The FAF server should give you a few MBit/s at least, probably more.

But we are trying to reduce the patch sizes with a better patching algorithm. This however won't solve the amount of data on initial download or mods like BlackOps.

[AISguy]

If you download with 400 kb/s due to your limitations, P2P updates won't help on that. The FAF server should give you a few MBit/s at least, probably more.

Perhaps the problem is due to our provider or I'm just used to high speeds, but we didn't have problems with the speed on other sites (45 MBit usually).

My initial download to launch the FA campaign for the just installed client took 130 minutes (mostly maps, we had 0.16.1 FAF version). The speed was the same through browser and the client.

[AISguy]

In Moscow(Russia), if you don't use VPN, the downloading speed from FAF server is really low.
As another example of this, today I updated a FAF test client for launching a campaign mission, and it took me 300 minutes to do so.
I guess it happens not only in Moscow, because this issue has likely occurred due to some IP blocks, and Russian government blocks IPs throughout the whole country in the same way (reason).

As a solution for that, previously I suggested P2P file sharing, but then I understood that there is an alternative that doesn't take so much developers' time - cloud file storages.

Currently I think about something like creating a shared folder on my Google Drive where I will keep some frequently downloaded files. I understand that in some cases it will be hard to keep up with the actual version, so I think to start from the campaign maps.

What do you think about this issue in general? Do you have any suggestions to the developed plan?

[Brutus5000]

Hi AISguy,

file distribution in FAF is a complex thing. These contains the selection of the right files to download on the client side and the generation of new patch files on server side. This is the reason why I believe a P2P Filesharing solution is not a feasible option.

However, I will check with the rest of the admins whether we can improve our file downloads using cloud services or other ways.