Seeding (computing)

This data consists of small parts so that seeds can effectively share their content with other peers, handing out the missing pieces.

A peer deliberately chooses to become a seed by leaving the upload task active once the content has downloaded.

The motivation to seed is mainly to keep the file being shared in circulation (as there is no central hub to continue uploading in the absence of peer seeders) and a desire to not act as a parasite.

To make peer-to-peer file sharing function effectively, content is divided into parts of 256 kilobytes (KB).

[2] In peer-to-peer file sharing, the strength of a swarm depends on user behaviour, as peers ideally upload more than they download.

"[2] Other scholars are milder and believe that a group of highly motivated seeders could already provide a notion of fairness by scheduling when to seed, uploading more effectively.

What this means is that seeders must upload more parts of the data bulk in order to guarantee a successful download for others in the swarm.

[4] Research sees opportunities for seeding as a practice that caters contribution within peer-to-peer file sharing and the distribution of content in the digital world in general.