New user queries

Having seen reference to xolox on threads in other Gnutella forums whilst searching for a Gnutella client that would provide a Resume download feature similar to that used in audiogalaxy, I have now installed it.

Congrats on a simple process and thanks for no nasty DLLs! Nice clean interface as well.

I have tried a couple of test downloads and all seems ok but I have a few questions please.

During install it asked if I have a modem or high speed connection, I selected modem as I am using a 56K device. I assume a high speed connection would be dsl or cable, am I correct? There doesn't appear to be an option to change this later.

Under Preferences>Network there is a box to add a Gnutella Host but there is no indication as to which hosts are used by default (is there a list?) nor which Hosts I am connected to for a session. Why would I wish to add Hosts and how would I know which new ones to add?

I tried to follow the link for the user guide but it doesn't seem to work (I'm a rare breed, I always like to read through the manual just to be sure I'm not missing anything).

The faq talks about Segmented concurrent downloading, can I assume that xolox will automatically do concurrent downloading where possible?

Finally, does the auto-resume download option look for the exact file that was being downloaded i.e same file, same user or does it look for a similar file from another user? Also, if an interrupted file was being downloaded originally from multiple hosts simultaneously does this affect the auto-resume download in any way?

Many thanks

[Moak]

> Under Preferences>Network there is a box to add a Gnutella Host but
> there is no indication as to which hosts are used by default (is there a list?)
> nor which Hosts I am connected to for a session. Why would I wish to add
> Hosts and how would I know which new ones to add?

You don't need to, as long as you do not want to trade with a special friend. Try "search" above, you will find e.g this thread with more details.

> I tried to follow the link for the user guide but it doesn't seem to work

Yep, the link is broken. Needs a bugfix, give the guys some time.

> The faq talks about Segmented concurrent downloading, can I assume
> that xolox will automatically do concurrent downloading where possible?

Yep, allways if there are more than one host serving your download! It is metioned in the feature list.

> Finally, does the auto-resume download option look for the exact file that

Resume does check if parts match together by overlapping them, this is done allways, no matter where the partials came from. This definitely is needed to make sure your files are working and have no artifacts. Whenever partials does not match you see Xolox dropping them and reloadding outstanding stuff.

[The Seeker]

Heya, I'm kinda the unnoficcial FAQbot around here... sorry I missed your post... I'll reply to it now.

Originally posted by Chrisp
During install it asked if I have a modem or high speed connection, I selected modem as I am using a 56K device. I assume a high speed connection would be dsl or cable, am I correct? There doesn't appear to be an option to change this later.

This is correct, actually, it's anything under 160kbps, but that's splitting hairs. It's true that there is nowhere to change this option (without digging in the registry) and I'm a little erked by the fact that you don't get the dialog box (or registry entry) after upgrading, only on a fresh install. (Or running after deleting the entire registry key)

Under Preferences>Network there is a box to add a Gnutella Host but there is no indication as to which hosts are used by default (is there a list?) nor which Hosts I am connected to for a session. Why would I wish to add Hosts and how would I know which new ones to add?

The hosts used by default are hard-coded into the program and currently cannot be viewed nor changed by any simple means. In my experience, adding a host to the box in the preferences attempts to connect to it immediately and does not add it to the cache. It has also seemed to only work for me when entering a domain name as opposed to an IP. (ie: localhost instead of 127.0.0.1 or ACB74A0B.ipt.aol.com as opposed to 172.183.74.11)

I tried to follow the link for the user guide but it doesn't seem to work (I'm a rare breed, I always like to read through the manual just to be sure I'm not missing anything).

I was going to mention this as well. This is a new addition to the web site that just came back up, perhaps a typo in the link or a file that hasn't been able to be uploaded yet (due to the ISP problems)

The faq talks about Segmented concurrent downloading, can I assume that xolox will automatically do concurrent downloading where possible?

Yes, XoloX will re-search for more hosts with the file you are downloading (currently every 10 minutes) and keep trying to connect to any hosts it finds. The number of segments that it will try to download at once is 'uploadspeed' * 2 Since you are on a 56K modem, I would suggest setting the upload speed to 2 instead of 3. (I would reccommend 3 to ISDN users)

A setting of 2 allows you 4 download segments (no bandwidth limits on downloads), and one upload segment with a limit of 2K/s. This should easily saturate your connection, though a setting of 1 may not. I would also uncheck the max on idle, as all that will do is allow you to try and download more segments at once and drop the upload speed throttle... slowing everything to a crawl and likely to keep you disconnected from the network.

Finally, does the auto-resume download option look for the exact file that was being downloaded i.e same file, same user or does it look for a similar file from another user? Also, if an interrupted file was being downloaded originally from multiple hosts simultaneously does this affect the auto-resume download in any way?

XoloX currently re-searches using the terms used in your original search for the file you are downloading. any file that matches the search terms and the file size exactly are treated as copies of the same file. This extremely simple method of getting more segments by allowing different file names has potential for causing some problems in small files (as noted elsewhere), but works rather well for large ones.

XoloX will attempt to download from previously discovered hosts upon re-starting, then will search for more hosts with the file as needed. The only affect getting disconnected while downloading from multiple sources has on the download is that there will be more segments to put together.

Hope that helps.

PS (Moak has a habit of posting while I'm typing)

[Moak]

I only wanna add that in my experience, adding a host to the box in the preferences DOES NOTHING in Xolox V1.12, not connect to the host or store it to the cache.

[The Seeker]

Have you tried adding the host by hostmask instead of IP?

I can easily connect to myself by using localhost, my coputer's name, and/or my resolved hostmask.... just not as my IP or 127.0.0.1 ...

[Moak]

jep. I used Bearshare to test with Xolox. But I had allways OUTs from Bearshare, never managed to get a IN to Bearshare.

In one of your first investigations you wrote: "My first test was to see if the 'connect to host' line in XoloX works. In my experience, it does not. ". So now you managed to get INs from Xolox, how?

Will do more tests after saturday (big city festival here - grin)

[The Seeker]

As I said before. I have XoloX on 6346 (default), and BearShare on 6347 (getting dyslexic and typing 6437 as the port can screw you up, so maybe it would be better to use 6666 or something :P)

Anyway... I never see it trying to connect if I use an IP in the preference box in XoloX, but if I use a hostmask, eg. localhost, computer name, or resolved internet IP, it connects. Make sure you have the advanced options on and "Accept incoming connections" checked, and have a max connections high enough to do the tests. (say, 6)

In this picture I used... localhost then COMPUTER (compuer's name) in XoloX's connect box then my IP, and 127.0.0.1 in BearShare's connect box. Since I was doing the tests on the Compaq, while connected ot the internet, all the connections timed out after about a minute... but it still serves to show you CAN make use of the connect box as long as you use a domain name or alias intead of an IP. (bug)

[Moak]

I have tried it again... but never get a IN from Xolox.

XoloX run on 6346 and BearShare on 6347 (same computer). I have no problems to connect to Xolox, also the connection is very stable, it never gets dropped (Xolox is connected to gnutella network). Checked BS host and connection settings, incoming connections are accepted.

No idea what's up. Will try it with my Laptop the next days, running different computers might help, at least I can do some TCP sniffing then.

Thx, Moak

Hi guys, thanks to all for their input.

Still not sure I know exactly what the hostslist.txt file does. You'll have to forgive a grey haired old wrinkly not being quite up to the mark on some things!

After I installed the other day I didn't have that file on my system even after using xolox a couple of times. From the replies I get the impression I have is that it's a cache type file but what starts it off and does xolox use it to improve connecting?

I've downloaded a couple of versions, including moaks (which I have placed in the xolox directory) and see there are differences between them based I suppose on the individual user.

The latter postings are a bit above me I'm afraid but do raise the question as to whether it's ok to be running say xolox,gnucleus bearshare and perhaps Limewire on the same PC and if there are any issues in doing so.

Is it possible to run one or more of them together?

Final question, does the score figure on the search screen indicate the number of matching files and is best to go for a higher score number to get a better chance of resume?

Thanks

[The Seeker]

Originally posted by Chrisp


After I installed the other day I didn't have that file on my system even after using xolox a couple of times. From the replies I get the impression I have is that it's a cache type file but what starts it off and does xolox use it to improve connecting?

Yes, The only files created by the setup are xolox.exe, uninstall.exe, and uninstall.ini. XoloX itself creates:

resumeinfo.txt Used for storing where each segment goes in the file you are downloading, the search terms used to find the file, the number of dropped (bad) segments encountered, and the cached hosts that have claimed to have the file and are downloading, busy, or haven't been tried yet.

templist.txt Your shared file list index. Contains path [-ROOT], file name [-FILE], file size [-FILESIZE], file handle [-handle], CRC [-CRC](currently unused, and set to 0), and [END] ? (last disk sector of file?)

and finally, hostslist.txt Contains an obscured list of IPs of users running Gnutella clients, and the ports they use to connect. It connects initially with it's hard-coded list of Gnutella Service Providers (limewire, gnutelliums, etc) then collects IPs to try to connect to with later. This is intended to make connection to the network faster, and prevent hammering of the GSPs.

I've downloaded a couple of versions, including moaks (which I have placed in the xolox directory) and see there are differences between them based I suppose on the individual user.

There are differences because users are connected to different parts of the network at different times and collect different IPs (or at least collect them in a different order) If you use one of these files to try nd connect, always go for the latest upload avaliable. Better yet, go into your preferences and enter public.bearshare.net with port 6436 into your "add address" box. That will get you connected quick if you keep getting the "change network settings" box.

The latter postings are a bit above me I'm afraid but do raise the question as to whether it's ok to be running say xolox,gnucleus bearshare and perhaps Limewire on the same PC and if there are any issues in doing so.

Is it possible to run one or more of them together?

There should be no technical problems with running these clients at the same time. Just make sure you configure each client to use a different port. XoloX currently can't be changed from 6436, so you will have to alter the other clients to use different ones. Also, because you are on a 56K modem, I would advise against it unless doing tests where you are connecting to yourself or over a LAN. With each program making outgoing connections, your bandwidth will be all used up doing nothing but routing queries.

Final question, does the score figure on the search screen indicate the number of matching files and is best to go for a higher score number to get a better chance of resume?

XoloX assumes that files of the same size matching a query will always be the same file, and is usually accurate enough. So the score represents the number of hosts that have the file of a particular size that matches your query. a (+# parts) at the right of the score means that # many xolox hosts are currently downloading the file you are looking for and can send you some of what they have so far.

The higher the score the greater the potential to download from multiple sources at once and resume on disconnect. It is ill advised to try downloads that have scores of 1, or 0 with (+# parts) as you may not connect to the 1 host with the file and never find it again afterwords, and a xolox user who is still downloading may decide to cancel the job, leaving you with no one else to download from.