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Hosts Page
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Overview
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The Hosts Page shows you all of your Gnutella network connections. Each
connection displays the name of the computer, along with the status,
amount of shared files if known, and the type of program the other
computer is running if it can be determined. If your DNS server (which you
access automatically through your internet service provider) supports
reverse lookups, the country of origin, service provider, or business is
displayed along with the text for the connection when it can be
determined.
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In order to search for files, and to return search results to other
users, you must be connected to at least one other host. BearShare
can automate this process by maintaining a certain minimum number
of connections. These other connections are learned by listening
to the messages which pass through the network if you are already
connected to one computer, or by receiving the IP addresses from
a Gnutella service provider. BearShare uses the
Clip2 DSS host list
exclusively to obtain the initial entry points into the Gnutella network.
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In order to get the most out of your network connection, you should
periodically adjust the number of hosts you are connected to. If you
have a slow connection, you should consider keeping a relatively
small number of hosts (2 to 4) active, and also consider removing
all of your connections after you start a download.
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Appearance
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Host List |
The Host List shows you all of your host connections, as well as
incoming connections destined to become upload requests, push
downloads, or temporary connections. This is a description of each column:
Host |
This column displays the IP address or computer name of
the host you are connected to. If the reverse lookup feature
is enabled in the Setup, the FreePeers Agent will attempt
to determine the computer name. Some computers do not have
names, and depending on your service provider, you may
not have the capability for resolving IP addresses into
their names.
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Origin |
The country of origin, internet service provider, or business entity
corresponding to the remote address is displayed if it can be determined,
reverse lookup is enabled in the Setup, and your DNS server allows
reverse lookups.
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Status |
This column indicates the status of the connection. During
the connection process, you will see the following states.
Coming |
An incoming connection has been accepted and we are waiting for
a handshake to determine the connection type.
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Connected |
A connection has been made, and we are waiting for a handshake.
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Trying |
BearShare is trying to connect to the host.
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When a host connection has been established, it will be one of the following:
Auto |
This connection was made automatically by BearShare.
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In |
This is an incoming connection. Your IP address is only advertised
in pong messages when you accept incoming connections
by checking the box.
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Leaving |
This connection is in the process of shutting down.
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Out |
This is a connection that you manually established.
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Service |
Service is indicated when the FreePeers Agent establishes
a connection with a Gnutella service provider to obtain the addresses
of new hosts. Service connections have all text drawn in blue.
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Service In |
This is shown when a Gnutella service provider has connected to
your servent to obtain network information. These connections
are usually short lived. BearShare allows Gnutella Server
providers to connect even if you are at the limit of
the number of connections you specify. The FreePeers Agent
shields incoming service connections from broadcast
traffic of queries, query hits, spurious push requests,
and ping messages.
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Service Out |
This indicates a connection you established manually to
a Gnutella service provider.
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Temp |
This is a temporary connection will be closed after BearShare
responds with the IP addresses of other hosts to connect to.
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Some incoming connections are for uploads or downloads. In these
cases, these will be shown:
Give |
This ia a response to a file you wish to download.
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Info |
This is a request for information about a shared file.
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Upload |
This is a request to upload your shared file.
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When the connection is terminated gracefully or with an error, these
states are possible:
Bandwidth |
A connection reached a bandwidth barrier and was dropped.
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Blocked |
The remote host was blocked from making a connection
attempt due to repeated spamming or requesting the
same file too frequently for download. This usually
happens when users attempt to download your shared
files from web search pages using a "download accelerator".
GetRight, FlashGet, and Go!Zilla are examples of
download accelerators. IP address stay blocked for
5 minutes.
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Canceled |
The FreePeers Agent canceled an manual or automatic
connection request. This can happen if you try to
connect to the same host twice.
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Closed |
The connection was closed normally.
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Dropped |
A connection was dropped due to a bad message, large
message, or repeated spamming. To see the reason,
turn on Show all host errors in the Network Setup.
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Dup |
A host attempted to connect twice to you. If this
happens too frequently the host is blocked for
5 minutes.
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Problem |
There was a problem with the connection. Problems
are reported in the error list.
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Timeout |
The FreePeers Agent terminated the connection for
one of many possible reasons. To see the reasons,
turn on Show all host errors in the Network Setup.
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Error |
A program failure occurred. The reason is reported
in the error list.
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Due to the nature of TCP/IP over the Internet, connections
can frequently fail. When they fail, the status will show one
of the following:
Abort |
The connection was aborted by the remote host.
This can be the result of user actions, or a problem
with their software.
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Refused |
A manual or automatic connection attempt was refused
by the remote host. The remote host may not be running
the program any more, or they may be behind a firewall.
This can also happen if the remote host has more
incoming connections than it can handle.
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Reset |
The connection was reset by the remote host. This can
happen when the disconnect sequence is abruptly terminated,
or through a software problem.
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Down |
The remote host is not responding to a connection attempt.
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Unreach |
The remote host IP address is unreachable from your network.
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Net Down |
The network subsystem failed.
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Failure |
Another problem was indicated with the connection. The
reason is reported in the error list.
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Time |
If the host is properly connected, this indicates the amount of
time they have been connected to you. When the FreePeers Agent
is waiting for something to happen, the number of seconds until
it gives up is shown.
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Shared |
The number of files, and total size of all files, shared the the
host is reported here. If the connection is to a Reflector or BearShare
Deflector, the number of files is reported as the aggregate of the
clients below the proxy.
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In Out Dup |
The percentage of messages in, messages out, and duplicated messages
is shown here. Dimmed text for messages in or out means that no messages
are traveling in or out respectively. Red text for messages in indicates
that the connection is idle and will be dropped after a certain length of
time. Red text for messages out indicates that the connection has reached
a bandwidth barrier, and will be dropped if the situation does not
remedy itself. BearShare automatically throttles pings and pongs for
hosts that reach a bandwidth barrier.
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Bandwidth |
The amount of bandwidth being consumed for the connection is shown
here. This does not include files being uploaded or downloaded by the
host, if any. Uploads and downloads do not take place through the
Gnutella network. The number is drawn in red if the host has reached
a bandwidth barrier.
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Version |
The type of client the host is using is displayed here, if it can
be determined from the information available.
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All incoming connections are reported in the host list, even if
they are responses to push requests, requests for uploads,
or temporary connections. These incoming connections are drawn
in dimmed text. When connections fail or get closed, they remain
visible for a few seconds and then they are removed.
When BearShare detects a bandwidth barrier, it temporarily reduces
the flow of outgoing messages to the host. If the problem does
not correct itself within a certain time period, the connection
is closed. The connection status indicator will flash yellow and
green when a bandwidth barrier is present on one or more hosts.
You can read more about the bandwidth barrier and its impact on
the Gnutella network here.
You can select a host by left clicking in the list. You may select
more than one host by holding down the control key when you click.
By right clicking in the list, you have options to remove the currently
selected host, or to remove all hosts.
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Host Menu |
Right clicking in the host list produces the host menu. This menu provides
the following options:
Remove |
Immediately disconnects selected hosts and removes them from this list.
The host may not receive all of the information intended for them.
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Remove All |
Disconnects all hosts and removes them from the list. If Keep at least is
checked, new connections will be established if possible.
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Reset |
Disconnects all hosts, removes them from the list, and clears the
internal cache of hosts. This is useful when all of the entries in
your host cache are unresponsive and you need to get a connection
back into the Gnutella network. The hosts, files, and file sizes
reported about your network horizon will be reset as well. If
Keep at least is checked, the FreePeers Agent will open a connection
to a Gnutella service provider to obtain more host addresses.
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Block IP |
Disconnects and removes selected hosts from the list, and prevents
those IP addresses from connecting until the program is re-launched.
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Host Errors |
Any problems with connections appear in this list. It is normal to see
problems during connection attempts. The hosts you are connecting to
may not be running the program anymore, there might be a disruption
of network services between you and the other computer, or they
might be refusing incoming connections.
Server errors may also appear in this list. For example, if
a directory you specify as a download or shared folder is
moved or deleted, you will receive a notification in the
host errors list.
You can clear the list by right clicking with the mouse and choosing
Clear List. You may also resize the errors list by clicking and
dragging in the space between the errors list and the host list.
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Manual Host Connection |
When you want to initiate a connection directly to a particular
IP address or domain name, enter it in the edit box and press the
Connect byutton. To specify a particular port number,
append a colon (':') followed by the port number to the IP
address or domain name.
Sometimes you need to manually connect to another computer. For
example, if you just want to share files with some of your friends,
you can enter their IP address in the edit box and click the Connect
button. If you are using BearShare in a local area network without
Internet access, you will have to type in the IP address of the
computer on your LAN you wish to connect to.
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Auto Connect |
When the box is checked, BearShare will try to keep the mininum
number of connections you specify in the edit box. BearShare uses
a variety of techniques to learn the addresses of other computers
on the Gnutella network. If the cache of IP addresses is empty,
BearShare will consult the
Clip2 DSS host list
automatically.
The edit box controls the number of hosts that the FreePeers Agent
will try to maintain, as well as the maximum number of hosts that
will be allowed during automatic connection or incoming connection
management.
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Accept Icoming |
Checking this box allows other people to connect to your computer as
hosts. When the box is off, incoming host connections
will always be considered "Temp". Note that even with the
checkbox turned off, it is still possible to receive upload requests
if you are sharing files Share Files is checked in the Uploads page.
You should always leave this box checked unless you are behind
a firewall or cannot receive incoming connections.
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Message Statistics |
These statistics show the number of stable hosts, and the total
bandwidth consumed by your host connections. The bandwidth display
does not include bandwidth used by uploads or downloads, and does not
include bandwidth used by other programs.
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Status Indicators |
The status indicators show you, at a glance, the state of your BearShare
servent. A full description of the status indicators is in the
Main Window page.
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About Button |
Pressing this will bring up the About dialog, which displays
the version number of the program as well as some additional
links to resources.
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Community Button |
You can go directly to the forums at BearShare.Net
by pressing this button.
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Setup Button |
This button brings up the Setup Dialog, which allows you to set
up your configuration. The server continues to operate while the
dialog is active.
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Exit Button |
Press this to exit the program. Your host connections will be terminated, any failed
or completed transfer items will be removed from their lists, and search results will
be discarded.
If there are transfers in progress, BearShare will minimize to the system tray and wait
for the transfers to complete before exiting. If you still want to shut the program
down, you can right click the tray icon and either choose Restore to bring the window
back, or Exit to exit.
If you choose restore, the server will reactivate itself. If you have automatic connections
turned on, then BearShare will reconnect to the Gnutella network.
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Help Button |
You can access the documentation at any time by pressing this button. The
documentation is installed in the same location as the program files.
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