Torrent clients on GNOME 3.2.1 / openSUSE 12.1

What is Torrent?
   Torrent clients are software that can be said to work based on BitTorrent protocol which was invented by Bram Cohen.Torrents files are those files which can be used to store vital meta data information of the file a user is trying to download. It also contains URLs called trackers which is used to tracker the downloaders "leechers" and uploaders of the files "seeders". Simply said torrent framework allows decentralised method of downloading huge files without corrupting the file contents.Torrents work by dividing the target file into small information chunks, found on an unlimited number of different hosts. Here a host refers to all the computer terminals currently uploading or downloading the file. Since the torrent client automatically hash check the downloaded chunks of the files against the hash code inside the torrent file the files are often intact in contrast with conventional downloads where there is good chance of corruption of downloaded data.
Advantages of Torrents:-
==>There is no load on a single server unlike conventional downloads .There is  no chocking of servers due to heavy load
==>Since each it of data is hash checked there is less chance of the downloaded file getting corrupted.
==>Since immediately after a downloader has even one chunk of the whole file , the torrent client will start uploading that chunk.Hence each downloader automatically becomes an uploading. Hence unlike conventional downloads, the more downloaders of a file,the faster is the download.This is similar to mirrored downloads.
==>Even if the original file uploader is not offering the file for download, the file download stays alive because someone else can take over the role of a seeder.
==>Downloads are resumable  after any length of time which is a big one up over conventional downloads.
==>I always download Linux ISOs (openSUSE)through torrents as conventional downloads are very slow when a OS / distribution release occurs due to the mad rush to get the latest piece of software. Also the ISOs downloaded using this method are always intact.
Get Torrent Client:-

==>Follow the instructions in this post to install community repositories for openSUSE 12.1 and also configure "Enzokiel" repository (Repo Link)
==>After  configuring the repositories you can open YaST installer and type in the search string torrent against the Package Listing,then you can see torrent clients listed in YaST interface.From there you can check the required packages and hit "Apply" at the bottom of the window.This will install the torrent clients.For convenience sake I have sorted and shown installed packages,by default they will appear in alphabetical order in YaST.

Note:-
In additional to the above clients there is on more download manager called FatRat which supports torrent based downloads.
Comparison of Clients:-

BitTorrent-gtk

Interface is pretty basic,bland,minimalistic
Cannot selectively download files in the torrent and prioritise files
Random port switching on each start is not present
No encryption of connections
DHT options / peer exchange/discovery (Pex) features not are supported
No IP blocklist present
Download queuing pretty basic
Cannot control individual torrent upload and download rate in case of multiple downloads
Cannot control download rates ,only overall upload rate can be controlled
No one click /alternative speed  reduction facility to enable faster browsing
Search torrent option doesn't work
Tracker list cannot for a torrent be edited / modified
Force recheck option not available
No tray icon support
No Web interface is supported
Seeding ratio can be set.
Rating 2 out of 5

Deluge

Interface is pretty good and has lot of features and preferences that can be set
Download queuing supported
Encryption of connections supported
Supports IP blocklist and Web interface are available in the form of plugins
DHT options / peer exchange/discovery (Pex) features are supported
One can selectively download files in the torrent and prioritise files
Can control upload/download rates
No one click /alternative speed  reduction facility to enable faster browsing
Tracker list for a torrent can be edited /modified
Force recheck option available
Tray icon is supported
The software is highly extendable through default as well as additional plugins.
For example Stats plugin shows a pictorial/graphical display of upload and download speed
Seeding ratio can be set.

Rating 4 out of 5

qBittorrent

Interface is pretty good and has lot of features and preferences that can be set
Download queuing supported
Encryption of connections supported
Supports IP blocklist and Web interface
DHT options / peer exchange/discovery (Pex) features are supported
One can selectively download files in the torrent and prioritise files
Can control upload/download rates
one click /alternative speed  reduction facility available to enable faster browsing
Tracker list for a torrent can be edited /modified
Force recheck option  available
Tray icon is supported.The icon has three themes:-normal,Monochrome(light theme),Monochrome(Dark theme)
Seeding ratio can be set
Setting to check new versions of software available

Rating 4 out of 5

Vuze

Was formerly known as Azures
Interface is mind blowing ,awesome
Download queuing supported
Automatic speed optimisation test for network is awesome.It can also be run manually from Help menu.
vuze HD network offering TV show downloads is cool
Lot of plugins are available to extend its features
RSS subscription facility to indicate availability of new downloads is pretty good
Encryption of connections supported
Supports IP blocklist.
DHT options / peer exchange/discovery (Pex) features are supported
One can selectively download files in the torrent and prioritise files
Can control upload/download rates
one click /alternative speed  reduction facility not available
Tracker list for a torrent can be edited /modified
Force recheck option  available
Tray icon is supported
Seeding ratio can be set
Setting to check new versions of software available

Rating 4.5 out of 5

Transmission-gtk

The default client that is installed in openSUSE
Web interface is supported
Interface is pretty good and has lot of features and preferences that can be set
Download queuing supported
Encryption of connections supported
Supports IP blocklist.
DHT options / peer exchange/discovery (Pex) features are supported
One can selectively download files in the torrent and prioritise files
Can control upload/download rates
one click /alternative speed  reduction facility is supported
Tracker list for a torrent can be edited /modified
Force recheck option  available
Tray icon is supported
Seeding ratio can be set
Random port switching on each start is supported.

Rating 4 out of 5

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