mikaelsmith / msmith-torrent_client

A client for downloading files via the BitTorrent protocol from a torrent-server

Table of Contents

1. Overview
2. Module Description - What the module does and why it is useful
3. Setup - The basics of getting started with torrent_client
   • What torrent_client affects
   • Setup requirements
   • Beginning with torrent_client
4. Usage - Configuration options and additional functionality
5. Reference - An under-the-hood peek at what the module is doing and how
6. Limitations - OS compatibility, etc.
7. Development - Guide for contributing to the module

Overview

A client for downloading files via the BitTorrent protocol from a torrent-server.

Module Description

This module uses libtorrent BitTorrent library written in C++ to download files served from a torrent-server. Using BitTorrent to transfer files can result in faster transfers with less load on the file server.

The module includes two classes:

• torrent_client to configure the system for downloading files using BitTorrent
• torrent_file to download individual files

Setup

Beginning with torrent_client

Install libtorrent and boost as pre-requisites for building the torrent_client Ruby gem.

On Mac OS X, that can be done via Homebrew

brew install boost libtorrent-rasterbar

Usage

class {'::torrent_client':
  provider => 'puppet_gem',
}

Torrent_File {
  server => 'http://filehost:8000/torrent',
  port   => 5555,
}

torrent_file {'large file':
  path => '/tmp',
}

Reference

Classes

torrent_client

Install client prereqs; currently only torrent_client.

• provider: select which package provider to use to install Ruby gems. Defaults to puppet_gem.

Resources

torrent_file

Downloads a file.

• file: namevar, name of the file as stored on the server
• ensure: ensure the file is present/absent
• path: (required) fully qualified file path for a directory to download the file to
• server: (required) torrent server name and port
• port: port to use for the BitTorrent, defaults to 5555

msmith-torrent_client's Issues

Create a Ruby gem wrapping libtorrent

All the available Ruby torrent gems are unmaintained. Create a new Ruby gem that wraps libtorrent. https://blog.jcoglan.com/2012/07/29/your-first-ruby-native-extension-c/

The torrent_client class can then ensure libtorrent and the new gem are installed, and use them for downloads and checking target file consistency.

Use future TorrentClient.purge method to delete files

Current ensure => absent behavior requires the resource title to be the name of the downloaded file, and cannot successfully delete multiple files if the torrent has them.

That behavior isn't too crazy, because currently the resource title is how a torrent package is requested from the server.