IP: 129.64.147.74:411
About Direct Connect
Some of you might be asking what a DC hub is? If you are one of those people never fear! If you were able to learn how to use a bit torrent client, the DC client will be a walk in the park. For those of you who have never used a P2P file sharing utility before, that's no problem either.
DC is a way of allowing multiple users to connect to a single hub. The user supplies a list of files that they are sharing. For example, you might share a folder called Vacation Pic. The DC folder scans and creates a list file that is available to other users on the hub. This is used to allow said users to browse through your file share. The other thing that the list files allow you to do is search the hub. Say, for example, that you are looking for Beethoven's 5th. All you have to do is connect to the hub, do a search for Beethoven's 5th, and, if any of the other computers connected to the hub are sharing that file, you will be able to download it to your own computer.
So why is DC an appealing alternative to torrenting? For one thing, "DC" stands for Direct Connect. Because you are connecting to one person who has the file, as opposed to dozens who have pieces of it, your activity will be less prone to traffic analysis. Secondly, because the Brandeis hub only allows connections from on campus IP addresses, you don't have to worry about your traffic leaving the school network. This has three major advantages: 1. The school does not have limitations on local bandwidth. and 2. Because the source file is located on the local network(s), you can enjoy very fast transfers. 3. Your ISP will never know.
Hopefully your wondering how you can begin to participate in the DC share. It's really very simple:
Check Internet Connection
It is recommended you use Ethernet to connect to the Brandeis network. You will get much faster speeds through Ethernet than wireless. Using the wireless network to share large files might hurt others' internet bandwidth. Using Ethernet won't. If you wish to join the wireless network you must be connected to either BRANDEIS_UNET_SECURE or the WIRED connection in order to join the hub. You cannot make a connection to DC hub if your computer is on brandeis_unet_wireless
Download A DC Client
Mac OS X: Shakespeer (http://shakespeer.bzero.se/)
Windows: DC++ (http://dcplusplus.sourceforge.net/download/)GNU/Linux: linuxdcpp (http://linuxdcpp.berlios.de/articles.php?um=index)
Create A Nickname
Before you can begin using it, you need to set the nickname for your account. Go to options/preferences/settings (whichever your version lists the config options under). On the first options tab that appears, there should be a field into which you can enter a nickname. Go ahead and do that now. Note that it is not necessary to supply an email address.
Share
The success of P2P file sharing depends on users sharing both ways; Just as in kindergarden, you should not take unless you are also going to give in return. While still in the options window, navigate to the "Sharing" tab. Click add and navigate to the directory that you want to share, then click open. The Windows client immediately starts building the list file; I believe the Ubuntu client waits until you accept the changes. Note that the hub's configuration does not allow users to access the share unless they are sharing a minimum of 1 GB of data. We hope that you choose to make as much data available as possible.
Connect!
To do this, select connect from the drop down menu. A window will pop up asking for the location of the hub. You need to enter the IP address and port of the share in order to connect. IP is 129.64.147.74; port is 411. The correct syntax is: "129.64.147.74:411" (minus the quotations).
Still Confused?
Case Western Reserve University has nice guides for Mac's and PC's. Check them out!
Mac: http://share.case.edu/help_macsetup_shakes.asp
PC: http://share.case.edu/help_pcsetup.asp
DONT FORGET TO CHANGE THE SERVER TO 129.64.147.74:411 instead of Share.case.edu
That's all you really need to do to start using the share. However, there are some things that you can do to make everything work a lot better for everyone:
First off, if your computer is not connected to the hub, other users will not have access to your shared files. There are two steps to remedying this:
1. Add the DC client to your startup programs. This can be done in Vista by going into the start menu, right clicking on the folder called "startup" and clicking "explore." Drag and drop the icon for the DC client into this folder (it will create a shortcut). Now the client will start on login.
2. Make sure that the client automatically connects to the hub. While connected and in the main chat, type in /fav to add the hub to your favoirtes. Then click on the "Favorites" icon to display all favorites in a new tab. There should be the option to autoconnect to the hub next to its listing. Check this off for the BrandeisDC share.
The more people that connect to the hub, the more likely it is that you will be able to find what you are looking for.
Hope to see you in the connected peers list!
NB You must be connected to either BRANDEIS_UNET_SECURE or the WIRED connection in order to join the hub. You cannot make a connection to DC hub if your computer is on brandeis_unet_wireless
((Much of this stolen, err shared, from Chris Freeman's Note) also stolen from Ben Swartz's Note)
