A Guide To DC

Written on June 29th, 2018 by {"login"=>"jcbitshyd", "email"=>"journal@hyderabad.bits-pilani.ac.in", "display_name"=>"Journal Club, BPHC", "first_name"=>"", "last_name"=>""}

What is DC?

DC++ is in essence a software that allows you to share files over our
LAN, or the internal network of the campus. Collectively, us BITSians
have shared over 100 TB of data (try to assess that figure in your
head), ranging from the latest movies, TV shows and PC games, to class
notes, video tutorials, softwares and books. There is very little you
cannot find on the network and you will be missing a lot if you remain
unfamiliar with DC++.

How It Works

DC++ works on the principle of sharing. When you're connected to the
network, the files you have shared are available for others to download.
Other users can search and download the files you have shared, but only
when you're online. As you can see, it is essential for everyone to
share their files so that everyone can benefit from it. Keeping this in
mind, most of the campus hubs/networks have a minimum share limit
(usually 25GB/50GB) - unless you share the minimum amount of files,
you're not allowed to connect to the hub.

Installation

Download the DC++ client. You can get the latest version here.
Install it. (Click next, accept everything, etc.)
Open the ‘Settings’ menu by clicking the little grey gear icon on the top, or hitting Ctrl+F3.
Click on the ‘Personal Information’ tab
Enter your nick and description. Do not take this decision lightly.
Your nick will identify you to your fellow BITSians not just on DC++,
but also in college and all future interactions. Trust me, you want
something unique.
Ignore all other settings in this tab, and head over to
‘Connectivity’. Double click on the tab to open up the other options, if
you don’t see ‘Manual configuration’, ‘Bandwidth limiting’, and ‘Proxy’
under it.
Under ‘Connectivity’, check ‘Let DC++ determine the best
connectivity settings’. Hit ‘Detect now’ and wait for DC++ to do its
magic. You should get a message saying that it was successful in mapping
the ports. (If not, look at the Troubleshooting section).
Head over to the ‘Sharing’ tab and select folders to total at least
25 GB of shareable data. That means no system files or other junk, or
else you will be kicked out.
Hit Ctrl+Q to open the quick connect dialog box.
Enter “172.16.71.71”. This is the hub address for
LegendHub, our college’s “official” DC hub. You will get to know of some
others in time. (Save the address under Favourite Hubs, the little star
icon).
If all goes well, you should see the LegendHub welcome message. Don’t forget to say hi!

What Next?

So, you’ve successfully connected to LegendHub! Well, you could
search for your favourite movies or TV shows (using the small magnifying
glass icon). A list of results will pop up in a new tab. Double click
on the one you like to start downloading to the default directory (you
can change it to prevent your drive getting filled up). Alternatively,
you could also browse the ‘file list’ of some user by right clicking on
their name (in the users panel on the right hand side) and selecting
‘Browse file list’.

We also have a Facebook Group
for DC, named "Stronger DC for BPHC", containing news about the latest
files that have been added to the network. You can also post requests
and interact with fellow DC users here.

Troubleshooting

Common Errors

Red bar - settings>Connectivity>manual
configuration>untick "let dc++... " and use other options one by one,
something should work.
Low speeds - right click on download and search for alternatives. Also, avoid using Campus WiFi for DC++ - use the LAN ports in your room.
No slots - right click>send private message and ask for a slot, or try searching for alternatives
Downloads not stopping? View>Download Queue
(Ctrl+D) and right click>remove the downloads that you don’t want.
You can set priorities to your downloads here!

Sharing issues

Settings>Sharing - Add folders which you want to share.
It is recommend to share at least 50-100GB of data for normal use,
and 200 GB+ for premium use. A minimum of 25 GB has to be shared though.
The best way is to share your DC download directory. Share from your
hard drives if your system does not have enough space. Do not remove
external storage before closing DC otherwise, it will have to be re
hashed.
P.S. If you do not have enough disk space to meet the minimum share requirements (or have a MacBook), you can fill this form to be considered for VIP access, without sharing.

List of Hubs

Active Hubs

172.16.71.71 - LegendHub - 25GB share

172.16.34.159 - Billi's Den - 50GB share

Inactive Hubs

(They may be restarted some day, though. You can try once in a while.)

172.16.116.225 - Marvel - 50GB share

172.16.119.187 - Maithri - 50GB share

172.16.120.250 - Exotica - 200GB share

Other Sharing Methods

In case you don't know, the BITSMAIL (your_id_number@hyderabad.bits-pilani.ac.in) you are issued comes with unlimited storage space on Google Drive. You can use this to backup the 1000s of pictures you'll take over the next few years, or to share large files with your batch-mates. Google Drive links are often used to share files with BITSians who are not on campus or during summers to share files. To request a file when you're not on campus, just make a post on the Stronger DC Facebook Group, and mention you want a drive link.

A few general rules for Google Drive links are:

Use BITSMail to open links.
Generally, don't try share these links outside of the group.
Before requesting, search the group and folders to see if someone has shared it before.
Sometimes, links may be encoded for protection. You need to use a decoder such as Base 64 to decode links.

Happy downloading, and remember, sharing is caring!