plumsauce - 5:06 am on Sep 23, 2009 (gmt 0)

Torrent? So you're blaming Comcast because the pirate network doesn't run at top speeds?

More likely the poster is talking about the usage of devices from SANDVINE on the COMCAST network that deliberately interfere with specific traffic.

It(the SANDVINE system) profiles traffic, and if it determines that it is not traffic that the isp wants on the network it sends a forged TCP RST packet to the endpoints. This effectively shuts down the connection without the either end having initiated a shutdown sequence. Clearly this is dirty pool.

My view is that an isp is paid to provide connectivity. This connectivity should not be restricted to specific traffic. If I need a port to perform a task, it should be available without interference.

Once the Sandvine device latches onto a particular MAC address, it will start to interfere with all communications on all ports involving that MAC address. Not just the torrent that triggered it.

So, run a torrent slowly in the background, and watch the server administration connection come to a crawl as it continuously disconnects and reconnects.

Sending forged RST packets to interfere with TCP connections is nothing more than a disincentive to using protocols that are tied to high bandwidth consumption. This is bandwidth that was advertised and sold, but that the isp does not want to actually deliver.

BTW, torrents are not just for pirated materials, they are also used for software distribution and updates. As the torrents are initiated, offered and encouraged by the vendors, it can hardly be called piracy.