BITS Client

Applies To: Windows Server 2008

The BITS client transfers files in the background, using idle network bandwidth.

Managed Entities

The following is a list of the managed entities that are included in this managed entity:

Name Description

Peer Caching

Peer caching is a new feature of BITS 3.0 that allows peer computers (computers within the same subnet of a network that have the peer caching feature enabled) to share files. If peer caching is enabled on a computer, the Automatic Update agent instructs BITS to make downloaded files available to that computer's peers as well.

When the files have been downloaded, BITS caches them. When another peer caching-enabled computer tries to download the same update, BITS on that computer sends a multicast request to all of that computer's peers. If one or more of the peers responds to the request, BITS will download the file from the first computer to respond. If the download from the peer fails or takes too long, BITS continues the download from the server.

BITS Service

The BITS client is implemented as a Windows service. The BITS Service manages all jobs and the job queue for a computer.

Job Queue

BITS manages the scheduling of BITS download jobs, based on various factors such as the priority of each job, whether the job owner is logged on, and the state of the computer’s network connection.

Aspects

The following is a list of all aspects that are part of this managed entity:

Name Description

BITS Client Connectivity

In order for the BITS client to successfully complete files transfers, the client must be able to connect to a BITS server that is available on the network.

Internet Gateway Device Support

BITS can query home routers (Internet Gateway Devices [IGDs]) that support Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) counters and determine how much bandwidth is being used, rather than rely on only the link between the computer and the IGD. This feature is most useful for home users that have several computers connected behind a Network Address Translation (NAT) router.

BITS Infrastructure