March 20, 2010 by sharky
If you’ve ever gone through a seedbox provider, you’re probably well aware that you’re at their mercy. These 3rd party man-in-the-middle sites stand between you, and the server they’re hosted on. Granted there will always be a market for such services, just as long as there’s a fresh influx of n00bs starting out in the seedbox world. We’d hope that adept seedboxers know better than to use overpriced, unproven providers.
Seedwave is a unique seedbox sharing community for experienced seedbox users, with a goal to provide (and share) seedboxes at-cost to friends.
Seedbox Providers are NOT all the Same
Anyone who’s ever purchased a shared seedbox would probably be able to admit to some degree of disappointment. If not, then you’ve been extremely lucky. Just like anything else on this great Internet of ours; there are scammers and bullshit artists, and this is exceptionally true in the seedbox market. Complaints are widespread and rampant; simply Google "seedbox scam" and you’ll see what we mean.
One of the main reasons why FSF doesn’t (yet?) directly review the services offered by seedbox providers can easily be summed up in one small quip: I don’t (and won’t) purchase seedboxes from them, especially not of the shared variety. Unless you happen to get a slice/VPS of a server (Whatbox, Varsbox, BigSB, Fastsh.it) or a torrent-friendly VPS (Xirvik, Santrex, SeedPlace.eu, SBW.net), users rarely have any clue as to what they’ll really be getting. Without intending to discredit or single out any particular shared seedbox providers, here’s what you should know about shared seedboxes:
- • No ‘root’ / no shell access — Rarely will providers offer shell/SSH access to the box. You won’t be able to restart the BitTorrent client or troubleshoot the server. Generally if something goes wrong, you’ll need to take your chances by submitting a help ticket to get anything done.
- • Limits on active torrents, bandwidth, storage — Who wants a seedbox with inane limitations? Even bandwidth caps and/or throttling can occur at the Linux CLI level, without your knowledge.
- • They’re all about profit — First and foremost, money is the main driving factor behind any seedbox "company". Customer service is always secondary. Poor tech support is the biggest complaint made by shared seedbox users; lackluster speeds is close behind.
- • Lack of BT client support — With a shared seedbox, you’re stuck using the BitTorrent client they supply you with; and this includes the version number of the client. You won’t be able to switch over to a different one, let alone upgrade the existing client without submitting a request, and in both cases this won’t guarantee any resolution.
- • They can (and will) lie to you — How are you to trust how many users are on the same server, as they promise? Any specs in relation to hardware or plans offered can be falsified, and you’ll never truly know.
- • Shared Seedboxes are risky — Your tracker passkeys & torrenting habits are exposed to the admin of the server. While we’ve yet to discover concrete evidence to support that account hijacking has occurred as of the result from shared seedboxes, it’s certainly a possibility. But an even bigger risk may exist to your tracker accounts since most often the same IP address (of the server) is used for everyone on the seedbox. Moreover, most don’t have https (SSL) on the WebUI, SFTP connections, or offer other security measures for your seedbox - something that can easily be implemented through shell access.
- • Seedbox Providers have varying skills — These days, it takes little effort to purchase a server and provision a few seedbox accounts on it. Tutorials for this are everywhere. Throw on a quick WP theme or web template as a frontend, link a PayPal account to it - and *poof* you’re a bonafide "seedbox provider". How does one decide which provider to go with? Do your homework first, and use one that’s proven to be reliable. Techically rTorrent with a webGUI is more difficult to install than TorrentFlux or uTorrent (under wine), often this can be a tipoff to which providers/coders possess an excellent working concept of Linux through CLI.
Or better still, do it yourself on a dedicated server or VPS. You’ll be guaranteed a seedbox with amazing speeds, time and time again. This is where Seedwave comes into the picture. They offer great slices on their servers (in both 100Mbit & 1Gbit flavors) complete with tech support, tutorials, and friendly staff. Read on.
Seedwave is a Non-Profit Service
Unlike typical seedbox providers, Seedwave is entirely non-profit. Server specs are fully disclosed, as is the number of users on it. There are no gimmicks, no surprises whatsoever.
"Seedwave is a private seedbox sharing community, who love to provide service to friends. As such we are a non profit organization and we expect you to take efforts in reading our tutorials and helping yourself in seedbox setups, trouble shooting, etc."
Seedwave seedbox pricing — Essentially, the cost of renting a slice is divided equally among the number of Seedwave members on the dedicated server. However, the first month’s cost for a new member to join on the box is slightly higher than those who are already on it. This can be explained due to setup fees (on OVH or other provisioners) which boost the initial purchase price - for example, the extra £50 that OVH charges. Seedwave has come up with an ingenious plan to tackle these setup fees, as explained below.
When a new server is added to the group, 4 members sign up & divide the cost equally (including the setup fee). After a month or two, someone may leave the server, and someone else joins on. This new member inherits a higher price for the first month to compensate older members who have already paid their portion of the setup fee. Thus, older members receive a lower price which is closer to the actual monthly server fee (minus the setup fee) as divided by four. The system is a cycle, and all setup fees are therefore quickly recovered by new users. Currently all of Seedwave’s servers have recovered 100% of the initial setup fees, so the system indeed works.
Looking at it from a different perspective, we’ll explain how it’s implemented at Seedwave. In their "Seedwave Servers" forum section, there’s a list of current available servers (ie - CursedStorm, DeathGrail etc - see image below), all of which are different dedicated servers with varying specs for each. Each month, Seedwave members can subscribe (or re-subscribe) to a slice, and if all slices are already filled up for that month, users are able to join a waiting list. Existing users are given first opportunity to re-subscribe for each new month before new users are able to join.
How it works right now, each server (above) has a "server leader" - typically this is the original purchaser of the server, or the person who is managing it. Each leader keeps track of members on the server, and sets the pricing for the plans/slices (original monthly server cost + setup, divided by the number of users). Since this is a non-profit service, server leaders are not permitted to charge more than what they are paying. Below is an example of current pricing on their "ships" - (CS = CursedStorm; DG = DeathGrail; GC = GrandCruiser).
Server leaders do not necessarily require advanced Linux skills to manage the server (ie set up partitions, BT client setup, troubleshooting) - staffers at Seedwave will gladly assist in this area.
Sharing Your Own Server at Seedwave
Due to Seedwave’s popularity, waiting queues to join an existing server can be quite long. But there is a way to circumvent this, and that’s by sharing your own server. Seedwave is always on the lookout for trustworthy members who want to share their server(s) in the community. Here’s the scenario — You possess the capability to purchase a server, but can’t afford to eat the entire cost alone. Have a chat with Seedwave staff - a new thread for your server can be created whereby members pay you for slices on it. Seedwave staff will even manage your server for you.
Joining Seedwave…
Potential Seedwave members must possess a moderate level of seedbox experience before even being considered to join. Don’t perceive this as "leetism"; it’s a matter of staff (which is already thinly spread to begin with) not being eager or able to waste valuable time explaining basic stuff that their members are expected to already know. After all, this one-of-a-kind service is free and the seedboxes are basically at cost. All they ask for is that new aspiring members know their stuff first. Registration to Seedwave is not open directly, and the only current option is to be invited after passing an interview on IRC. Please read this entire section carefully before applying.
- Network: irc.p2p-network.net
- Invite Channel: #seedwaveinvites
- Main Channel: #seedwave (need correct key to join)
The interview process is said to be somewhat lengthy and due to the volume of potential new recruits, it may take some time to be accepted for an interview. Stick with it, and be patient. For those who are fluent (even modestly) in Linux commands should find the interview to be a snap.
You’ll potentially (even probably) be asked about the following:
• Your skills through Linux & SSH ’shell’ access, and if you know how to connect to a server from a given IP address & login credentials. This is particularly important since the servers do not run Windows software. Fail this, and it’s all over.
• If you know how to start VNC through CLI (in PuTTY or another SSH client); and if you’re able to delete folders or create them in certain paths (rm | mkdir). Really, it’s just a quick check to see if you know some basic *nux commands. Even Google it beforehand if you aren’t sure.
• Torrenting history, experience with private trackers & forums. We’re not sure if this will even be asked, but assume that you could be checked out. Traders, scammers & cheaters are obviously unwelcome.
NOTE: Use a proper IRC client, such as mIRC or xChat - not mibbit or any other browser-based IRC. Otherwise it’s probable that you will not be able to receive the Seedwave invite.
Other Bits…
Seedwave is currently looking for…
- - additional staff to help maintain servers.
- - good members willing to share servers.
- - tracker staff for recruitment in their invites area.
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