Increasing download speed by using multiple IP addresses? - Ubuntu

Question

quite often sites limit download speed per ip address or identified user.

Is it possible to use a tool such as wget in order to overcome this limitation?

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Ideas would be great.

Answer 1

For wget, the option you are looking for is --bind-address=.

Note that

1. You need to have a machine with multiple interfaces,

2. You can only speed up with multiple concurrent downloads, and

3. If there are per-IP restrictions that are intended to be per-user / per-customer restrictions, then by evading them you are in the wrong, even if you are not breaking the law or an agreement.

Answer 2

Sometimes it is possible to bypass limitations in the server by opening multiple connections.

But these restrictions were probably put there for a reason and by deliberately avoiding them you might be breaking the terms of service for the site. Do this with caution.

Answer 3

Take a look at the JDownloader

Answer 4

I have successfully used the "axel" package to speed up downloads - it does not use multiple IP's or multiple users, but will open multiple simultaneous download streams.

The real question is if you're experiencing slow downloads because of a deliberate configuration/policy choice, or because of a failure to optimize the delivery system(s) for maximum speed.

If it's the former, you probably won't be successful in evading the restrictions over the long term. If it's the latter, sometimes you can make up for the site admins' shortcomings.