2.1.1. How Do I Download Installation Files?
Fedora software is available for download at no cost in a variety of ways.
The Fedora installation files are freely available from web servers located in many parts of the world. These servers
mirror the files available from the Fedora Project. If you visit
http://download.fedoraproject.org/, you are redirected to a mirror, based on a calculation of which mirror is likely to offer you the best download speed. Alternatively, you can choose a mirror from the list maintained at
http://mirrors.fedoraproject.org/publiclist. This page lists mirrors according to geographic location. The mirrors geographically closest to you are likely to provide you with the fastest downloads. If the company or organization that provides your internet access maintains a mirror, this mirror is likely to provide you with the fastest downloads of all.
Mirrors publish Fedora software under a well-organized hierarchy of folders. For example, the Fedora 20 distribution normally appears in the directory fedora/linux/releases/20/
. This directory contains a folder for each architecture supported inside that folder, in a folder called iso/
. For example, you can find the file for the DVD distribution of Fedora 20 for x86_64 at fedora/linux/releases/20/Fedora/x86_64/iso/Fedora-20-x86_64-DVD.iso
.
BitTorrent is a way to download information in cooperation with other computers. Each computer cooperating in the group downloads pieces of the information in a particular torrent from other peers in the group. Computers that have finished downloading all the data in a torrent remain in the swarm to seed, or provide data to other peers. If you download using BitTorrent, as a courtesy you should seed the torrent at least until you have uploaded the same amount of data you downloaded.
If your computer does not have software installed for BitTorrent, visit the BitTorrent home page at
http://www.bittorrent.com/download/ to download it. BitTorrent client software is available for Windows, Mac OS, Linux, and many other operating systems.
You do not need to find a special mirror for BitTorrent files. The BitTorrent protocol ensures that your computer participates in a nearby group. To download and use the Fedora BitTorrent files, visit
http://torrent.fedoraproject.org/.
Minimal boot CD and USB flash disk images are not available through BitTorrent.