There’s a new seedbox provider in town, but it’s nothing at all like anything you’ve ever encountered before. If we’ve got our facts straight, we’ve just discovered the only provider in existence to offer free seedboxes - and a lot of them are available. By a lot, we’re talking in excess of 600 slots available right now. So there must be some sort of catch, right? Is it some 10GB shared seedbox with dozens of users per server? Nope. Is it a loss-leader trial account that’s available for a week, before a ‘paid’ version quickly replaces it? Not at all; and in fact you don’t even require a PayPal account, so it’s totally risk-free. You have nothing to lose by trying this service.
After some intense discussion with the owner SLDKluster of SeedNation.net (S|N), a brand-new seedbox forum that’s behind the free seedboxes - we can safely conclude this is not an elaborate hoax or scam. Naturally we had a plethora of questions, since it seems too good to be true.
Sharky: C’mon, who offers a free seedbox? And why?
SLDKluster: We got tired of seeing people pay huge fees for seedboxes, and thought it was time to create a new concept among seedbox providers.
Sharky: So how many free seedboxes do you have available at this time?
SLDKluster: For now there’s a total of 672 slots available, although 36 have already been snatched up. That leaves 636 open slots.
Sharky: How do aspiring members get an account with S|N?
SLDKluster: Easy, simply sign up on our seednation.net forums and fill out the application form. More info is available on site; viewers should refer to the appform here.
Sharky: How much $$ have you invested so far?
SLDKluster: Give or take $8,000 USD. I work remotely in a major datacenter, so I have access to lots of equipment & resources.
Sharky: Where are the servers located (geographically)?
SLDKluster: Some are in the U.S. in various datacenters, and some are located in NL & Germany.
Sharky: That’s a sizable investment. How do you expect to recover/monetize in order to break even?
SLDKluster: My thought is, if i can run a free seedbox company and put up a donation button, people will come in swarms. And they will appreciate it, and we hope that they will donate to keep us up. I dont want to force payment. I would rather people decide if they like the service, to donate.
Sharky: Donations are mandatory, then?
SLDKluster: Not per user, no. Members aren’t required to donate, but if we don’t receive any donations, this service won’t last long. If we start getting months of 0 dollar donations, then we shut down. Our monthly donation target is quite low: But we’re hoping for $5-$10 per month from each user, when averaged out. I figure we’ll meet this target, after people see our services in action.
Sharky: How long does each member have the slot for? Will they eventually be kicked off the service?
SLDKluster: I’ve not imposed hard limits for allowable time. Play fair, don’t go in excess of your HDD storage and you’ll be fine.
Sharky: Ah, yes. That brings me to my next question about abuse. How do you intend to monitor this, and can members lose their accounts for using up too much resources?
SLDKluster: Yes, they can lose their seedbox privileges at any time. After all, it’s free. If we see a guy running the box into the ground, and donating 0 dollars, but ripping the ass off bandwith, then he’ll be removed. Above all else, we want members who are appreciative of our service, rather than be here only to take advantage of it.
Sharky: What’s the average HDD storage? Users per server?
SLDKluster: It depends. I have 1Gbit (GigE) and 100Mbit-connected servers, but most are 2TB storage w/ 12GB RAM each. For both 100Mbit & 1Gbit these are shared between 3 or 4 total users, maximum (but usually it’s just 3). Storage varies between 200GB and 700GB for each account here, with the smaller sizes being allocated to the 100Mbit servers.
Sharky: Can applicants request a 1Gbit instead of a 100Mbit seedbox?
SLDKluster: Not particularly, no. We hand-pick each member based upon their application. The more impressive the application, the better the server they get. Having said that, there are equal numbers of both types split 50/50 (we have 336 accounts of each for both 1Gbps and 100Mbps). If it was just good then they get a 100Mbit, but if it was outstanding, plus they are offering alot to the community, then 1Gbit they get.
Sharky: Is there a ‘hard limit’ on available storage for each slot? For example, there are 3 total users on a 2TB HDD server; what’s the maximum that a user can go?
SLDKluster: S|N doesn’t impose any hard restrictions of any kind. Unlimited torrents, unmetered bandwidth, the works. We could have set up ‘hard limits’ but we don’t believe in limits. However, if you’re on a 2TB with 3 users, try not to surpass your 1/3 share (ie - 700GB). Go up to 1TB and we have a major problem.
Sharky: Are all your seedboxes ready-to-go with rTorrent/ruTorrent on them?
SLDKluster: Yes, all of them. All our 100Mbit ones are instant browser-based rT/ruT installs. However, some of our GigE (1Gbps) boxes are SSH-based (with rTorrent) so users will need to SSH into their box in order to use it. We’re currently working to convert these to the ruTorrent GUI, but until then, users get WinSCP (FTP) access in order to upload .torrent files to the seedbox where they start in rTorrent. We also provide 1-on-1 assistance for those who require it.
Sharky: Can inexperienced members request a 100Mbit seedbox if they have no clue about CLI, PuTTY, WinSCP etc?
SLDKluster: Sure! Put it in your application form that you’d like a preconfigured seedbox with GUI.
Sharky: So what is the catch, really?
SLDKluster: Guilty as charged; there is one small catch. Torrents are automatically deleted after 6-7 days. We do this to ensure that members aren’t abusing both the storage and the bandwidth, and to keep things fair across the board.
Sharky: So all torrents are auto-pruned after 7 days, but the user on the account can still use the box to upload different torrents?
SLDKluster: Yes, of course.
Sharky: Seems fair enough. Is there a method in which members can download the completed torrent contents?
SLDKluster: Yes, we include FTP access with all accounts. If approved, new members will receive a PM on the forum in this fashion:
Congratulations! You have been accepted in to SeedNation’s seedbox program. Below are your credentials to access your seedbox:
Link:
http://xxx.196.98.107/slot1/
Username: slot1
Password: slot1
Users On Your Server: 3
Ftp Server: xxx.196.98.107
Ftp Port: 53xxx
Login for the FTP is the same as your seedbox login.
Your seedbox has a 2TB HDD with 12GB of RAM. Please be respectful to other users by using this set of resources in an appropriate manner. If you feel you cannot handle this then please refrain from using our services. Also, if for any reason we see you are abusing the services (Using 1TB of HDD when there are 3 users on your box), then your privileges will be revoked.
(In the example above, a member would be able to use up to 650GB storage, since there are 3 total members on the server).
Sharky: How do you prevent abuse from users trying to get more than one seedbox? What about if members decide to try to privately sell their free seedbox to someone else?
SLDKluster: We use an IP Checker script in place, on both the forums and on the servers. If someone is found using more than one seedbox (with the same IP), then they’re instantly banned. In reference to selling/transferring the box, this is grounds for a ban as well. We match IPs from the forum to ensure they’re logging into the server/seedbox with that same IP; if there’s no match, then they’re gone.
Well, that’s about it for now. Good luck to those who apply. TIP: Take your time with the application - the better it is, the higher the chance you’ll be accepted in (and get a better server). SeedNation is also looking for tech-minded individuals and graphic designers - feel free to apply if you can contribute somehow.
We tested out a 100Mbit box and speeds were quite handsome, indeed. Screenies of speeds can be seen below:
