WARNING: Long post ahead. Short version at the bottom.



Firstly, I activate the IP Filter feature from Tixati settings.

Then, I switch to IP Filter View From the main application window.

I only add one IP Filter list from a local folder. Its automatic reload interval is set to never.

Instantly, IP Filter View gets refreshed. It lists now (lets say, for instance) 3.000.000.000 IP Addresses and consequently IP matches begin to happen.

Afterwards, I finish my transfers and close the Tixati client.

Some days later, I want to activate my transfers again. Before opening Tixati, I update my local IP Filter list with some new IP Addresses. So, now, it contains (for example) 3.000.555.555 IP Addresses.

My logic and previous experience (with other clients like utorrent) dictate that when Tixati opens, its IP Filter feature will try to get my IP Filter list from the local folder. As a result, I expect to see 3.000.555.555 IP Addresses being blocked.

However, after opening Tixati, I still get the old total of 3.000.000.000 IP Addresses.

OK, my bad... Maybe, I made a logical mistake. Maybe, Tixati functions in a different way.

Hence (as IP Filter function doesn't seem to read again from the local folder), I assume that Tixati must have copied (at its first run) the previous (old and smaller) local IP Filter list to another location and reads it from there.

Operating System: Windows 64-bit. In its program files folder there is nothing, but in its AppData\Roaming folder I discover a file named "ipfilters2.dat". Aha! I think, it must be a copy of my old IP Filter list.

Nevertheless, their sizes are completely different. My list was in the range of 16MB unzipped (and 3.5MB at compressed *.gz file format) and this "ipfilters2.dat" is only 1.5MB. It cannot be its carbon copy, even with heavy compression.

Anyhow, I can just click refresh/reload at IP Filter View and immediately the total of IP Addresses gets renewed: 3.000.555.555

I can even set an automatic reload interval of e.g. 1 day and the matter is solved.

In the end, though, my original question remains unanswered.

How does the underlying mechanism of IP Filter feature work?



TL;DR

From where does Tixati access its IP Filter list after the initial configuration?

-> setup: only one IP Filter list at *.dat file format, located in a local folder <-

Bump.

Any ideas?

I think you are right. Most likely Tixati stores the filter list in ipfilters2.dat file. I guess it's small because the list is stored in a different way, for example as binary data not a text file. Also some information may be omitted, like who uses an IP range.

There is one other issue that I have asked about several times but received no answer, it appears that IPV4 and IPV6 are handled in different ways as if you filter an IPV6 address and subsequently delete from your filter list Tixati continues to filter it and there appears no way to un-filter it.

@shag00

In the above described configuration, we can ignore the IPv6 parameter. I have set the network mode option to IPv4 only and my ipfilter list contains only IPv4 addresses.

However, your issue seems to be related somehow to the way Tixati stores its ipfilter list.

Have you checked your ipfilters2.dat file? Have you tried deleting it?

Have you tried disabling the IP Filter feature from the settings menu, restarting Tixati and then enabling it again.


@Pete

Storing the list in a different way or omitting some information (like who uses an IP range) could explain the big file size difference. Having said that, after trying to open ipfilter2.dat with notepad, I only got some gibberish data, so I cannot confirm the contents of that file.

I think we need response from a developer for clarification.