What's New (BITS)
Since its first release as part of Windows XP, the Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) has been constantly improved, adding more powerful controls for the developer and admin to control and manage downloads. A rich set of PowerShell cmdlets has been added; it can connect to more types of HTTP servers; it's more careful of the user's network bandwidth and costs than ever before.
The following table identifies what is new for each release of Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS).
Version | Description of features |
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Version 10.3 | New features:
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Version 10.2 | New features:
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Version 10.1 | New features:
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Version 5.0 | New features:
The following features were added to BITS in Windows 10
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Version 4.0 | New features:
You can also download BITS 4.0 for Windows Server 2008 with Service Pack 2 (SP2), Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 (SP1), and Windows Vista with Service Pack 2 (SP2). To download BITS 4.0, see Microsoft Update Catalog and install KB960568. The version of %windir%\System32\QMgr.dll is "7.5.xxxx.xxxx". |
Version 3.0 | New features: - Added Peer Caching which lets you download content from peers and also serve content to peers in a domain network. - Added notification for when a file is downloaded. - Added access to the temporary file while the download is in progress. - Added the ability to control HTTP redirects. - Added more group policies to control peer caching and limit download times. - Added diagnostic and troubleshooting events to the system event log. - Added support for User Account Control (UAC). - On Windows Vista and higher, the default BITS startup type is delayed auto-start. Note: BITS now uses group policies to limit the number of jobs and files you can create. This might affect applications that currently create a large number of jobs or add a large number of files to a job. BITS version 3.0 is included in the Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista operating systems. The version of %windir%\System32\QMgr.dll is "7.0.xxxx.xxxx". |
Version 2.5 | Added support for custom HTTP headers, certificate-based client authentication for secure HTTP transports, and IPv6. Also added the use of Internet gateway device (IGD) counters to more accurately calculate available bandwidth. The BITS 2.5 features are available in the Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, and Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (SP3) operating systems. You can also download BITS 2.5 for Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 2 (SP2), Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 (SP1), and Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2). The version of %windir%\System32\QMgr.dll is "6.7.xxxx.xxxx". |
Version 2.0 | Added support for performing concurrent foreground downloads, using Server Message Block (SMB) paths for remote names, downloading ranges of a file, changing the prefix or complete name of a remote name, and limiting client bandwidth usage. The JobInactivityTimeout policy is now located under Computer Configuration, Administrative Templates, Network, Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS). BITS version 2.0 is included in Windows XP with SP2 and Windows Server 2003 with SP1. You can also download BITS 2.0 for Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP. To download BITS 2.0, go to the Microsoft Update Catalog and install KB842773. The version of %windir%\System32\QMgr.dll is "6.6.xxxx.xxxx". |
Version 1.5 | Added upload and upload-reply capability, command-line execution for events, and explicit credentials and proxy credentials. Starting with BITS 1.5, users with a restricted token cannot create or modify jobs. BITS version 1.5 is included in Windows Server 2003. A redistributable is available for Windows XP from the Microsoft Download Center. The version of %windir%\System32\QMgr.dll is "6.5.xxxx.xxxx". |
Version 1.2 | Same functionality as version 1.0. Contains internal upgrades and improvements. BITS version 1.2 is included in Windows XP with Service Pack 1 (SP1). The version of %windir%\System32\QMgr.dll is "6.2.xxxx.xxxx". |
Version 1.0 | Initial release. Provides prioritized, throttled, and asynchronous downloads in the background or foreground. The downloads automatically resume after computer restarts and network disconnects. BITS version 1.0 is included in Windows XP. The version of %windir%\System32\QMgr.dll is "6.0.xxxx.xxxx". |
To light up features in your program based on BITS capabilities, use QueryInterface on (for example) your Job object to see if the Job object allows you to create the version you need. Alternatively, see Determining the Version of BITS on a Computer to convert the QMgr.dll version number into the BITS version.
Version 10.3
The following interfaces were added for this version
Version 10.2
The following interfaces were added for this version
Version 10.1
The following interfaces were added for this version
The following constants were added to use with the BITS_JOB_PROPERTY_ID enumeration.
- BITS_JOB_PROPERTY_ON_DEMAND_MODE
- BITS_JOB_PROPERTY_MINIMUM_NOTIFICATION_INTERVAL_MS
Version 5.0
The following interfaces were added for this version:
Version 4.0
The following interfaces were added for this version:
Version 3.0
The following interfaces were added for this version:
- IBackgroundCopyCallback2
- IBackgroundCopyFile3
- IBackgroundCopyJob4
- IBitsPeer
- IBitsPeerCacheAdministration
- IBitsPeerCacheRecord
- IEnumBitsPeerCacheRecords
- IEnumBitsPeers
The following constants were added to use with the IBackgroundCopyJobHttpOptions::SetSecurityFlags method:
- BG_HTTP_REDIRECT_POLICY_ALLOW_SILENT
- BG_HTTP_REDIRECT_POLICY_ALLOW_REPORT
- BG_HTTP_REDIRECT_POLICY_DISALLOW
- BG_HTTP_REDIRECT_POLICY_MASK
- BG_HTTP_REDIRECT_POLICY_ALLOW_HTTPS_TO_HTTP
Version 2.5
The following interface and enumeration were added for version 2.5:
Version 2.0
The following interfaces, structure, and topics were added for version 2.0:
For information about concurrent foreground downloads, see the Remarks section for BG_JOB_PRIORITY.
For information about using the SMB protocol, see BG_FILE_INFO.
Version 1.5
The following interfaces and topics were added for version 1.5:
- IBackgroundCopyJob2
- Retrieving the Reply from an Upload-Reply Job
- Registering to Execute a Program
- BITS Server Settings for Upload Jobs
- Setting Up the Server for Uploads
- Using BITS Notification Request/Response Headers
Updating BITS versions
You can download BITS 4.0 for Windows Server 2008 with Service Pack 2 (SP2), Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 (SP1), and Windows Vista with Service Pack 2 (SP2).