The Good and Bad of P2P Networking

There is a different kind of networking that is becoming an increasingly common experience in the average internet user's daily life. That networking design is referred to as peer-to-peer, or P2P, networking.

Basically, a P2P network is an ad hoc network that connects participants directly, rather than through a central point. The combined bandwidth of participants is used to transfer data. There are no clients and servers and each node is an equal on the network — creating the "peer" in P2P.

Today, P2P networks are most commonly used for sharing files real-time data transfer. Most people think of the high profile Napster case a few years ago that involved illegally file sharing — namely music. So, unfortunately, there are still negative connotations associated with the term peer-to-peer.

The beauty of P2P is that users power the network. As a user joins a P2P network, they add to the overall resources, storage space, bandwidth and computing power. Adding computers to the network actually gives the network more power, unlike conventional networks which can become strained by adding more resources.

However, there are legal and ethical issues surrounding P2P. While a P2P is not illegal in its own right, sharing copyrighted material is. Many P2P networks are setup for that reason — to share music, video, and text files.

That said, P2P is used for many legitimate purposes as well. Many audio and video streaming services, such as Joost, use P2P networking. It is also ideal for internet telephony services. Skype is a form of P2P networking using the internet as a host.

Because of their open nature, P2P networks do raise some issues in regards to security and anonymity. However, the majority of networks now hide users' identities and encrypt all information.

Some well known P2P networks include:

BitTorrent

This file sharing network is the king of all P2P networks and by far the most commonly used for sharing music, video and software. As such, it comes under much scrutiny. Well known applications for accessing this network are Azureus, uTorrent and LimeWire.

Gnutella

Gnutella is another file sharing network or protocol that has proven particularly popular with Mac users. Applications include Acquisition and iMesh.

P2PTV

The use of P2P networks for streaming video is becoming increasingly popular. Joost, which delivers almost perfect quality video, has a client that uses this network.

Despite the bad press, P2P networking is finding increasingly legitimate uses on the internet and allows for the extremely efficient information sharing.

 

Written by: Frank J Klein - CIO

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