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whats.p2p.main1.0
A simple questionWhat is p2p?
I guess this question is the heart of the site. The answer is that Peer-to-Peer (P2P) is a type of computer network which has no need for a centralized server, the network tasks are shared between the client nodes. However in the last 10 years P2P has become so much more, it’s not just a technical term, but a commonly used word in peoples day to day lives.
whats.p2p.overview
P2P has changed the way we use the internet, no longer are we dependant on the client-server model allowing us to have almost unlimited resources. Every time we throw a new client into the equation we throw in more computing power, more bandwidth and the network becomes less likely to fall over. With a centralized server, if the server goes down the entire network goes down. With P2P if we lose a client then the system keeps running.
However, In the past decade P2P has evolved and generally has received quite a large amount of bad press due to its links to illegal file sharing. If somebody mentions P2P it is instantly associated with illegal file sharing, the trading of copyright movies, music, games and applications. To be honest, I don’t see peoples outlooks changing soon, which is a huge shame due to the many wonderful uses that P2P can provide to our modern day internet experience.
Other than the will known application of file sharing P2P is often used in other areas that most people are not aware of. It’s used in the military due to its failsafe structure. However due to most of this information being classified we will never understand the true extent of its uses. Bioinformatics commonly use P2P networks in a similar fashion as to what folding@home do but with computer networks rather than CPU resource. (Oh and please support folding@home, you’ll be helping to save the world).
Businesses are now starting to use P2P for content distribution; I’ve seen bittorrent used often for distributing freeware software, especially well know applications such as Linux and open source programs who cannot afford a centralized server. The Telecommunications industry use P2P for voice and sound transfer over the internet (VoIP), one of the most famous examples is Skype who I am sure that most people have heard of.
I recommend exploring all of these interesting areas at some point and I would love to extend our web site to include all of these vast areas; however file sharing will be the main focus of this site. I want to get across the point that P2P isn’t completely about the network protocol and downloading files, it’s about personal growth. The things that you learn while using P2P applications will give you a firm grounding for learning about computer systems, networks and general problem solving skills. In learning these tools we have met so many interesting and intelligent people, this is due to the very nature of P2P, you are not only facing a machine, you are facing clients nodes and most clients tend to have a person at the other end.
- Those people at p2p.resource