Free P2P
A peer-to-peer (or P2P) computer network is a network that relies on computing power at the edges (ends) of a connection rather than in the network itself.
A pure peer-to-peer file transfer network does not have the notion of clients or servers, but only equal peer nodes that simultaneously function as both “clients” and “servers” to the other nodes on the network. This model of network arrangement differs from the client-server model where communication is usually to and from a central server. A typical example for a non peer-to-peer file transfer is an FTP server. One user uploads a file to the FTP server, then many others download it, with no need for the uploader and downloader to be connected at the same time.
Some networks and channels, such as Napster, OpenNap, or IRC @find, use a client-server structure for some tasks (e.g. searching) and a peer-to-peer structure for others. Networks such as Gnutella, Kazaa Lite or Freenet, use a peer-to-peer structure for all purposes and are sometimes referred to as true peer-to-peer networks, though Gnutella at least is greatly facilitated by directory servers which inform peers of the network addresses of other peers.
Peer-to-peer architecture embodies one of the key technical concepts of the internet, described in the first internet RFC dated 7 April 1969. More recently the concept has achieved wide prominence among the general public in the context of the absence of central indexing servers in architectures used for exchanging multimedia files.
Many peer-to-peer networks are under constant attack with spyware, adware and malware by people like hackers with a variety of motives.
Advantages of peer-to-peer networks.
An important goal in peer-to-peer networks is that the bandwidth of all clients can be used, so the total bandwidth – and usually the available download bandwidth for the average user – grows with the number of nodes, instead of all clients having to share the bandwidth of one server, where adding more clients could mean slower data transfer for all users.
When the term peer-to-peer was used to describe the Napster network, it implied that the peer protocol nature was important, but in reality the great achievement of Napster was the empowerment of the peers (i.e., the fringes of the network) in association with a central index which made it fast and efficient to locate available content. The peer protocol was just a common way to achieve this.
Legal controversy
Under US law, “the Betamax decision” case holds that copying “technologies” are not inherently illegal, if substantial non-infringing use can be made of them. This decision, predating the widespread use of the Internet applies to most data networks, including peer-to-peer networks, since distribution of correctly licensed files can be performed. These non-infringing uses include sending open source software, public domain files and out of copyright works. Other jurisdictions tend to view the situation in somewhat similar ways.
In practice, many, often most, of the files shared on peer-to-peer networks are copies of copyrighted popular music and movies in wide variety of formats (MP3, MPEG, RM, etc.) Sharing of these copies is illegal in most jurisdictions. This has led many observers, including most media companies and some peer-to-peer advocates, to conclude that the networks themselves pose grave threats to the established distribution model. The research that attempts to measure actual monetary loss has been somewhat equivocal. Whilst on paper the existence of these networks results in massive losses, the actual income does not seem to have changed much since these networks started up. Whether the threat is real or not, both the RIAA and the MPAA now spend large amounts of money attempting to lobby lawmakers for the creation of new laws, and some copyright owners pay companies to help legally challenge users engaging in illegal sharing of their material.
In spite of the Betamax decision, peer-to-peer networks themselves have been targeted by the representatives of those artists and organizations who license their creative works, including industry trade organizations such as the RIAA and MPAA as a potential threat. The Napster service was shut down by an RIAA lawsuit. In this case, Napster had been deliberately marketed as a way to distribute audio files without permission from the copyright owners.
As actions to defend copyright infringement by media companies expand, the networks have quickly adapted and constantly become both technologically and legally more difficult to dismantle. This has caused the users that are actually breaking the law to become targets, because whilst the underlying technology may be legal, the abuse of it by individuals redistributing content in a copyright infringing way is clearly not.
Anonymous peer-to-peer networks allow for distribution of material – legal or not – with little or no legal accountability across a wide variety of jurisdictions. Many profess that this will lead to greater or easier trading of illegal material and even (as some suggest) facilitate terrorism, and call for its regulation on those grounds. Others counter that the potential for illegal uses should not prevent the technology from being used for legal purposes, that the presumption of innocence must apply, and that non peer-to-peer technologies like e-mail, which also possess anonymizing services, have similar capabilities.
Popular programs
Popular programs are: eMule (eDonkey, Kademlia), Epicea (Epicea, BitTorrent, eDonkey, Overnet, FastTrack, Gnutella), GiFT (own OpenFT protocol, and with plugins – FastTrack, eDonkey and Gnutella), Gnucleus (Gnutella, Gnutella2), iMesh Light (Fasttrack, eDonkey, Gnutella, Gnutella2), Kazaa (FastTrack, Joltid PeerEnabler), Kazaa Lite (FastTrack, Joltid PeerEnabler), MindGem (eDonkey, Kademlia), MLDonkey (BitTorrent, eDonkey, FastTrack, Gnutella, Gnutella2, Kademlia) (Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Palm OS, Java), mlMac (BitTorrent, eDonkey, FastTrack, Gnutella, Gnutella2), Morpheus (Gnutella, Gnutella2), Poisoned (FastTrack, Gnutella), Shareaza (BitTorrent, eDonkey, Gnutella, Gnutella2), WinMX (Napster, WPNP), XNap (OpenNAP, GiFT, Limewire, Overnet, ICQ, IRC) (Java) and Zultrax (Gnutella, ZEPP).
The source of this article is Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.