Online! The Book

The P2P Model

P2P has come to describe a way for people to use the Internet to exchange files with each other directly or through a mediating server. To put this simply, a group of users decide they want to make files on their computers available to other users who might want them; a central computer is set up to index these files; and all the users use the same software and formatting to make everything work. You decide you want a specific file. You go search on the central computer for an index for the file you want. Three are located. Sammy, Betty, and Joe each have a file you want. (You don't know any of these people, but they've got the same software you do, and the files have been designated as accessible.) You've accessed from Joe's computer ...