Peer to Peer: Collaboration and Sharing over the Internet

The Concept

So, just what is “peer-to-peer” (P2P, p2p, peer2peer) anyway?

Unfortunately, the answer has been obfuscated by all the recent hype. “P2P” became a marketing label, or for some just a way to signal being attuned to the latest trends. To have an intelligent discussion about p2p and its real and potential uses, we need to be clear about what we mean—a definition of sorts. Otherwise this book will be no better than the ephemeral hype found elsewhere.

Bit 1.1 Some p2p technology is more about marketing than product. A particular implementation or technology may or may not be in the p2p space at any given time, depending upon what mood the marketing people are in.

The term “peer-to-peer” was in fact used as far back as in the mid-1980s ...