Peer-to-Peer Network Connection
What is P2P Network Sharing?
In peer to peer (P2P) networking, a group of computers are linked together with
equal permissions and responsibilities for processing data. Unlike traditional
client-server networking, no devices in a P2P network are designated solely to
serve or to receive data. Each connected machine has the same right as its
“peers”, and can be used for the same purposes.
What is P2P used for?
P2P Network File sharing
If you’re aware P2P networking, you’ve probably heard about it in the sense of file
sharing. For instance, P2P software like Kazaa and Napster was once a standard
find on the average home user’s computer. These programs allowed users to
swap large files over the internet. Typically music and movies. Rather than using
central servers for this server (ie. P2P), effectively offloading processing loads
onto their users. Although these programs are no longer in play, P2P file sharing is
alive and well (think BitTorrent and the like). Even instant message (IM) clients
can serve this function, since the majority of them support sharing files in
addition to chatting
While there are numerous legitimate uses for P2P networking, the file sharing
aspect raises both intellectual property and cyber security concerns. Any time
people are sharing music, movies, software or any other proprietary content,
questions of intellectual property and copyright laws surface. In fact, some
internet service providers have attempted to ban torrents and other P2P
applications, despite the valid and perfectly legal functions P2P can serve.
P2P and Malware
Additionally, P2P file sharing can be used to distribute malware, share or publicize
confidential data, and gather users’ personally identifiable information. They are
also highly vulnerable to denial of service attacks, since each device helps route
traffic through the network.
What are the benefits of P2P Connections?
P2P networking comes with a number of benefits. As an example, in a traditional
client-server network model, if a server goes down, it can take the whole network
with it. But in P2P, if a single device goes down, the others on the network can
help pick up the slack. They also help ensure network traffic doesn’t get
bottlenecked at one device, since traffic handling is distributed across many
computers.