Essay On Peer To Peer Technologies

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Brief Introduction of Peer-to-Peer Technologies
What Is Peer-to-Peer?
The term “peer-to-peer” has various meanings under different circumstances, when mentioned in the context of digital and network settings, especially nowadays with the popularity of Internet usage, this term is often used to describe a type of decentralized and distributed network architecture, in which individual nodes in the network act as both suppliers and consumers of data resources (ref.); these nodes, i.e. the “peers”, are actually end-user devices, such as personal computers, PDAs, iPads, and mobile devices with accessibility to Internet.
Initially, when different kinds of end-user devices become common in people’s daily life, they are often connected together through the local area networks to certain central servers to get access to files, videos, audios, and other information. These central servers are typically more powerful than the personal computers, so any large data processing can take place on these central servers, allowing the end-users to download files onto their personal computers.
In contrast to the centralized client–server network architecture, where the clients request access to resources provided by central servers, the peer-to-peer network will “share” the computing power among multiple inter-connected peers, who each make a portion of their resources, such as data computing, disk storage, or network bandwidth etc., directly available to other network participants without the need for any coordination by the central servers (ref.). Under the peer-to-peer network architecture, various end-user devices become much more powerful; they are now able to process the data locally rather than on central servers. As a result, the peer-to-peer...

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...e calls with up to five users with the possibility of text chats and immediate file transferring.
Skype can be integrated with the current distance learning and provides another enriched learning venue. Learners can use Skype to visit other classes via online video/audio conferencing calls across different geographic locations, which makes this particular peer-to-peer technology an excellent tool for foreign language education. For example, a native English (or French) speaker can offer online tutor via Skype to multiple users from non-English speaking countries. Jive Communication is now offering such virtual educational services for individual and institute clients (ref.). Skype is used as a facilitating tool and also a communication channel to coordinate learning activities, as long as the individual and institute clients have access to computers and Internet.

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