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peer to peer networking essay
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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.
The last few years has seen an explosion in the use of the Internet as a means for exchanging, free of charge, digital media by way of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file sharing technologies. Initially, the practice was primarily limited to the swapping of music, in the form of MP3 files. The pervasiveness of broadband, the advent of newer file types, and the creation of more sophisticated technologies has subsequently made possible the exchange of other types as well – including movies, television shows and software. Again, for free.
Peer-to-peer (P2P) networks have had a staggering growth in the past few years. Since Napster, dozens of P2P networks have been created in its imitation. Due to the growing accessibility of broadband, which increases the speed of downloads, P2P networks generate nearly 1.8 billion downloads per month. Popularity and acceptance is still continually growing.
Peer-to-peer networking has existed for years. The IP routing structure of the Internet is still peer-to-peer, albeit with several layers of hierarchy, and individual routers act as peers in finding the best route from one point on the net to another[4]. However, it is only recently, with the development applications that utilize P2P to create vast stores of media files, that it has become immensely popular. While these applications only account for a fraction of peer-to-peer networking's uses, they have received the majority of the attention.
File sharing popularity increased with the birth of Napster. It allowed users to connect to each other through a central server. Napster pioneered the concept of peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P). With Napster, individual people stored files that they wanted to share (typically MP3 music files) on their hard discs and shared them directly with other people. Users ran a piece of Napster software that made this sharing possible. Each user machine became a mini server.
Structured P2P overlay network have tightly controlled topologies and content is placed at specified locations to efficiently solve queries. Some well-known examples are Content Addressable Network (CAN) [44], Chord [15] and Pastry [45]. Such overlays use a Distributed Hash Table (DHT) as substrate, where data objects (or values) are placed deterministically at the peers whose identifiers correspond to the data object’s unique key. In DHT-based systems, node identifiers are uniform-randomly assigned to the peers from a large space of identifiers. Similarly, unique identifiers, chosen from the same identifier space and called keys, are computed from data objects by means of a hash function. Keys are then mapped by the overlay network protocol to a unique live peer in the overlay network. The structured P2P overlay network support scalable storage and retrieval of {key,value} pairs. Given a key, operations like put(key,value) and get(key) can be invoked respectively to store and retrieve the data object corresponding to the key, which involves routing requests to the peer corresponding to the key. However, they only supports exact matching and are strongly affected by peer churn [31].
...ing developers and businesses an easier way of distributing content to end users while sustaining low latency, high speed of data transfer, and no commitments.
Peer-to-peer is a communications model in which each party has the same capabilities and either party can initiate a communication session. Other models with which it might be contrasted include the client/server model and the master/slave model. In some cases, peer-to-peer communications is implemented by giving each communication node both server and client capabilities. In recent usage, peer-to-peer has come to describe applications in which users can use the Internet to exchange files with each other directly or through a mediating server.
When designing networked applications one key protocol stands out as the foundation for making it possible. That protocol is TCP/IP. There are many protocols out there that allow two applications to communicate. What makes TCP/IP a nice protocol is that it allows applications on two physically separate computers to talk. What makes TCP/IP great is that it can do with two computers across a room or across the world. In this paper I will show you how TCP/IP allows a wide array of computer hardware to work together without ever having to knowing what the other machine is or how it even works. At the same time you will learn how it allows information to find its way around the world in a faction of a second without knowing in advance how to get there.
The technology that I have decided to focus on is called Skype. Skype is a communications software that has broken down many walls to communication. With an Internet-connected device, families, friends and colleagues can get together for free with messaging, voice and video. At little charge, Skype can also permit the user to call landlines or mobile devices practically anywhere on the globe. Skype has recently introduced group video, allowing groups of more than two people to video chat together no matter how far apart they actually are. It is a very well-known program that is a part of Microsoft and is used frequently among today’s generation. The service is available for desktop computers, notebook and tablet computers and other mobile devices, including mobile phones. Skype is known to be an internet protocol telephony service provider. IP telephony is a general term for the technologies that use the Internet connections to exchange voice, fax, and other forms of information that have traditionally been carried over the by telephone networks (Rouse, 2010).
Network Operating Systems, abbreviated NOS, are programs that are designed to work with numerous computers on a network, allowing for communication amongst them, but “the term network operating system, however, is generally reserved for software that enhances a basic operating system by adding networking features” [5]. The NOS provides structure to the network as it controls the hardware and software within a network. The network operating system allows for the ability to include all the components of the network and allow several users to share files with one another through the network regardless of their physical location [1]. There are two main types of network operating systems, and there are several different operating systems to choose from, each one working differently. A network operating system usually contains a menu-based administration interface. From this interface, the administrator of the network can achieve a number of tasks. “He or she uses the interface to format hard drives, set up security permissions, and establish log-in information for each user. An administrator can also use the interface of a network operating system to identify shared printers and configure the system to automatically back up data on a scheduled basis” [2].
Peer-to-peer (P2P) is a substitute network design to the conventional client-server architecture. P2P networks utilize a decentralised model in which each system, act as a peer, and serve as a client with its own layer of server functionality. A companion plays the role of a client and a server in the meantime. That is, the node can send calls to other nodes, and at the same time respond to approaching calls from other companions in the system. It is different from the traditional client-server model where a client can just send requests to a server and then wait for the server’s response.
Peer-to-peer networks should be installed in homes or in very small businesses where employees interact regularly. They are inexpensive to set up. However, they offer almost no security. On the other hand, client-server networks can become as big as we need them to be and they can support millions of users and offer elaborate security measures.
As the use of computers is on the rise, the understanding of networks and how they interact with computers becomes a necessity for its end users. One of the pieces that allow the interaction of computers and networks is the protocol. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, a protocol is essentially a set of rules that define how computers communicate with other computers over a network (Merriam-Webster). There are many protocols that presently exist (e.g. HyperText Transfer Protocol, Internet Protocol), but one of the most useful protocols to users who have the desire of sharing files with one another may just be the File Transfer Protocol, or FTP. This paper is designed to explain the history behind the FTP, its purpose, how it is used, and why it is useful to this group of users.
The Internet has revolutionized the computer and communications world like nothing before. The Internet enables communication and transmission of data between computers at different locations. The Internet is a computer application that connects tens of thousands of interconnected computer networks that include 1.7 million host computers around the world. The basis of connecting all these computers together is by the use of ordinary telephone wires. Users are then directly joined to other computer users at there own will for a small connection fee per month. The connection conveniently includes unlimited access to over a million web sites twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. There are many reasons why the Internet is important these reasons include: The net adapts to damage and error, data travels at 2/3 the speed of light on copper and fiber, the internet provides the same functionality to everyone, the net is the fastest growing technology ever, the net promotes freedom of speech, the net is digital, and can correct errors. Connecting to the Internet cost the taxpayer little or nothing, since each node was independent, and had to handle its own financing and its own technical requirements.
c)Thesis Statement: Skype is a best communication tool from last some years, through, which we can make calls all over the internet . The future advancements in Skype will come surely make it a popular communication application on internet.