The peer-to-peer (P2P) networking model, so successfully exploited
by music "sharing" pioneer Napster, is being hailed by some in the
industry as a paradigm which is set to change IT in the same way as
the Internet has done, writes Antony Adshead.
The recent release of Rumor - a distribution system for
anti-virus patches - was dubbed "Napster in pinstripes" by its
distributor myCIO, a subsidiary of Network Associates.
P2P networking is starting to make ripples because it promises
reductions in bandwidth usage as well as network and storage cost
savings.
Computers networked together do not behave in a client-server
relationship - each is, to some extent, the server for the others
and no centralised server is involved. The user in a P2P network
installs the appropriate software and is then able to see the
contents of another's hard drive, or at least those files and
folders specified by the other user.
Two basic models have emerged, with Napster using a central
server to speed initial contact between peers, and Gnutella, a
similar Web-based file sharing service, relying on a completely
distributed network without any intermediary servers.
Potential worries include security and bandwidth constraints as
a large number of users try to communicate simultaneously.
Graham Fisher, an analyst with Bloor Research, said, "The model
is inspired by Napster and is suitable for certain applications.
Security needs a lot of consideration because P2P means opening
yourself up to the whole Internet, potentially, and bottlenecks in
network traffic are also a threat."
MyCIO's Rumor uses the P2P model to distribute security updates
automatically, unlike existing methods of patch distribution which
are carried out manually. When the first user logs on to the
network, Rumor checks the networked peers for a copy of the update.
If no copy is found, the system automatically contacts myCIO's Web
site, checks for a new update, authenticates the user, and the
update provided is installed on the user's local drive.
When the next user logs in, Rumor again sends a message to other
peers on the Lan asking whether there are any new myCIO updates.
Finding one on the first user's disc, the update patch copies it
and passes it to the requesting system - and so the process
continues as other users log on.
The company claims to have overcome the security problem through
the use of a proprietary digital signature which only allows the
transfer of a limited number of file types - software updates,
configuration updates or user notifications, for example.
Another recent development in the P2P realm is Groove Networks,
from the developer of Lotus Notes Ray Ozzie. He claims that the P2P
platform will be as ubiquitous as the browser and e-mail.
Groove allows user-limited group members to collaborate on
shared tasks, with accounts able to be accessed from more than one
device.
For the time being, the possibilities for P2P working are most
successfully being carried out in the processor power sharing
arena. Here, the power of thousands of devices is being harnessed
to undertake complex batch processing work (see box).
A long-running example of this is the Seti@home screensaver.
This is a massive network that anyone can join to play a small part
in the search for evidence of extra terrestrial life.
When the PC signals that it is at rest, through powering up the
screensaver, causes data, originally drawn from radio signals from
space, to be automatically downloaded and processed in 300Kbyte
chunks. The processed data is then returned to the agency and the
process continues until the PC starts to be used locally again.
Getting Wired
P2P standards body info is at peer-to-peerwg.org
Intel hails P2P future
In August, Intel's chief technology officer Patrick Gelsinger
described P2P networking as a technology that would change
computing as we know it, claiming that it would have an impact
equivalent to the first Web browser. He said that, for some
applications, P2P would lessen storage requirements and enhance
network performance. He backed this up with figures that showed
that Intel's company workstations were idle 75% of the time, and
its servers 50% of the time. This spare capacity is now being used
through Intel's power distribution package Netbatch, which is
solving 2.7 million problems a month and has realised savings of
$0.5bn (£352m) in equipment costs.