P2P Networking and Applications

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networks enable users to directly share digital content (such as audio, video, and text files) as well as real-time data (such as telephony traffic) with other users without depending on a central server. Although originally popularized by unlicensed online music services such as Napster, P2P networking has recently emerged as a viable multimillion dollar business model for the distribution of academic and clinical information, telecommunications, and social networking. Written at an accessible level for any reader familiar with fundamental Internet protocols, Peer-to-Peer Networking and Applications explains the conceptual operations and architecture underlying basic P2P systems using well-known commercial systems as models. The book also delineates the latest research directions, thereby providing not only a sophisticated understanding of current systems, but also the means to improve upon these systems with innovations that will better performance, security, and flexibility. Peer-to-Peer Networking and Applications is thus both a valuable starting point and an important reference to those practitioners employed by any of the 200 companies with approximately $400 million invested in this new and lucrative technology.

• Uses well-known commercial P2P systems as models, thus demonstrating real-world applicability.
• Discusses how current research trends in wireless networking, high-def content, DRM, etc. will intersect with P2P, allowing readers to account for future developments in their designs.
• Provides online access to the Overlay Weaver P2P emulator, an open-source tool that supports a number of peer-to-peer applications with which readers can practice.

John F. Buford is Research Scientist, Avaya Labs Research, Basking Ridge, NJ. Previously he was Lead Scientist at Panasonic Technologies, VP of Software Development at Kada Systems, Director of Internet Technologies at Verizon, and Assoc. Prof. of Computer Science at University of Massachusetts Lowell. PhD in Computer Science, Graz University of Technology.

Heather Yu is Senior Manager of Media Technologies at Huawei Technologies USA, Bridgewater, NJ where she leads the research on multimedia content networking and digital media technologies. PhD in Electrical Engineering, Princeton University.

Eng Keong Lua is Faculty Member of College of Engineering, Information Networking Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA, and Systems Scientist, Carnegie Mellon CyLab USA and Japan. Previously he held research fellowship and industry consulting positions at the NTT Laboratories, Intel Research, Microsoft Research, and Hewlett-Packard R&D/Consulting. His research areas include Peer-to-Peer networks, Internet-scale P2P overlay multimedia communications, network security and future Internet. PhD in Computer Science, University of Cambridge, UK.