Peer to Peer
Explore the fundamentals of peer to peer (P2P) architecture, including its decentralized structure, common applications like file sharing and digital currencies, and key benefits such as scalability and fault tolerance. Understand the challenges involved in resource discovery, security, and coordination to make informed decisions about using P2P networks in software design.
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Overview
In a usual client-server architecture, multiple clients can communicate with servers that are usually centralized. On the other hand, in the case of a decentralized network, the nodes can work as both clients and servers at the same time. Such an architecture is known as peer-to-peer (P2P) architecture.
In a P2P network, the workload is distributed (not necessarily equally) among various peers within the system. As mentioned above, there’s no need for a centralized server. Nearly all of the nodes both contribute and consume resources within a network, the exception being the edge peers, which don’t contribute any resources and only consume.
There are several different types of P2P architecture:
- Pure: All nodes are equal and there’s no central server or authority.
- Hybrid: Some nodes might have special roles or responsibilities, such as indexing resources or managing communication between nodes.
- Structured: Nodes are organized into a specific structure to facilitate resource