Editing Peer-to-peer (section)

{{short description|Type of decentralized and distributed network architecture}}
{{Other uses}}
{{redirect|Peer network|the sociological term|Peer group}}
{{More citations needed|date=August 2024}}
[[File:P2P network.svg|thumb|A''' peer-to-peer (P2P) network''' in which interconnected nodes ("peers") share resources amongst each other without the use of a centralized administrative system]]

'''Peer-to-peer''' ('''P2P''') computing or networking is a [[distributed application]] architecture that partitions tasks or workloads between peers. Peers are equally privileged, [[equipotent]] participants in the network, forming a peer-to-peer network of [[Node (networking)|nodes]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Cope|first=James|date=2002-04-08|title=What's a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Network?|url=https://www.computerworld.com/article/2588287/networking-peer-to-peer-network.html|access-date=2021-12-21|website=Computerworld|language=en}}</ref> In addition, a [[personal area network]] (PAN) is also in nature a type of [[Decentralized computing|decentralized]] peer-to-peer network typically between two devices.<ref>{{cite web|title=Why personal area networks are the best thing to happen to hotel Wi-Fi|url=https://www.techradar.com/news/why-personal-area-networks-are-the-best-thing-to-happen-to-hotel-wi-fi|date=12 July 2016|author=Desire Athow}}</ref>

[[File:Server-based-network.svg|thumb|The opposite of a peer-to-peer network: based on the '''[[client–server model]]''', where individual [[Client (computing)|''clients'']] request services and resources from centralized [[server (computing)|servers]]]]Peers make a portion of their resources, such as processing power, disk storage, or [[network bandwidth]], directly available to other network participants, without the need for central coordination by servers or stable hosts.<ref>Rüdiger Schollmeier, ''A Definition of Peer-to-Peer Networking for the Classification of Peer-to-Peer Architectures and Applications'', Proceedings of the First International Conference on Peer-to-Peer Computing, IEEE (2002).</ref> Peers are both suppliers and consumers of resources, in contrast to the traditional [[client–server model]] in which the consumption and supply of resources are divided.<ref name=CP2P>{{cite journal|last=Bandara|first=H. M. N. D|author2=A. P. Jayasumana|title=Collaborative Applications over Peer-to-Peer Systems – Challenges and Solutions|journal=Peer-to-Peer Networking and Applications|volume=6|issue=3|pages=257–276|year=2012|doi=10.1007/s12083-012-0157-3|arxiv=1207.0790|bibcode=2012arXiv1207.0790D|s2cid=14008541}}</ref>

While P2P systems had previously been used in many [[application domain]]s,<ref name="D. Barkai, 2002">{{Cite book|title=Peer-to-peer computing : technologies for sharing and collaborating on the net|last=Barkai|first=David|date=2001|publisher=Intel Press|isbn=978-0970284679|location=Hillsboro, OR|oclc=49354877|url=https://archive.org/details/ixp1200programmi00john}}</ref> the architecture was popularized by the [[Internet]] file sharing system [[Napster]], originally released in 1999.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Saroiu|first1=Stefan|last2=Gummadi|first2=Krishna P.|last3=Gribble|first3=Steven D.|date=2003-08-01|title=Measuring and analyzing the characteristics of Napster and Gnutella hosts|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s00530-003-0088-1|journal=Multimedia Systems|language=en|volume=9|issue=2|pages=170–184|doi=10.1007/s00530-003-0088-1|s2cid=15963045|issn=1432-1882|url-access=subscription}}</ref> P2P is used in many protocols such as [[BitTorrent]] file sharing over the Internet<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-04-19 |title=What Is BitTorrent and Is It Safe? |url=https://www.kaspersky.com/resource-center/definitions/bittorrent |access-date=2023-10-24 |website=www.kaspersky.com |language=en}}</ref> and in [[personal area network|personal networks]] like [[Miracast]] displaying and [[Bluetooth]] radio.<ref>{{Cite web |title=האוניברסיטה הפתוחה |url=https://www.openu.ac.il/ErrorMessages/400iv.html |access-date=2024-07-15 |website=www.openu.ac.il}}</ref> The concept has inspired new structures and philosophies in many areas of human interaction. In such social contexts, [[peer-to-peer (meme)|peer-to-peer as a meme]] refers to the [[egalitarian]] [[social network]]ing that has emerged throughout society, enabled by [[Internet]] technologies in general.