1 research outputs found
Addressing the P2P Bootstrap Problem for Small Networks
P2P overlays provide a framework for building distributed applications
consisting of few to many resources with features including self-configuration,
scalability, and resilience to node failures. Such systems have been
successfully adopted in large-scale services for content delivery networks,
file sharing, and data storage. In small-scale systems, they can be useful to
address privacy concerns and for network applications that lack dedicated
servers. The bootstrap problem, finding an existing peer in the overlay,
remains a challenge to enabling these services for small-scale P2P systems. In
large networks, the solution to the bootstrap problem has been the use of
dedicated services, though creating and maintaining these systems requires
expertise and resources, which constrain their usefulness and make them
unappealing for small-scale systems. This paper surveys and summarizes
requirements that allow peers potentially constrained by network connectivity
to bootstrap small-scale overlays through the use of existing public overlays.
In order to support bootstrapping, a public overlay must support the following
requirements: a method for reflection in order to obtain publicly reachable
addresses, so peers behind network address translators and firewalls can
receive incoming connection requests; communication relaying to share public
addresses and communicate when direct communication is not feasible; and
rendezvous for discovering remote peers, when the overlay lacks stable
membership. After presenting a survey of various public overlays, we identify
two overlays that match the requirements: XMPP overlays, such as Google Talk
and Live Journal Talk, and Brunet, a structured overlay based upon Symphony. We
present qualitative experiences with prototypes that demonstrate the ability to
bootstrap small-scale private structured overlays from public Brunet or XMPP
infrastructures