Cross-Layer Peer-to-Peer Track Identification and Optimization Based on Active Networking

P2P applications appear to emerge as ultimate killer applications due to their ability to construct highly dynamic overlay topologies with rapidly-varying and unpredictable traffic dynamics, which can constitute a serious challenge even for significantly over-provisioned IP networks. As a result, ISPs are facing new, severe network management problems that are not guaranteed to be addressed by statically deployed network engineering mechanisms. As a first step to a more complete solution to these problems, this paper proposes a P2P measurement, identification and optimisation architecture, designed to cope with the dynamicity and unpredictability of existing, well-known and future, unknown P2P systems. The purpose of this architecture is to provide to the ISPs an effective and scalable approach to control and optimise the traffic produced by P2P applications in their networks. This can be achieved through a combination of different application and network-level programmable techniques, leading to a crosslayer identification and optimisation process. These techniques can be applied using Active Networking platforms, which are able to quickly and easily deploy architectural components on demand. This flexibility of the optimisation architecture is essential to address the rapid development of new P2P protocols and the variation of known protocols

Comparing paedophile activity in different P2P systems

Peer-to-peer (P2P) systems are widely used to exchange content over the Internet. Knowledge on paedophile activity in such networks remains limited while it has important social consequences. Moreover, though there are different P2P systems in use, previous academic works on this topic focused on one system at a time and their results are not directly comparable. We design a methodology for comparing \kad and \edonkey, two P2P systems among the most prominent ones and with different anonymity levels. We monitor two \edonkey servers and the \kad network during several days and record hundreds of thousands of keyword-based queries. We detect paedophile-related queries with a previously validated tool and we propose, for the first time, a large-scale comparison of paedophile activity in two different P2P systems. We conclude that there are significantly fewer paedophile queries in \kad than in \edonkey (approximately 0.09% \vs 0.25%).Comment: Submitte

Peer-to-peer:is deviant behavior the norm on P2P file-sharing networks?

P2P file-sharing networks such as Kazaa, eDonkey, and Limewire boast millions of users. Because of scalability concerns and legal issues, such networks are moving away from the semicentralized approach that Napster typifies toward more scalable and anonymous decentralized P2P architectures. Because they lack any central authority, these networks provide a new, interesting context for the expression of human social behavior. However, the activities of P2P community members are sometimes at odds with what real-world authorities consider acceptable. One example is the use of P2P networks to distribute illegal pornography. To gauge the form and extent of P2P-based sharing of illegal pornography, we analyzed pornography-related resource-discovery traffic in the Gnutella P2P network. We found that a small yet significant proportion of Gnutella activity relates to illegal pornography: for example, 1.6 percent of searches and 2.4 percent of responses are for this type of material. But does this imply that such activity is widespread in the file-sharing population? On the contrary, our results show that a small yet particularly active subcommunity of users searches for and distributes illegal pornography, but it isn't a behavioral norm

Monitoring Challenges and Approaches for P2P File-Sharing Systems

Since the release of Napster in 1999, P2P file-sharing has enjoyed a dramatic rise in popularity. A 2000 study by Plonka on the University of Wisconsin campus network found that file-sharing accounted for a comparable volume of traffic to HTTP, while a 2002 study by Saroiu et al. on the University of Washington campus network found that file-sharing accounted for more than treble the volume of Web traffic observed, thus affirming the significance of P2P in the context of Internet traffic. Empirical studies of P2P traffic are essential for supporting the design of next-generation P2P systems, informing the provisioning of network infrastructure and underpinning the policing of P2P systems. The latter is of particular significance as P2P file-sharing systems have been implicated in supporting criminal behaviour including copyright infringement and the distribution of illegal pornograph

CLOSER: A Collaborative Locality-aware Overlay SERvice

Current Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file sharing systems make use of a considerable percentage of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) bandwidth. This paper presents the Collaborative Locality-aware Overlay SERvice (CLOSER), an architecture that aims at lessening the usage of expensive international links by exploiting traffic locality (i.e., a resource is downloaded from the inside of the ISP whenever possible). The paper proves the effectiveness of CLOSER by analysis and simulation, also comparing this architecture with existing solutions for traffic locality in P2P systems. While savings on international links can be attractive for ISPs, it is necessary to offer some features that can be of interest for users to favor a wide adoption of the application. For this reason, CLOSER also introduces a privacy module that may arouse the users' interest and encourage them to switch to the new architectur

The evolution of P2P networks for file exchange: the interaction between social controversy and technical change

Since the irruption of Napster in 1999, Peer-to-Peer computer networks for file exchange have been at the heart of a heated debate that has eventually evolved into a wide social controversy across the world, involving legal, economical, and even political issues. This essay analyzes the effects of this controversy on the technical innovations that have shaped the evolution of those systems. It argues that the usual image of a single two-sided conflict does not account for most of the technical changes involved. P2P entrepreneurs and creators show a wide range of motivations and business strategies -if any- and users are not a monolithic group with a common set of goals and values. As a result, the actual historical evolution of those networks does not follow a simple linear path but a more complex and multidirectional development

Controlling P2P File-Sharing Networks Traffic

Since the appearance of Peer-To-Peer (P2P) file-sharing networks some time ago, many Internet users have chosen this technology to share and search programs, videos, music, documents, etc. The total number of P2P file-sharing users has been increasing and decreasing in the last decade depending on the creation or end of some well known P2P file-sharing systems. P2P file-sharing networks traffic is currently overloading some data networks and it is a major headache for network administrators because it is difficult to control this kind of traffic (mainly because some P2P file-sharing networks encrypt their messages). This paper deals with the analysis, taxonomy and characterization of eight Public P2P file-sharing networks: Gnutella, Freeenet, Soulseek, BitTorrent, Opennap, eDonkey, MP2P and FastTrack. These eight most popular networks have been selected due to their different type of working architecture. Then, we will show the amount of users, files and the size of files inside these file-sharing networks. Finally, several network configurations are presented in order to control P2P file-sharing traffic in the network.García Pineda, M.; Hammoumi, M.; Canovas Solbes, A.; Lloret, J. (2011). Controlling P2P File-Sharing Networks Traffic. Network Protocols and Algorithms. 3(4):54-92. doi:10.5296/npa.v3i4.1365S54923

An investigation into darknets and the content available via anonymous peer-to-peer file sharing

Media sites, both technical and non-technical, make references to Darknets as havens for clandestine file sharing. They are often given an aura of mystique; where content of any type is just a mouse click away. However, can Darknets really be easily accessed, and do they provide access to material that would otherwise be difficult to obtain? This paper investigates which Darknets are easily discovered, the technical designs and methods used to hide content on the networks, the tools needed to join, and ultimately what type and quantities of files can be found on anonymous peer-to-peer file sharing networks. This information was gathered by conducting weekly searches for specific file extensions on each Darknet over a 4 week period. It was found that connectivity to Darknets was easy to establish, and installing peer-to-peer file sharing applications was a simple process. The quantity of content found on Darknet peer-to-peer file sharing networks indicates that file sharing is rampant. Of particular concern was what appears to be a large quantity of child pornography made available

Competing against online sharing

Purpose – This paper aims to explore online sharing of copyrighted content over peer‐to‐peer (p2p) file sharing networks and its impact on the music industry, and to assess the viable business models for the industry in the future. Design/methodology/approach – The authors analyze the evolution of the online content market over the years that followed the widespread adoption of p2p. The paper is based on a teaching case, and builds on two related academic papers that provide the theoretical underpinnings for the analysis. Findings – Based on the early developments observed in this marketplace and the aforementioned theoretical work, the paper argues that it is unfeasible to fully eradicate p2p, and so the industry must embrace it by understanding how consumers derive value from the technologies that enable it. Originality/value – The developments analyzed here offer relevant insights for the online content marketplace, allow the scope of strategies available to the music industry to be understood better, and may provide lessons for other industries transitioning to online business models

PariMulo: Kad

With the advent of broadband connections and computing power available in every kind of digital equipment there is a need to share resources, such as information, among people. To fulfill this need in these years we have seen an amazing growth of distributed systems: cloud computing services, web applications, peer-to-peer systems, etc. In this context is born PariPari, a project which aims to build a modern peer-to-peer network of computers that runs various services, among which there is an eMule-compatible client, called PariMulo. As it is well known even to less computer-savvy people, there have been some problems with the centralized server-based structure of the original eDonkey network, and it has helped the development of a new network, Kad, based upon the Kademlia protocol. This work focuses on the implementation of Kad in PariMulo, starting by first describing the protocol and how the network works, and then providing an in-depth vision of the implementation considering security and performance issues. Finally we make some observations about future possibilities of developmen