An Overview of Peer-to-Peer Computing

Peer-to-peer (P2P) computing is a technological concept which is applicable at varied levels of system architecture. Its typical characteristic is that there is symmetric communication and data exchange between the peers; each peer is both a client and a server. It is the basis for decentralized distributed computing. The concept is widely deployed in different contexts and no formal definition exists. Some of the benefits of P2P architecture include: improving scalability by avoiding dependency on centralized points; eliminating the need for costly infrastructure by enabling direct communication among peers; and enabling resource pooling. This paper presents an overview of the main characteristics of P2P systems and discusses the different application areas of P2P technology. Some issues and problems involved when deploying P2P products (systems and applications) are equally reviewed.