From Bradley Mitchell,
Your Guide to Wireless / Networking.
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P2P networking has generated tremendous interest worldwide among both Internet surfers and computer networking professionals. P2P software systems like Kazaa and Napster rank amongst the most popular software applications ever. Numerous businesses and Web sites have promoted "peer to peer" technology as the future of Internet networking.

Although they have actually existed for many years, P2P technologies promise to radically change the future of networking. P2P file sharing software has also created much controversy over legality and "fair use." In general, experts disagree on various details of P2P and precisely how it will evolve in the future.

Traditional Peer to Peer Networks

The P2P acronym technically stands for peer to peer. Webopedia defines P2P as

"A type of network in which each workstation has equivalent capabilities and responsibilities. This differs from client/server architectures, in which some computers are dedicated to serving the others."

This definition captures the traditional meaning of peer to peer networking. Computers in a peer to peer network are typically situated physically near to each other and run similar networking protocols and software. Before home networking became popular, only small businesses and schools built peer to peer networks.

Home Peer to Peer Networks

Most home computer networks today are peer to peer networks. Residential users configure their computers in peer workgroups to allow sharing of files, printers and other resources equally among all of the devices. Although one computer may act as a file server or Fax server at any given time, other home computers often have equivalent capability to handle those responsibilities.

Both wired and wireless home networks qualify as peer to peer environments. Some may argue that the installation of a network router or similar centerpiece device means that network is no longer peer to peer. From the networking point of view, this is inaccurate. A router simply joins the home network to the Internet; it does not by itself change how resources within the network are shared.

P2P File Sharing Networks

When most people hear the term "P2P", they think not of traditional peer networks, but rather peer to peer file sharing over the Internet. P2P file sharing systems have become the single most popular class of Internet applications in this decade.

A P2P network implements search and data transfer protocols above the Internet Protocol (IP). To access a P2P network, users simply download and install a suitable P2P client application.

Numerous P2P networks and P2P software applications exist. Some P2P applications work only with one P2P network, while others operate cross-network. Likewise, some P2P networks support only one application, while others support multiple applications.

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