Peer to Peer File Sharing Becoming Mainstream

 In case you have not noticed, the telcos and cable providers are starting to take a closer look at the value of Peer-to-Peer file transfers.  Peer-to Peer (P2P) traffic is putting a very heavy load on their networks.  Some providers, such as Comcast, have been caught trying to limit your use. Long associated with illegal file sharing for music and videos, P2P has mostly been discussed in articles about the RIAA and MPAA suing their customers to prevent illegal copyright infringements.   It was hard to even mention P2P without the fear that you would be handed a subpoena by one of  these entertainment industry thugs. 

But the network providers have been laboring under the heavy load that the popular application places on their networks.  As I have stated in blogs in the past,  the first generation of broadband networks that we all use today,  are built to be able to download, or broadcast, data to the users quickly.  They were never designed for a large “uploading” capacity.  And for every person who is downloading a file using P2P, there are several people who are uploading that content to the downloader.

 If you can’t beat’em – join’em.

So the network providers,  lead by Verizon, have begun to experiment with ways to make peer-to-peer file sharing more efficient.  Enter P4P, which stands for Proactive network Provider Participation for P2P,. P4P ultimately aims to decrease backbone traffic and improve P2P file transfer performance. Instead of selecting peers at random, the P4P protocol leverages network topology data so that peers can be selected in a manner that increases routing efficiency.

ARS Technica has a great article on this effort which I have referenced below:

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080314-verizon-embraces-p4p-a-more-efficient-peer-to-peer-tech.html

The P4P effort is just one more example of why we need a new generation of Big Broadband for consumers in the United States.  As we see more and more consumers also becoming producers of content, we will need networks that are designed to synchronously handle large download and upload capability.   It is not surprising to see Verizon in the lead on this effort, as their FiOS deployment of fiber to the home is the best equipped to handle large synchronous payloads.  Something many other providers, like the cable companies and at&t can not handle without major infrastructure upgrades.

Oh, and by the way.  I have not heard anyone make note of the fact that using a peer-to-peer protocol is a much ‘greener” way to deliver content.  Verizon won’t need nearly as many large video server clusters, sucking power from the grid, if they can just use your computer or mine (which is already powered on) for free.