Content Delivery Services in a Grid Environment

n this chapter, we propose a new approach for content delivery services by meshing together the best of grid computing and peer-to-peer (P2P) computing. The goal is to design a secure, reliable, and scalable system for efficient and fast delivery of content. The system consists of a combination of nondedicated servers and peers to provide the proposed service. We describe the challenges of designing such a system and discuss possible solutions and trade-offs. We detail the necessary interlacing of grid and P2P feature to achieve the goal. We present a prototype that is built based on the proposed approach.

Applications of Web Services in Bioinformatics

This chapter introduces applications of Web services in bioinformatics as a specialized application of peer-to-peer (P2P) computing. It explains the relationship between P2P and applications of Web service in bioinformatics, states some problems faced in current bioinformatics tools, and describes the mechanism of Web services framework. It then argues that Web services framework can help to address those problems, and gives a methodology to solve the problems in terms of composition, integration, automation, and discovery.

Core Concepts in Peer-to-Peer Networking

This chapter reviews core concepts of peer-to-peer (P2P) networking. It highlights the management of resources, such as bandwidth, storage, information, files, and processor cycles based on P2P networks. A model differentiating P2P infrastructures, P2P applications, and P2P communities is introduced. This model provides a better understanding of the different perspectives of P2P. Key technical and social challenges that still limit the potential of information systems based on P2P architectures are discussed.

Peer-to-Peer Networks for Content Sharing

Peer-to-peer (P2P) systems are popularly used as “file swapping” networks to support distributed content sharing. A number of P2P networks for file sharing have been developed and deployed. Napster, Gnutella, and Fasttrack are three popular P2P systems. This chapter presents a broad overview of P2P computing and focuses on content sharing networks and technologies. It also emphasizes on the analysis of network topologies used in popular P2P systems. In addition, this chapter also identifies and describes architecture models and compares various characteristics of four P2P systems—Napster, Gnutella, Fasttrack, and OpenFT.

Peer-to-Peer Information Storage and Discovery Systems

This chapter investigates the current landscape of peer-to-peer (P2P) storage and discovery systems. A classification of existing P2P discovery systems, outlining the advantages and disadvantages of each category, and surveying existing systems in each class, is presented. The design, operation and applications of Squid, a P2P information discovery system that supports flexible queries with search guarantees, are described.

Peer-to-Peer Technology and the Copyright Crossroads

The introduction of peer-to-peer technology has posed enormous challenges for traditional copyright law. Whereas historically copyright holders could preserve their core economic markets by pursuing a fairly limited set of commercial actors, peer-to-peer technologies decentralize content distribution and make it possible for anyone with a computer to disseminate infringing content around the world. In the struggle to find a solution to the peer-to-peer crisis, courts and policymakers have considered a number of alternatives, from abandonment of copyright law to a wholesale restructuring of its entitlement structure. This chapter explains why peer-to-peer technology presents such a challenge for copyright, and explores some of the pending proposals to solve the current dilemma.

Ten Lessons from Finance for Commercial Sharing of IT Resources

Sharing IT resources within and among organizations is an attractive value proposition in terms of efficiency and flexibility, but despite this, commercial practice is limited. In contrast, financial and commodity markets have proved very successful at dynamic allocation of different resource types to many different organizations. Thus to understand how the potential benefits of sharing IT resources may be promoted in practice, we analyze enabling factors in successful markets. We present 10 basic lessons for IT resource sharing derived from a financial perspective and modified by considering the nature and context of IT resources. From each lesson we derive the required software or process capability required to support it. We then evaluate the maturity of the respective capabilities within the peer-to-peer and grid environments using a simple framework based on the standard Capability Maturity Model approach. We conclude with a description of the largest capability gaps and the lowest hanging fruit for making IT resource sharing a more viable business proposition.

"Let Me Know What You Know" ReachOut as a Model for a Peer-to-Peer Knowledge Sharing Network

Peer-to-peer (P2P) technology has spread through the Web over the last few years through several incarnations, ranging from search for extraterrestrial intelligence to multimedia file sharing, or resource sharing in the general sense. Collaboration systems, expert finding systems and recommender systems are all examples of resource sharing tools where the basic resource is “knowledge,” yet they are not viewed as peer-to-peer due to their centralized architecture. We claim that the process of knowledge sharing in such systems is ofter P2P, regardless of their architecture. This chapter analyzes knowledge sharing and collaboration models through the prism of P2P technology. We propose a framework for determining when knowledge sharing systems follow a P2P model, review existing collaboration and knowledge sharing systems, and verify whether they qualify as P2P under the criteria we define. We then introduce our “Second-Degree Peer-to-Peer” model for knowledge sharing and illustrate it with ReachOut, a tool for peer support and community building developed at the IBM Haifa Research Lab.

Security and Trust in P2P Systems

This chapter examines the issue of security in peer-to-peer (P2P) systems from the standpoint of trust. It takes the view that P2P systems present particular challenges in terms of trust over other socio-technical systems, and identifies three key areas of importance: identity; social contexts; punishment and deterrence. It suggests that a better understanding of these areas and the trade-offs associated with them can help in the design, implementation, and running of P2P systems. The chapter combines a discussion of problems and issues in current systems with a review of some of the wider sociological and nonsystems literature which can aid those involved with P2P systems. It concludes with some suggestions for areas where future research may provide fruitful insights.

Using Peer-to-Peer Systems for Data Management

This chapter describes a peer-to-peer approach for managing data backup and recovery in an enterprise environment. Data management systems in enterprises constitute a significant portion of the total cost of management of data in enterprise systems. Maintaining data with a high degree of availability and reliability is typically done by having a centralized backup system that maintains backup copies of data. The maintenance of a large dedicated backup server for data management requires a highly scalable network and storage infrastructure, leading to a major expense center within the enterprise. With the current trends in workstation disk storage, an alternative peer-to-peer paradigm for data management can offer an approach that provides equivalent performance at a fraction of the cost of the centralized backup system. The author hopes that the contents of the chapter would lead to the development of more solutions that harness the power of peer-to-peer networks.