Other P2P Choices

E

EnderW

[H]F Junkie
Joined
Sep 25, 2003
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I've heard a lot of people say kazaa is for noobs. What are some other p2p alternatives.?
 
Bittorrent is p2p.

It does use a central server to coordinate, but that's it. And, the same could be said of every single one of the others.

Anyway, I personally prefer bittorrent. And it's popular enough that quite a lot of places are starting to use it so people can get good speeds without having to kill their servers. (Some linux distros do this for example.)

And Kazaa K++ is still Kazaa, it merely works to correct some of the biggest problems with Kazaa. Eg the spyware, lack of certain controls, etc. The kazaa network itself is what sucks. And WinMX isn't much better. Once I was downloading a program update when it's main website went down and it took so many days that the website came back up and I had to finish the file through there. The update was only around 500KB or so!
 
OK, I have super noob question. Are mIRC and IRC the same?
 
IRC is a protocol, mIRC is a client for that protocol. Bittorrent is kind of similar. There are many different clients and it doesn't matter which you use since they all work through the same things.

Anyway, mIRC is probably the best of the IRC clients for windows.
 
Originally posted by Nazo
IRC is a protocol, mIRC is a client for that protocol. Bittorrent is kind of similar. There are many different clients and it doesn't matter which you use since they all work through the same things.

Anyway, mIRC is probably the best of the IRC clients for windows.
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So basically if I have mIRC there isn't any reason to use a different IRC client?

I would still like to read up on a few of them if you have the names.

And bittorrent seems pretty interesting as well.
 
I'm afraid I don't even remember what other clients there are for Windows other than a port of my favorite console client which I think was originally only for Linux. It's called BitchX (yes, I know, I don't know what they were thinking when they named it that.) I suggest that unless you know what you are doing you stick with mIRC though. And, don't worry, you only need one IRC client since IRC is an old standard that I don't believe anyone has broken yet. (For example, HTTP, the protocol you are using to view this page is a really old standard and you can use any browser you like -- I'm on Opera in fact.)

BTW, the one real downside to BitTorrent. It has no central system for letting people find torrents. So, when you want to find something, you have to find a website that has the torrent files. Kazaa, WinMX, etc don't have that problem. DC++ has a small amount of that problem, but has a more central system for you getting to other users so you can browse what they have by keeping a server list that has descriptions.
 
Originally posted by Nazo
Bittorrent is p2p.

It does use a central server to coordinate, but that's it. And, the same could be said of every single one of the others.
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P2P

"1) Peer-to-peer is a communications model in which each party has the same capabilities and either party can initiate a communication session. Other models with which it might be contrasted include the client/server model and the master/slave model. In some cases, peer-to-peer communications is implemented by giving each communication node both server and client capabilities. In recent usage, peer-to-peer has come to describe applications in which users can use the Internet to exchange files with each other directly or through a mediating server. "

bittorrent is a special case
the vast majority of P2P aps, dont employ any central server
 
Originally posted by Ice Czar
bittorrent is a special case
the vast majority of P2P aps, dont employ any central server [/B]
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BitTorrent uses a sort of central server to keep track of who is on and what to send where, but really it's the clients themselves doing all the real work. They are the ones sending back and forth to each other, and, in fact, it's possible for them to keep going without that server at least until they finish all currently running peices. Now, other things that are being called P2P tend to work pretty much the same. For example, Kazaa relies on a central server that lets people find each other, initiate connections, etc and when that server goes down, you rely purely on any connections already initiated, so any peices that finish downloading or connections that are dropped will finish, but you will then be unable to do any more until you get that central server back. WinMX basically works the same way. DC++ is a little more special, but it also basically in the end works the same. One must connect to a central server and then when they send a search or download command, the server redirects them appropriately. Last I checked, it didn't really do peices yet (this comes at the cost of the potential speeds you can see on other services,) so if the server connection drops, you can actually finish the entire file -- provided the connection never drops and the other person's client doesn't automatically cut you off for not rejoining the server within the right amount of time.

The fact is that there is just no way P2P could work without a central server in most cases. Heck, if you want to be technical, just about the only real P2P protocols out there for transferring files would be HTTP and FTP as the only connection that exists is between the client and whatever server they are connecting to. Without the central system that BitTorrent, Kazaa, WinMX, Direct Connect, and so on all rely on, there's just no way for the clients to find each other and all. So, if you want to get technical about it, BitTorrent is no less P2P than Kazaa or WinMX. I guess of them all, DC is the most P2P though it still relies on a server to find other clients and initiate connections. Or, can you truly name ONE that actually doesn't employ some sort of central server per your previous claim?
 
the rough equivalent of a Domain Name Server
but its not a single server, its many throughout the network, in a "pure P2P" its every attached computer

Peer-to-Peer Architecture
Classification
The peer-to-peer paradigm is classified into two major types:


Pure P2P - This type has every node as a Peer, and lacks a central router. The routing structure either is a distributed catalog which uses indexes as parameters or direct messaging where the message is sent to a peer group until the inquiry is found. The popular examples of this type are Gnutella, Limewire, Bearshare.....and many such applications.


Hybrid P2P - This type is considered as centralized though not in a strict sense, since it holds a catalog of addresses. The addresses are referenced by a set of indexes that determine the appropriate address set. A classic example of this kind of P2P is Napster.

P2P and Centralization

"The technology we associate with the term Peer-to-Peer (P2P) introduces methods for rendering end-users (leaf nodes) independent of the infrastructure on which these users ride. Much focus has been put on the methods used for:

1. independence from the DNS (Domain Name System),
2. independence from variable connectivity,

Peer-to-Peer architectures have used these forms of independence in ways that have rendered an autonomy to leaf nodes. Leaf node autonomy allows a complete dispersion of centralization, a form of ultracentralization where every node is a central node in the network. These architectures have been characterized as modes of 'decentralization'. In 'pure' Peer-to-Peer networks this characterization might better be called 'ultracentralization', since every node in a pure P2P network can be characterized as a 'central' node.

It is in the P2P renderings of independence that form the key to understanding why this technology has profound importance on how the Internet, or any network, is used. This independence frees P2P nodes from certain intended restrictions imposed by the protocols and services in use by Internet or other networks. The resulting independence has induced fear in governments, in vendors of copyright materials, and in vendors of Internet services. "

P2P Toolkit v2.0 W\ diagrams of Centralized P2P, Decentralized P2P, and Hybrid P2P

seems Im a little too old school, thought Kazaa et al still belonged to the pure P2P
well at least my recommendation (Freenet) is still a pure P2P
"To achieve this freedom, the network is entirely decentralized and publishers and consumers of information are anonymous. "
employing encryption
 
I find that emule plus is by far the best client of them all. I've tried all those that have been mentioned and many more beyond those - and I have had much, much more success in almost everything with emule plus. The only exception to this is downloading individual MP3s - which I find kazaa lite to be the best for, and music videos - which I think kazaa lite is a bit better than emule plus for.
 
Originally posted by stringcheeseincident
i love the network i have set up with my friends on Waste. we set custom passwords and a network name, nobody can come in but us :).
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i've been talking about doing that with some of the local guys i know. it seems like stable platform, though once you get over 50 people in a 'hub' it's as slow as the intro to baywatch.
 
I hate being such a noob, but...


I downloaded and installed Bittorrent. Now what? I read the FAQ and it acts like you already know how to use it. I've checked for it in my program manager, but I can't find it. Is it similar to Mirc, where you find what you're looking for on websites, click the link, and it fires itself up, or what?
 
Originally posted by G-Bull
Is it similar to Mirc, where you find what you're looking for on websites, click the link, and it fires itself up, or what?
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if you want that go with eMule and visit (www.)sharereactor(.com).

Or you could do some reading(oh my, he didn't just suggest that did he!?:eek: ) and visit (www.)slyck(.com)

I only suggest these for the lawful downloading of files that you already own, I am correct in assuming this? I certainly hope so.
 
Originally posted by Tiny
for the lawful downloading of files that you already own,
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nope, even that would violate the protections
we strictly share public domain data\media
vacation footage of the Grand Canyon, pictures of your friend's dog Sparky,
the latest Bill before Congress :rolleyes: , ect, ect

unless your in Canada where you can download whatever you like, but still not discuss it here ;)
 
:eek:

sorry, that is what I ment to type.:(


Canadians(hate 'em and envy them at the same time, ;) )
 
Exactly, Tiny, thanks. I was actually wondering where to find more info for things such as available servers and all, I just didn't phrase it properly.

And yes, it's just because I have a bunch of home videos that I want to share along with my personally recorded demos of me trying to break through into the biz as "white suburban boy who can't rap but tries and fails miserably.":p
 
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