Comparing Peer to Peer File Sharing Technologies

1. Comparing Peer to PeerFile Sharing Technologies David Strom, david@strom.com O’Reilly P2P DC Conference Sept 2001 (c) David Strom Inc. 2001

2. Summary • Brief history of P2P file sharing • The Post-Napster world • Technology examples • Business models • Motivations for using P2P file sharing • Corporate strategies (c) David Strom Inc. 2001

3. Brief history of file sharing • Non-music related • Music-related (c) David Strom Inc. 2001

4. Non-music related • Set up a file server on Netware, Unix, NT • Set up FTP server on the Internet • Upload files to various newsgroups • Send email around with attachments (c) David Strom Inc. 2001

5. Music-related FS • First came used record stores • Copy a CD to tapes • Then came MP3s (c) David Strom Inc. 2001

6. Remember MP3 downloads? • Locate an ftp server with music on it • Try to connect to the server (often busy) • Upload a few songs first • Then hopefully find the right song and download it • And much more work to host your own music ftp server! (c) David Strom Inc. 2001

7. Music-related FS (con’t) • MP3s were quickly followed by busy ftp servers and ratios • Then Napster • Quickly followed by lots o’ lawyers • Other transports and networks, like AOL IM (Aimster) • Non-centralized directories (Gnutella) (c) David Strom Inc. 2001

8. Problems with music FS solved by Napster • ftp sites often busy • Had to learn the ins and outs of ftp client software • Uploading requirement was onerous • Search tools crude, could often only find ftp sites, not songs • Setting up servers painful too. (c) David Strom Inc. 2001

9. Post-Napster world • Gnutella clients (LimeWire, BearShare) • FastTrack clients (MusicCity, KaZaa) • Groove • Others that don’t have anything to do with music and pre-teens • RIAA non-starters like SDMA (c) David Strom Inc. 2001

10. Silly question If the music companies could figure out a technology that could allow reasonable per-song payments (like 25 cents), would all this industry ever happened? (c) David Strom Inc. 2001

11. But the real killer P2P FS app: • PORN! • Porndigger is one example • KaZaa et al. allow image/video searches! (c) David Strom Inc. 2001

12. Comparing KaZaa and LimeWire • L: Multiple concurrent searches • K: Better and faster results • L: more users, K: more files • K: better traffic/path analysis • L: Java sluggishness in UI • Neither will replace Napster! (c) David Strom Inc. 2001

13. Common elements of all P2P FS technologies • Easy to search and share files • Uses http and ftp protocols • Each user's PC acts as client and server • A community of users with common goals and interests -- maybe • Build upon P2P services to increase the overall value of the system (c) David Strom Inc. 2001

14. The metrics for P2P FS • Searchable directory • Monitor/control incoming/outgoing traffic • Access controls and scope of file sharing on each PC’s disk • Speed of locating other peers and keeping connection up (c) David Strom Inc. 2001

15. How distributed does your network have to be? • Napster: central server to authenticate and track users • Gnutella: everything is distributed • Aimster: uses AOL IM directory to authenticate/track users (c) David Strom Inc. 2001

16. But the real reason these services are proliferating: • I want your (music, porn, whatever) files! • Sharing my files with you isn’t a real motivation – yet. (c) David Strom Inc. 2001

17. Shirky’s list of lessons learned from Napster • Centralize what you need to make your business model work • A poor user interface isn’t an issue, especially if people can still get things done • It routes around network admins/firewalls • It allows people to create their own namespaces without specialized knowledge (c) David Strom Inc. 2001

18. Review these concepts for new P2P FS technologies • Centralize nothing so lawyers can’t get you • UI will become more important as competition increases • Routing around Internet blockades is important • The shared collection is critical if the community is going to thrive (c) David Strom Inc. 2001

19. Let’s look at non-P2P FS • Mydocsonline or similar “Internet hard disk” • PGP secure email, maybe • Quickbase.com • Maybe even a web-based Office suite like TeamOn, FreeDesk or Blox (c) David Strom Inc. 2001

20. Problems • Motley collection difficult to manage • Not everyone is willing to work with multiple tools • Authentication is difficult – multiple logins • Still need to download lots of software, despite “100 % browser” emphasis • Tiresome email exchanges of documents • Security by obscurity (c) David Strom Inc. 2001

21. One contender: Groove Networks • Authentication is always on and setup is easy • Different workspaces for different collections of people • No browser, email file swapping needed • Supports a wide variety of tools and information sharing models • Great for sharing files between home/work PC (c) David Strom Inc. 2001

22. Other aspects of Groove • Two-way sharing model vs. sons-of-Napster steal-this-file approach • Not clogged with people looking to download music or porn files, yet • May be overkill for simple home/work file sharing, though (c) David Strom Inc. 2001

23. What business models make sense? • Advertising • User charges • Corporate site licenses • Core technology licenses • ISP/ASP volume purchases (c) David Strom Inc. 2001

24. Motivations: the network edge • Right now network edge devices are underused or dumb when it comes to working with the network fabric itself • Edge is more reliable than core servers from application perspective (sometimes) • P2P FS adds intelligence, increased utilization at the edge • Makes it easier for people to get more work done, just like c. 1981 PCs (c) David Strom Inc. 2001

25. P2P FS creates new kinds of “edge-to-edge” networks • Only need a portion of the Internet infrastructure to be working • Really targeted at small collections of people that need intense collaboration • My desktop needs to talk to your desktop • Need to get around firewalls, VPNs, and other corporate protection (c) David Strom Inc. 2001

26. Controlling your own network destiny • Ask your IT department for the capability to bring up a new file server in the next hour without prior budget approval • Now imagine being laughed out of the room (c) David Strom Inc. 2001

27. Advantages of P2P FS • No need for setting up IP addresses, DNS configuration, firewall rules, web server hosting co-location agreements, IT policy pronouncements, lengthy approvals up the IT command structure, IT R&D review, IT rollouts, … • Do you detect a pattern here? (c) David Strom Inc. 2001

28. Drawbacks to P2P FS • Security loopholes • Loss of control over desktop activities • Some companies don’t like to share and play with others (c) David Strom Inc. 2001

29. Corporate strategies • Download and try Groove or uRoam • Compare with downloading music or PC/Anywhere for functionality • Examine your own programs for file transfer components that could benefit from peering • Examine whether you can benefit from shared processing models • Setup a trial Groove workgroup and project team (c) David Strom Inc. 2001

30. Places for more information • Copies of this presentation strom.com/pubwork/P2P9-01.ppt • My review of Groove: strom.com/pubwork/varbiz.html • List of P2P FS technologies: 4arrow.com/users/my/html/sections.php? op=viewarticle&artid=204 (c) David Strom Inc. 2001