A Peer-to-Peer Content Distribution Network

Abstract

The distribution of large content files, like videos, over a large number of users is a demanding and costly operation if done using a traditional client/server architecture. Peer-to-peer based file-sharing systems can be used as an alternative for content distribution. The eDonkey file-sharing network is one of the most successful peer-to-peer file-sharing networks, especially in Germany. eDonkey forms a hybrid network that capitalizes both on the client/server and peer-to-peer paradigms in the design of its architecture. In this paper, we describe the eDonkey protocol, the constructed overlay network, the critical operations and their characteristics, as well as the results of measurements of the network and transport layer and of the user behavior. The measurements were made with the client software and with an open-source eDonkey server we extended explicitly for these measurements. Our study shows that eDonkey is particularly well suited for content distribution and not surprisingly also intensively used for the distribution of large files, mainly videos.