P2P File Sharing

Napster, Kazaa, you probably heard of these two names before. These two services used to be the most used P2P file sharing programs that were used by consumers all around the world. P2P basically stands for Peer to peer sharing. One user uploads a file, for example an MP3, other users looking for the same file, downloads it, and like a pyramid scheme, each user then has the opportunity to share these files with other users that want the same thing. What starts with one user uploading a single file, can end up with an extremely large amount of other users using and sharing the same thing. File sharing is basically the same as P2P but does not necessarily need to involve two different users. One of the more "advanced" P2P techniques is Bittorrent. This alternative compared to the other services such as what used to be Napster and Kazaa, is very effective for all kinds of users with different internet speeds. According to the wired.com article, The Bittorrent Effect, "The problem with P2P file-sharing networks like Kazaa, he reasoned, is that uploading and downloading do not happen at equal speeds". What this means is that your download and upload speed, which are given by your ISP or Internet Service Provider, are not the same speeds. For example, I am using the Verizon Fios plan with 25 mbps download and 15 mbps upload. This means you are transferring data UP TO that speed. However, one of the main concepts of file sharing is uploading and how fast these speeds are from user to user. How bittorrent relieves this problem is with multiple uploaders at the same time or "seeds". A good torrent file with many seeds will give you the maximum download speed possible since there are many users uploading data to you. This means that users with slower internet speeds will be able to achieve decent download speeds because of the many seeds available. This is why bittorrent is starting to become a very popular alternative for people to use nowadays, and especially since Napster went legit and Kazaa basically stopped providing services.