An Introduction to Client Server Networks

If you connect two computers together with a cross-over cable, you have a peer-to-peer network. This is easy to do, attach the cable to the network card on one and the other end to the other network card. In this type of network, you are able to share files, pictures, videos, or music. If you have a printer attached to one of the computers, you can print to a printer attached to the other computer.

The size of a peer-to-peer network is important. Peer-to-peers have a functional limit of about 10 computers. That is manageable size. Beyond that, the size becomes to cumbersome to manage easily. Finally peer-to-peer networks are the easiest to install and work with at the home or personal level. Usually the needs that arise from complicated networks do not have to be address at the home level.

One very popular form of P2P file sharing occurs on the Internet with files, videos, and music being downloaded by connecting to remote client-peer computers. Companies like Kazaa, or Ares, or BTJunkie, allow users to hookup to remote clients and download files from the remote peer. This gets around the problem that a file sharing company had in the 1990's.

Napster provided downloading capabilities to millions of users which downloaded music, e-books, videos, and the like. Ususally these files were illegally copied and hence were in violation of copyright restrictions.

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Napster, because it was the central repository of these files, was successfully sued and forced to pay civil penalties to musicians, and song writers. The company went bankrupt. As a consequence the law suit forced other companies to bypass the restriction by having users to connect with other users directly to download the same sorts of files. Now the files are transmitted using the peer-to-peer format. There is no central server.

Examples of P2P file sharing companies

• Ares P2P Network
• Shareaza
• BearShare
• WinMX
• BitTorrent
• eDonkey
• Kazaa
• LimeWire

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