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Last modified by Zenna Elfen on 2026/01/05 21:51
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edited by Zenna Elfen
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edited by Zenna Elfen
on 2026/01/05 19:48
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5 += Peer-for-Peer Networks =
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7 +P4P, short for Peer-4-Peer (which in turn is short for Peer-for-Peer) are a family of networks which build on principles of local-first, peer-2-peer, open-source, routing agnostic (offline-first) and mutual-aid principles. The above is a lot of terms which in and of themselves carry a lot of meaning, yet when combined they enable censorship-resistant, resilient and adaptive, sustainable and energy-efficient communication infrastructures.
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18 +{{box title="==== Contents ====
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20 +====== ======"}}
21 +{{toc depth="5"/}}
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33 +== Building Blocks of P4P Networks ==
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3 -This page contains an overview of all P4P Networks in this wiki. You can also [[add a P4P Network>>doc:Projects.WebHome]] or have a look at the [[P4P Applications>>doc:P4P.Applications.WebHome]].
38 +To fully assemble a P4P network one needs a few different building blocks, below is an overview of 15 of those building blocks. Lost in translation? Take a look at the [[terminology>>doc:P4P.Definitions.WebHome]].
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42 +==== **1. Data Synchronization** ====
7 7  
44 +> Synchronization answers **how updates flow between peers** and how they determine what data to exchange. This layer is about **diffing, reconciliation, order, causality tracking, and efficient exchange**, not persistence or user-facing collaboration semantics.
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46 +* //How do peers detect differences and synchronize state?//
47 +* Examples: Range-Based Set Reconciliation, RIBLT, Gossip-based sync, State-based vs op-based sync, Lamport/Vector/HLC clocks, Braid Protocol
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50 +
51 +==== **2. Collaborative Data Structures & Conflict Resolution** ====
52 +
53 +> This layer defines **how shared data evolves** when multiple peers edit concurrently. It focuses on **conflict-free merging, causality, and consistency of meaning**, not transport or storage. CRDTs ensure deterministic convergence, while event-sourced or stream-driven models maintain a history of all changes and derive consistent state from it.
54 +
55 +* //How do peers collaboratively change shared data and merge conflicts?//
56 +* Examples: CRDTs (Yjs, Automerge), OT, Event Sourcing, Stream Processing, Version Vectors, Peritext
57 +
58 +
59 +
60 +==== **3. Data Storage & Replication** ====
61 +
62 +> This layer focuses on **durability, consistency, and redundancy**. It handles write-paths, crash-resilience, and replication semantics across nodes. It is the “database/storage engine” layer where **data lives and survives over time**, independent of sync or merging logic.
63 +
64 +* //How is data persisted locally and replicated between peers?//
65 +* Examples: SQLite, IndexedDB, LMDB, Hypercore (append-only logs), WALs, Merkle-DAGs (IPFS/IPLD), Blob/media storage
66 +
67 +
68 +
69 +==== **4. Peer & Content Discovery** ====
70 +
71 +> Discovery occurs in two phases:
72 +> 1. **Peer Discovery** → finding _any_ nodes
73 +> 2. **Topic Discovery** → finding _relevant_ nodes or resources
74 +> These mechanisms enable decentralized bootstrapping and interest-based overlays.
75 +
76 +* //How do peers find each other, and how do they discover content in the network?//
77 +* Examples: DHTs (Kademlia, Pastry), mDNS, DNS-SD, Bluetooth scanning, QR bootstrapping, static peer lists, Interest-based routing, PubSub discovery (libp2p), Rendezvous protocols
78 +
79 +
80 +
81 +==== **5. Identity & Trust** ====
82 +
83 +> Identity systems ensure reliable mapping between peers and cryptographic keys. They underpin authorization, federated trust, and secure overlays.
84 +
85 +* //How peers identify themselves, authenticate, and establish trustworthy relationships?//
86 +* Examples: PKI, Distributed Identities (DIDs), Web-of-Trust, TOFU (SSH-style), Verifiable Credentials (VCs), Peer key fingerprints (libp2p PeerIDs), Key transparency logs
87 +
88 +
89 +
90 +==== **6. Transport Layer** ====
91 +
92 +> This layer provides logical connections and flow control. QUIC and WebRTC bring modern congestion control and encryption defaults; Interpeer explores transport beyond IP assumptions.
93 +
94 +* //How do peers establish end-to-end byte streams and reliable delivery?//
95 +* Examples: TCP, UDP, QUIC, SCTP, WebRTC DataChannels, Interpeer transport stack
96 +
97 +
98 +
99 +==== **7. Underlying Transport (Physical/Link Layer)** ====
100 +
101 +> Highly relevant for **offline-first / edge networks**, device-to-device communication, and mesh networks and relates to the hardware which facilitates connections.
102 +
103 +* //How does data move across the medium?//
104 +* Examples: Ethernet, Wi-Fi Direct / Wi-Fi Aware (post-AWDL), Bluetooth Mesh, LoRa, NFC, Cellular, CSMA/CA, TDMA, FHSS
105 +
106 +
107 +
108 +==== **8. Session & Connection Management** ====
109 +
110 +> Manages **connection lifecycle**, including authentication handshakes, reconnection after drops, and session continuation—especially important in lossy or mobile networks.
111 +
112 +* //How are connections initiated, authenticated, resumed, and kept alive?//
113 +* Examples: TLS handshake semantics, Noise IK/XX patterns, session tokens, keep-alive heartbeats, reconnection strategies, session resumption tickets
114 +
115 +
116 +
117 +==== **9. Content Addressing** ====
118 +
119 +> Content addressing ensures **immutability, verifiability, and deduplication**. Identity of data = cryptographic hash, enabling offline-first and tamper-evident systems.
120 +
121 +* //How is data addressed and verified by content, not location?//
122 +* Examples: IPFS CIDs, BitTorrent infohashes, Git hashes, SHA-256 addressing, Named Data Networking (NDN)
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124 +
125 +
126 +==== **10. P2P Connectivity** ====
127 +
128 +> Connectivity ensures peers bypass NATs/firewalls to reach each other. 
129 +
130 +* //How can two peers connect directly across networks, firewalls, and NATs?//
131 +* Examples: IPv6 direct, NAT Traversal, STUN, TURN, ICE (used in WebRTC), UDP hole punching, UPnP
132 +
133 +
134 +
135 +==== **11. Session & Connection Management** ====
136 +
137 +> Manages **connection lifecycle**, including authentication handshakes, reconnection after drops, and session continuation.
138 +
139 +* //How are connections initiated, authenticated, resumed, and kept alive?//
140 +* Examples: TLS handshake semantics, Noise IK/XX patterns, session tokens, keep-alive heartbeats, reconnection strategies, session resumption tickets
141 +
142 +
143 +
144 +==== **12. Message Format & Serialization** ====
145 +
146 +> Serialization ensures **portable data representation**, forward-compatible schemas, and efficient messaging. IPLD provides content-addressed structuring for P2P graph data.
147 +
148 +* //How is data encoded, structured, and made interoperable between peers?//
149 +* Examples: CBOR, Protocol Buffers, Cap’n Proto, JSON, ASN.1, IPLD schemas, Flatbuffers
150 +
151 +
152 +
153 +==== **13. File / Blob Synchronization** ====
154 +
155 +> Bulk data syncing has **different trade-offs** than small collaborative state (chunking, deduplication, partial transfer, resume logic). Critical for media and archival P2P use-cases.
156 +
157 +//How are large objects transferred and deduplicated efficiently across peers?//
158 +Examples: BitTorrent chunking, IPFS block-store, NDN segments, rsync-style delta sync, ZFS send-receive, streaming blob transfers
159 +
160 +
161 +==== **14. Local Storage & Processing Primitives** ====
162 +
163 +> Provides durable on-device state and local computation (event sourcing, materialization, compaction). Enables offline-first writes and deterministic replay.
164 +
165 +* //How do nodes persist, index, and process data locally—without external servers?//
166 +* Examples: RocksDB, LevelDB, SQLite, LMDB, local WALs/append-only logs, embedded stream processors (NATS Core JetStream mode, Actyx-like edge runtimes), Kafka-like libraries
167 +
168 +
169 +
170 +==== **15. Crash Resilience & Abortability** ====
171 +
172 +> Ensures P2P apps don’t corrupt state on crashes. Tied to **local storage & stream-processing**, and critical in offline-first and distributed update pipelines. Abortability is the updated term for Atomicity as part of the ACID abbreviation.
173 +
174 +* //How do nodes recover and maintain correctness under failure?//
175 +* Examples: WALs, idempotent ops, partial log replay, transactional journaling, write fences
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178 +
179 +
180 +== Distributed Network Types ==
181 +
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183 +[[Flowchart depicting distributed network variants, under development. Building on work from Z. Elfen, 2024: ~[~[https:~~~~/~~~~/doi.org/10.17613/naj7d-6g984~>~>https://doi.org/10.17613/naj7d-6g984~]~]>>image:P4P_Typology.png||alt="Flowchart depicting typologies of distributed networks, such as Friend-2-Friend, Grassroots Networks, Federated Networks, Local-First, P2P and P4P Networks" data-xwiki-image-style-alignment="center" height="649" width="639"]]
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192 +== Overview of P4P Networks ==
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11 11  {{include reference="Projects.WebHome"/}}
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P4P_Typology.png
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