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Changes for page Networks

Last modified by Zenna Elfen on 2026/01/05 21:51
From version 24.1
edited by Zenna Elfen
on 2026/01/05 19:43
Change comment: There is no comment for this version
To version 15.1
edited by Zenna Elfen
on 2025/11/24 11:56
Change comment: There is no comment for this version

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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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11 11  (% class="box" %)
12 12  (((
13 13  This page contains an overview of all P4P Networks in this wiki and their building blocks.
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16 16  )))
17 17  
18 18  
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20 -{{toc/}}
21 21  
22 22  
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23 23  == Building Blocks of P4P Networks ==
24 24  
25 25  
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76 76  * Examples: PKI, Distributed Identities (DIDs), Web-of-Trust, TOFU (SSH-style), Verifiable Credentials (VCs), Peer key fingerprints (libp2p PeerIDs), Key transparency logs
77 77  
78 78  
79 -
80 80  ==== **6. Transport Layer** ====
81 81  
82 82  > This layer provides logical connections and flow control. QUIC and WebRTC bring modern congestion control and encryption defaults; Interpeer explores transport beyond IP assumptions.
83 83  
84 -* //How do peers establish end-to-end byte streams and reliable delivery?//
79 +* How do peers establish end-to-end byte streams and reliable delivery?
85 85  * Examples: TCP, UDP, QUIC, SCTP, WebRTC DataChannels, Interpeer transport stack
86 86  
87 87  
88 -
89 89  ==== **7. Underlying Transport (Physical/Link Layer)** ====
90 90  
91 91  > Highly relevant for **offline-first / edge networks**, device-to-device communication, and mesh networks and relates to the hardware which facilitates connections.
92 92  
93 -* //How does data move across the medium?//
87 +* How does data move across the medium?
94 94  * Examples: Ethernet, Wi-Fi Direct / Wi-Fi Aware (post-AWDL), Bluetooth Mesh, LoRa, NFC, Cellular, CSMA/CA, TDMA, FHSS
95 95  
96 -
97 -
98 98  ==== **8. Session & Connection Management** ====
99 99  
100 100  > Manages **connection lifecycle**, including authentication handshakes, reconnection after drops, and session continuation—especially important in lossy or mobile networks.
101 101  
102 -* //How are connections initiated, authenticated, resumed, and kept alive?//
94 +* How are connections initiated, authenticated, resumed, and kept alive?
103 103  * Examples: TLS handshake semantics, Noise IK/XX patterns, session tokens, keep-alive heartbeats, reconnection strategies, session resumption tickets
104 104  
105 105  
106 -
107 107  ==== **9. Content Addressing** ====
108 108  
109 109  > Content addressing ensures **immutability, verifiability, and deduplication**. Identity of data = cryptographic hash, enabling offline-first and tamper-evident systems.
110 110  
111 -* //How is data addressed and verified by content, not location?//
102 +* How is data addressed and verified by content, not location?
112 112  * Examples: IPFS CIDs, BitTorrent infohashes, Git hashes, SHA-256 addressing, Named Data Networking (NDN)
113 113  
114 -
115 -
116 116  ==== **10. P2P Connectivity** ====
117 117  
118 -> Connectivity ensures peers bypass NATs/firewalls to reach each other. 
107 +> Connectivity ensures peers bypass NATs/firewalls to reach each other.
119 119  
120 -* //How can two peers connect directly across networks, firewalls, and NATs?//
109 +* How can two peers connect directly across networks, firewalls, and NATs?
121 121  * Examples: IPv6 direct, NAT Traversal, STUN, TURN, ICE (used in WebRTC), UDP hole punching, UPnP
122 122  
123 -
124 -
125 125  ==== **11. Session & Connection Management** ====
126 126  
127 127  > Manages **connection lifecycle**, including authentication handshakes, reconnection after drops, and session continuation.
128 128  
129 -* //How are connections initiated, authenticated, resumed, and kept alive?//
116 +* How are connections initiated, authenticated, resumed, and kept alive?
130 130  * Examples: TLS handshake semantics, Noise IK/XX patterns, session tokens, keep-alive heartbeats, reconnection strategies, session resumption tickets
131 131  
132 -
133 -
134 134  ==== **12. Message Format & Serialization** ====
135 135  
136 136  > Serialization ensures **portable data representation**, forward-compatible schemas, and efficient messaging. IPLD provides content-addressed structuring for P2P graph data.
137 137  
138 -* //How is data encoded, structured, and made interoperable between peers?//
123 +* How is data encoded, structured, and made interoperable between peers?
139 139  * Examples: CBOR, Protocol Buffers, Cap’n Proto, JSON, ASN.1, IPLD schemas, Flatbuffers
140 140  
141 -
142 -
143 143  ==== **13. File / Blob Synchronization** ====
144 144  
145 145  > 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.
146 146  
147 -//How are large objects transferred and deduplicated efficiently across peers?//
130 +How are large objects transferred and deduplicated efficiently across peers?
148 148  Examples: BitTorrent chunking, IPFS block-store, NDN segments, rsync-style delta sync, ZFS send-receive, streaming blob transfers
149 149  
150 -
151 151  ==== **14. Local Storage & Processing Primitives** ====
152 152  
153 153  > Provides durable on-device state and local computation (event sourcing, materialization, compaction). Enables offline-first writes and deterministic replay.
154 154  
155 -* //How do nodes persist, index, and process data locally—without external servers?//
137 +* How do nodes persist, index, and process data locally—without external servers?
156 156  * Examples: RocksDB, LevelDB, SQLite, LMDB, local WALs/append-only logs, embedded stream processors (NATS Core JetStream mode, Actyx-like edge runtimes), Kafka-like libraries
157 157  
158 158  
159 -
160 160  ==== **15. Crash Resilience & Abortability** ====
161 161  
162 162  > 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.
163 163  
164 -* //How do nodes recover and maintain correctness under failure?//
145 +* How do nodes recover and maintain correctness under failure?
165 165  * Examples: WALs, idempotent ops, partial log replay, transactional journaling, write fences
166 166  
167 167  
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173 173  [[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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181 -{{box title="==== Contents ====
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183 -====== ======"}}
184 -{{toc depth="3"/}}
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191 191  == Overview of P4P Networks ==
192 -{{include reference="Projects.WebHome"/}}
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194 194  
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160 +{{include reference="Projects.WebHome"/}}