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Last modified by Zenna Elfen on 2026/01/05 21:51
From version 27.1
edited by Zenna Elfen
on 2026/01/05 19:45
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To version 9.1
edited by Zenna Elfen
on 2025/11/23 22:48
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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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14 -{{box title="==== Contents ====
15 -
16 -====== ======"}}
17 -{{toc depth="3"/}}
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24 -This page contains an overview of all P4P Networks in this wiki and their building blocks.
25 -
26 -You can also [[add a P4P Network>>doc:Projects.WebHome]] or have a look at the [[P4P Applications>>doc:P4P.Applications.WebHome]].
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]].
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31 31  
32 32  
33 33  
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35 -== Building Blocks of P4P Networks ==
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40 -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 -
43 -
44 -==== **1. Data Synchronization** ====
45 -
46 -> 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.
47 -
48 -* //How do peers detect differences and synchronize state?//
49 -* Examples: Range-Based Set Reconciliation, RIBLT, Gossip-based sync, State-based vs op-based sync, Lamport/Vector/HLC clocks, Braid Protocol
50 -
51 -
52 -
53 -==== **2. Collaborative Data Structures & Conflict Resolution** ====
54 -
55 -> 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.
56 -
57 -* //How do peers collaboratively change shared data and merge conflicts?//
58 -* Examples: CRDTs (Yjs, Automerge), OT, Event Sourcing, Stream Processing, Version Vectors, Peritext
59 -
60 -
61 -
62 -==== **3. Data Storage & Replication** ====
63 -
64 -> 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.
65 -
66 -* //How is data persisted locally and replicated between peers?//
67 -* Examples: SQLite, IndexedDB, LMDB, Hypercore (append-only logs), WALs, Merkle-DAGs (IPFS/IPLD), Blob/media storage
68 -
69 -
70 -
71 -==== **4. Peer & Content Discovery** ====
72 -
73 -> Discovery occurs in two phases:
74 -> 1. **Peer Discovery** → finding _any_ nodes
75 -> 2. **Topic Discovery** → finding _relevant_ nodes or resources
76 -> These mechanisms enable decentralized bootstrapping and interest-based overlays.
77 -
78 -* //How do peers find each other, and how do they discover content in the network?//
79 -* Examples: DHTs (Kademlia, Pastry), mDNS, DNS-SD, Bluetooth scanning, QR bootstrapping, static peer lists, Interest-based routing, PubSub discovery (libp2p), Rendezvous protocols
80 -
81 -
82 -
83 -==== **5. Identity & Trust** ====
84 -
85 -> Identity systems ensure reliable mapping between peers and cryptographic keys. They underpin authorization, federated trust, and secure overlays.
86 -
87 -* //How peers identify themselves, authenticate, and establish trustworthy relationships?//
88 -* Examples: PKI, Distributed Identities (DIDs), Web-of-Trust, TOFU (SSH-style), Verifiable Credentials (VCs), Peer key fingerprints (libp2p PeerIDs), Key transparency logs
89 -
90 -
91 -
92 -==== **6. Transport Layer** ====
93 -
94 -> This layer provides logical connections and flow control. QUIC and WebRTC bring modern congestion control and encryption defaults; Interpeer explores transport beyond IP assumptions.
95 -
96 -* //How do peers establish end-to-end byte streams and reliable delivery?//
97 -* Examples: TCP, UDP, QUIC, SCTP, WebRTC DataChannels, Interpeer transport stack
98 -
99 -
100 -
101 -==== **7. Underlying Transport (Physical/Link Layer)** ====
102 -
103 -> Highly relevant for **offline-first / edge networks**, device-to-device communication, and mesh networks and relates to the hardware which facilitates connections.
104 -
105 -* //How does data move across the medium?//
106 -* Examples: Ethernet, Wi-Fi Direct / Wi-Fi Aware (post-AWDL), Bluetooth Mesh, LoRa, NFC, Cellular, CSMA/CA, TDMA, FHSS
107 -
108 -
109 -
110 -==== **8. Session & Connection Management** ====
111 -
112 -> Manages **connection lifecycle**, including authentication handshakes, reconnection after drops, and session continuation—especially important in lossy or mobile networks.
113 -
114 -* //How are connections initiated, authenticated, resumed, and kept alive?//
115 -* Examples: TLS handshake semantics, Noise IK/XX patterns, session tokens, keep-alive heartbeats, reconnection strategies, session resumption tickets
116 -
117 -
118 -
119 -==== **9. Content Addressing** ====
120 -
121 -> Content addressing ensures **immutability, verifiability, and deduplication**. Identity of data = cryptographic hash, enabling offline-first and tamper-evident systems.
122 -
123 -* //How is data addressed and verified by content, not location?//
124 -* Examples: IPFS CIDs, BitTorrent infohashes, Git hashes, SHA-256 addressing, Named Data Networking (NDN)
125 -
126 -
127 -
128 -==== **10. P2P Connectivity** ====
129 -
130 -> Connectivity ensures peers bypass NATs/firewalls to reach each other. 
131 -
132 -* //How can two peers connect directly across networks, firewalls, and NATs?//
133 -* Examples: IPv6 direct, NAT Traversal, STUN, TURN, ICE (used in WebRTC), UDP hole punching, UPnP
134 -
135 -
136 -
137 -==== **11. Session & Connection Management** ====
138 -
139 -> Manages **connection lifecycle**, including authentication handshakes, reconnection after drops, and session continuation.
140 -
141 -* //How are connections initiated, authenticated, resumed, and kept alive?//
142 -* Examples: TLS handshake semantics, Noise IK/XX patterns, session tokens, keep-alive heartbeats, reconnection strategies, session resumption tickets
143 -
144 -
145 -
146 -==== **12. Message Format & Serialization** ====
147 -
148 -> Serialization ensures **portable data representation**, forward-compatible schemas, and efficient messaging. IPLD provides content-addressed structuring for P2P graph data.
149 -
150 -* //How is data encoded, structured, and made interoperable between peers?//
151 -* Examples: CBOR, Protocol Buffers, Cap’n Proto, JSON, ASN.1, IPLD schemas, Flatbuffers
152 -
153 -
154 -
155 -==== **13. File / Blob Synchronization** ====
156 -
157 -> 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.
158 -
159 -//How are large objects transferred and deduplicated efficiently across peers?//
160 -Examples: BitTorrent chunking, IPFS block-store, NDN segments, rsync-style delta sync, ZFS send-receive, streaming blob transfers
161 -
162 -
163 -==== **14. Local Storage & Processing Primitives** ====
164 -
165 -> Provides durable on-device state and local computation (event sourcing, materialization, compaction). Enables offline-first writes and deterministic replay.
166 -
167 -* //How do nodes persist, index, and process data locally—without external servers?//
168 -* Examples: RocksDB, LevelDB, SQLite, LMDB, local WALs/append-only logs, embedded stream processors (NATS Core JetStream mode, Actyx-like edge runtimes), Kafka-like libraries
169 -
170 -
171 -
172 -==== **15. Crash Resilience & Abortability** ====
173 -
174 -> 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.
175 -
176 -* //How do nodes recover and maintain correctness under failure?//
177 -* Examples: WALs, idempotent ops, partial log replay, transactional journaling, write fences
178 -
179 -
180 -
181 -
182 -== Distributed Network Types ==
183 -
184 -
185 -[[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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193 -== Overview of P4P Networks ==
194 -
195 195  {{include reference="Projects.WebHome"/}}
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