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Last modified by Zenna Elfen on 2026/01/05 21:51
From version 28.1
edited by Zenna Elfen
on 2026/01/05 19:45
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To version 10.1
edited by Zenna Elfen
on 2025/11/23 22:49
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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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16 -{{box title="==== Contents ====
17 -
18 -====== ======"}}
19 -{{toc depth="5"/}}
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26 -This page contains an overview of all P4P Networks in this wiki and their building blocks.
27 -
28 -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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34 34  
35 35  
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37 -== Building Blocks of P4P Networks ==
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42 -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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44 -
45 -
46 -==== **1. Data Synchronization** ====
47 -
48 -> 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.
49 -
50 -* //How do peers detect differences and synchronize state?//
51 -* Examples: Range-Based Set Reconciliation, RIBLT, Gossip-based sync, State-based vs op-based sync, Lamport/Vector/HLC clocks, Braid Protocol
52 -
53 -
54 -
55 -==== **2. Collaborative Data Structures & Conflict Resolution** ====
56 -
57 -> 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.
58 -
59 -* //How do peers collaboratively change shared data and merge conflicts?//
60 -* Examples: CRDTs (Yjs, Automerge), OT, Event Sourcing, Stream Processing, Version Vectors, Peritext
61 -
62 -
63 -
64 -==== **3. Data Storage & Replication** ====
65 -
66 -> 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.
67 -
68 -* //How is data persisted locally and replicated between peers?//
69 -* Examples: SQLite, IndexedDB, LMDB, Hypercore (append-only logs), WALs, Merkle-DAGs (IPFS/IPLD), Blob/media storage
70 -
71 -
72 -
73 -==== **4. Peer & Content Discovery** ====
74 -
75 -> Discovery occurs in two phases:
76 -> 1. **Peer Discovery** → finding _any_ nodes
77 -> 2. **Topic Discovery** → finding _relevant_ nodes or resources
78 -> These mechanisms enable decentralized bootstrapping and interest-based overlays.
79 -
80 -* //How do peers find each other, and how do they discover content in the network?//
81 -* Examples: DHTs (Kademlia, Pastry), mDNS, DNS-SD, Bluetooth scanning, QR bootstrapping, static peer lists, Interest-based routing, PubSub discovery (libp2p), Rendezvous protocols
82 -
83 -
84 -
85 -==== **5. Identity & Trust** ====
86 -
87 -> Identity systems ensure reliable mapping between peers and cryptographic keys. They underpin authorization, federated trust, and secure overlays.
88 -
89 -* //How peers identify themselves, authenticate, and establish trustworthy relationships?//
90 -* Examples: PKI, Distributed Identities (DIDs), Web-of-Trust, TOFU (SSH-style), Verifiable Credentials (VCs), Peer key fingerprints (libp2p PeerIDs), Key transparency logs
91 -
92 -
93 -
94 -==== **6. Transport Layer** ====
95 -
96 -> This layer provides logical connections and flow control. QUIC and WebRTC bring modern congestion control and encryption defaults; Interpeer explores transport beyond IP assumptions.
97 -
98 -* //How do peers establish end-to-end byte streams and reliable delivery?//
99 -* Examples: TCP, UDP, QUIC, SCTP, WebRTC DataChannels, Interpeer transport stack
100 -
101 -
102 -
103 -==== **7. Underlying Transport (Physical/Link Layer)** ====
104 -
105 -> Highly relevant for **offline-first / edge networks**, device-to-device communication, and mesh networks and relates to the hardware which facilitates connections.
106 -
107 -* //How does data move across the medium?//
108 -* Examples: Ethernet, Wi-Fi Direct / Wi-Fi Aware (post-AWDL), Bluetooth Mesh, LoRa, NFC, Cellular, CSMA/CA, TDMA, FHSS
109 -
110 -
111 -
112 -==== **8. Session & Connection Management** ====
113 -
114 -> Manages **connection lifecycle**, including authentication handshakes, reconnection after drops, and session continuation—especially important in lossy or mobile networks.
115 -
116 -* //How are connections initiated, authenticated, resumed, and kept alive?//
117 -* Examples: TLS handshake semantics, Noise IK/XX patterns, session tokens, keep-alive heartbeats, reconnection strategies, session resumption tickets
118 -
119 -
120 -
121 -==== **9. Content Addressing** ====
122 -
123 -> Content addressing ensures **immutability, verifiability, and deduplication**. Identity of data = cryptographic hash, enabling offline-first and tamper-evident systems.
124 -
125 -* //How is data addressed and verified by content, not location?//
126 -* Examples: IPFS CIDs, BitTorrent infohashes, Git hashes, SHA-256 addressing, Named Data Networking (NDN)
127 -
128 -
129 -
130 -==== **10. P2P Connectivity** ====
131 -
132 -> Connectivity ensures peers bypass NATs/firewalls to reach each other. 
133 -
134 -* //How can two peers connect directly across networks, firewalls, and NATs?//
135 -* Examples: IPv6 direct, NAT Traversal, STUN, TURN, ICE (used in WebRTC), UDP hole punching, UPnP
136 -
137 -
138 -
139 -==== **11. Session & Connection Management** ====
140 -
141 -> Manages **connection lifecycle**, including authentication handshakes, reconnection after drops, and session continuation.
142 -
143 -* //How are connections initiated, authenticated, resumed, and kept alive?//
144 -* Examples: TLS handshake semantics, Noise IK/XX patterns, session tokens, keep-alive heartbeats, reconnection strategies, session resumption tickets
145 -
146 -
147 -
148 -==== **12. Message Format & Serialization** ====
149 -
150 -> Serialization ensures **portable data representation**, forward-compatible schemas, and efficient messaging. IPLD provides content-addressed structuring for P2P graph data.
151 -
152 -* //How is data encoded, structured, and made interoperable between peers?//
153 -* Examples: CBOR, Protocol Buffers, Cap’n Proto, JSON, ASN.1, IPLD schemas, Flatbuffers
154 -
155 -
156 -
157 -==== **13. File / Blob Synchronization** ====
158 -
159 -> 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.
160 -
161 -//How are large objects transferred and deduplicated efficiently across peers?//
162 -Examples: BitTorrent chunking, IPFS block-store, NDN segments, rsync-style delta sync, ZFS send-receive, streaming blob transfers
163 -
164 -
165 -==== **14. Local Storage & Processing Primitives** ====
166 -
167 -> Provides durable on-device state and local computation (event sourcing, materialization, compaction). Enables offline-first writes and deterministic replay.
168 -
169 -* //How do nodes persist, index, and process data locally—without external servers?//
170 -* Examples: RocksDB, LevelDB, SQLite, LMDB, local WALs/append-only logs, embedded stream processors (NATS Core JetStream mode, Actyx-like edge runtimes), Kafka-like libraries
171 -
172 -
173 -
174 -==== **15. Crash Resilience & Abortability** ====
175 -
176 -> 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.
177 -
178 -* //How do nodes recover and maintain correctness under failure?//
179 -* Examples: WALs, idempotent ops, partial log replay, transactional journaling, write fences
180 -
181 -
182 -
183 -
184 -== Distributed Network Types ==
185 -
186 -
187 -[[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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195 -== Overview of P4P Networks ==
196 -
197 197  {{include reference="Projects.WebHome"/}}
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P4P_Typology.png
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