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Changes for page Networks

Last modified by Zenna Elfen on 2026/01/05 21:51
From version 40.1
edited by Zenna Elfen
on 2026/01/05 19:55
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 =
3 +This page contains an overview of all P4P Networks in this wiki and their building blocks.
6 6  
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.
5 +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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13 -== Building Blocks of P4P Networks ==
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15 -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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25 -{{box title="==== Contents ====
26 26  
27 -====== ======"}}
28 -{{toc depth="5"/}}
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31 31  
32 32  
33 33  
19 +== Building Blocks of P4P Networks ==
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35 35  (((
36 -==== ====
24 +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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37 37  
27 +
38 38  ==== **1. Data Synchronization** ====
39 39  
40 40  > 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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82 82  * Examples: PKI, Distributed Identities (DIDs), Web-of-Trust, TOFU (SSH-style), Verifiable Credentials (VCs), Peer key fingerprints (libp2p PeerIDs), Key transparency logs
83 83  
84 84  
85 -
86 86  ==== **6. Transport Layer** ====
87 87  
88 88  > This layer provides logical connections and flow control. QUIC and WebRTC bring modern congestion control and encryption defaults; Interpeer explores transport beyond IP assumptions.
89 89  
90 -* //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?
91 91  * Examples: TCP, UDP, QUIC, SCTP, WebRTC DataChannels, Interpeer transport stack
92 92  
93 93  
94 -
95 95  ==== **7. Underlying Transport (Physical/Link Layer)** ====
96 96  
97 97  > Highly relevant for **offline-first / edge networks**, device-to-device communication, and mesh networks and relates to the hardware which facilitates connections.
98 98  
99 -* //How does data move across the medium?//
87 +* How does data move across the medium?
100 100  * Examples: Ethernet, Wi-Fi Direct / Wi-Fi Aware (post-AWDL), Bluetooth Mesh, LoRa, NFC, Cellular, CSMA/CA, TDMA, FHSS
101 101  
102 -
103 -
104 104  ==== **8. Session & Connection Management** ====
105 105  
106 106  > Manages **connection lifecycle**, including authentication handshakes, reconnection after drops, and session continuation—especially important in lossy or mobile networks.
107 107  
108 -* //How are connections initiated, authenticated, resumed, and kept alive?//
94 +* How are connections initiated, authenticated, resumed, and kept alive?
109 109  * Examples: TLS handshake semantics, Noise IK/XX patterns, session tokens, keep-alive heartbeats, reconnection strategies, session resumption tickets
110 110  
111 111  
112 -
113 113  ==== **9. Content Addressing** ====
114 114  
115 115  > Content addressing ensures **immutability, verifiability, and deduplication**. Identity of data = cryptographic hash, enabling offline-first and tamper-evident systems.
116 116  
117 -* //How is data addressed and verified by content, not location?//
102 +* How is data addressed and verified by content, not location?
118 118  * Examples: IPFS CIDs, BitTorrent infohashes, Git hashes, SHA-256 addressing, Named Data Networking (NDN)
119 119  
120 -
121 -
122 122  ==== **10. P2P Connectivity** ====
123 123  
124 -> Connectivity ensures peers bypass NATs/firewalls to reach each other. 
107 +> Connectivity ensures peers bypass NATs/firewalls to reach each other.
125 125  
126 -* //How can two peers connect directly across networks, firewalls, and NATs?//
109 +* How can two peers connect directly across networks, firewalls, and NATs?
127 127  * Examples: IPv6 direct, NAT Traversal, STUN, TURN, ICE (used in WebRTC), UDP hole punching, UPnP
128 128  
129 -
130 -
131 131  ==== **11. Session & Connection Management** ====
132 132  
133 133  > Manages **connection lifecycle**, including authentication handshakes, reconnection after drops, and session continuation.
134 134  
135 -* //How are connections initiated, authenticated, resumed, and kept alive?//
116 +* How are connections initiated, authenticated, resumed, and kept alive?
136 136  * Examples: TLS handshake semantics, Noise IK/XX patterns, session tokens, keep-alive heartbeats, reconnection strategies, session resumption tickets
137 137  
138 -
139 -
140 140  ==== **12. Message Format & Serialization** ====
141 141  
142 142  > Serialization ensures **portable data representation**, forward-compatible schemas, and efficient messaging. IPLD provides content-addressed structuring for P2P graph data.
143 143  
144 -* //How is data encoded, structured, and made interoperable between peers?//
123 +* How is data encoded, structured, and made interoperable between peers?
145 145  * Examples: CBOR, Protocol Buffers, Cap’n Proto, JSON, ASN.1, IPLD schemas, Flatbuffers
146 146  
147 -
148 -
149 149  ==== **13. File / Blob Synchronization** ====
150 150  
151 151  > 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.
152 152  
153 -//How are large objects transferred and deduplicated efficiently across peers?//
130 +How are large objects transferred and deduplicated efficiently across peers?
154 154  Examples: BitTorrent chunking, IPFS block-store, NDN segments, rsync-style delta sync, ZFS send-receive, streaming blob transfers
155 155  
156 -
157 157  ==== **14. Local Storage & Processing Primitives** ====
158 158  
159 159  > Provides durable on-device state and local computation (event sourcing, materialization, compaction). Enables offline-first writes and deterministic replay.
160 160  
161 -* //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?
162 162  * Examples: RocksDB, LevelDB, SQLite, LMDB, local WALs/append-only logs, embedded stream processors (NATS Core JetStream mode, Actyx-like edge runtimes), Kafka-like libraries
163 163  
164 164  
165 -
166 166  ==== **15. Crash Resilience & Abortability** ====
167 167  
168 168  > 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.
169 169  
170 -* //How do nodes recover and maintain correctness under failure?//
145 +* How do nodes recover and maintain correctness under failure?
171 171  * Examples: WALs, idempotent ops, partial log replay, transactional journaling, write fences
172 172  
173 173  
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178 178  
179 179  [[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"]]
180 180  
181 -== ==
182 182  
157 +
183 183  == Overview of P4P Networks ==
184 184  
185 185  {{include reference="Projects.WebHome"/}}
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194 -~)~)~)