Class 8, P2P and BitTorrent

Peer to Peer, or P2P for short is a method of computer networking and distributing workload. This happens a lot in companies that do most of their work with computers and departments. In a peer to peer network, "peers" are all equally privileged and can share information with other "peers" on the same network, to help collaboration and increase productivity. This is all done without a server or host, an example of this could be people in our class collaborating and sharing information to complete a paper, but doing so without using one main platform or server.

BitTorrent is popular when dealing with peer to peer networks, it is a protocol that is used in P2P file sharing when dealing with sharing files that are very large in size. To do so, a BitTorrent client must be installed (examples of popular ones can be seen in the picture below). The client is what is used to help deconstruct and send these large files (files are typically broken into smaller pieces when sent over the internet) and then reconstructed when they reach their final destination. Some more basic information about BitTorrent can be seen below.

File sharing using P2P and things like BitTorrent can be very helpful if done correctly, but as with just about anything on the internet, doing it wrong can cause a crazy amount of headaches. There are also some risks involved with using P2P file sharing, but nothing catastrophic. Most average internet users could easily figure out how to use peer to peer and have it help them out in their work or studies. Below is a video on how to use P2P, as well as some involved risks