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March 17, 2008
P2P Speeds Large Data Transfers Over Internet
NEW YORK, March 14 -- Large files can be moved over the
Internet more quickly and efficiently using a new peer-to-peer (P2P)
file transfer system, recent tests over the Verizon network show. The
new P2P protocol guides the selection of file sources and network
pathways rather than letting the selection happen randomly, or using
criteria that don't maximize efficiency.
P2P file transfers using distribution software that links content
owners to authorized users is increasing, with companies like TV
networks, movie distributors and software firms taking advantage of P2P
as a low-cost distribution option.
When deployed, the new system will move material authorized by the
content owners -- such as movies, TV programs, software or large data
bases -- faster for consumers and more efficiently for network
operators. The new system and tests were described in a presentation
Friday, March 14, in New York by Douglas Pasko, Verizon senior
technologist and co-chair of the P4P Working Group, and co-chair Laird
Popkin of Pando Networks. The group is sponsored the Distributed
Computing Industry Association (DCIA). Yale University software experts
worked on and monitored the project. Companies like Pando Networks and
others provide content-sharing companies and customers with secure
programs for their exchanges.
The new system addresses a growing challenge to Internet service
providers (ISPs) and network carriers as P2P networking becomes more
and more common. Because many files transferred today using P2P are so
massive, P2P sharing can account for well beyond half of total Internet
traffic, according to industry estimates.
No longer the dark-alley distribution system for unauthorized file
sharing, advanced P2P delivery networks link content-seekers with
licensed files they want and that are stored by other subscribed users
rather than on servers maintained by content owners or ISPs. P2P is
being mainstreamed by distributors like NBC Universal, which is
beginning to distribute its NBC Direct programming by leveraging P2P
technology and software provided by Pando Networks, rather than the
traditional client-server approach.
"The results of the testing have been phenomenal," said Pasko.
"Customer and network benefits were seen as soon as the test began.
This new system, which routes files along the fastest, least expensive
path, offers our FiOS customers P2P downloads up to six times faster
than networks without the overlay, the study showed. On average,
download speeds using other Internet access technologies improve by
about 60 percent."
According to Pasko, the end result of the experiment and ultimate
implementation could be "carrier-grade P2P," once focused routing and
handling replace arbitrary delivery paths. The system could cut P2P
network delivery costs for participating network companies by as much
as 50 percent.
"We are thrilled with these results and look forward to helping
Verizon and other ISPs deploy the technology more broadly," said
Popkin, who is chief technology officer of Pando Networks.
The working group was set up within the DCIA to engage more industry
players in the test and to share the results throughout the industry.
The ultimate impact will be to relieve pressure on networks so that
phone companies, cable companies, ISPs and content owners can limit or
avoid system clogging of file delivery pathways.
"It is becoming abundantly clear that P2P networking has enormous
potential," said Marty Lafferty, the CEO of DCIA. "It will likely be
the next networking wave in a consumer-led drive for more video and
other content that will soon include massive high-definition (HD)
files, complex multimedia offerings, and a greater number and selection
of the traditional content downloads that support consumers,
businesses, and government. It is up to the industry to ensure that the
P2P services work for everyone and live up to the demands users of all
kinds put on them."
Pando's Popkin said, "The collaboration of various network and
sharing companies through this effort indicates great promise for this
distribution model because the more networkers who deploy it, the more
the benefit accrues to the networks and the customers. There are more
than 50 organizations engaged in the working group, and that kind of
curiosity and engagement shows how aware the industry is of the need
for efficiency and speed in P2P delivery."
Today, using host server technology, most files are requested from
servers owned by content owners or ISPs. The customer requests a file
and it is downloaded directly to the customer. With P2P, the file
delivery leverages user computers or other places where the files are
stored and then draws the files -- or parts of them, simultaneously --
from the other users' computers to the requesting one.
Traditionally, the P2P network has randomly selected where the file
came from, ignorant of the physical location of the data and sometimes
using a "brute force" approach to compensate for long-distance delivery
delays. With the experimental software, developed by Yale University
and Pando Networks, and using network data provided by Verizon, the
network selects the sources that provide the least cost and fastest
route for the delivery of the file to Verizon customers.
"It makes no sense for a customer to arbitrarily download a file
from Singapore, consuming bandwidth on high-cost, high-traffic routes
like Pacific undersea cables, when the file is stored right down the
street and can be accessed more quickly and cheaply," Pasko said.
In a report to the DCIA on the trial, Pasko, Popkin and Haiyong Xie,
a researcher from Yale University where the software design was
created, said that the field test has clearly validated the value of
P2P networks and ISPs working together to provide the most efficient,
highest-quality service to their customers.
According to Pasko and Popkin, this live, active network role is
fundamental to an ultimate solution for P2P traffic-management that
eventually would likely involve additional, complementary tools such as
caching, and content acceleration, among others. Getting networks
engaged in the solution is critical, they said.
"This is a great example of an industry getting together and developing a solution to an industry problem," Pasko said.
About Verizon
Verizon Communications Inc., headquartered in New York, is a leader in delivering broadband and other wireline and wireless communication innovations to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving nearly 66 million customers nationwide. Verizon's Wireline operations include Verizon Business, which delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world, and Verizon Telecom, which brings customers the benefits of converged communications, information and entertainment services over the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network. A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of nearly 235,000 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of $93.5 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.
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Source: Verizon
