PeerNet: Pushing Peer-to-Peer Down the Stack

- An unwritten principle of the Internet Protocol is that the IP address of a node also serves as its identifier. We observe that many scalability problems result from this principle, especially when we consider mobile networks. In this work, we examine how we would design a network with a separation between address and identity. We develop PeerNet, a peer-to-peer-based network layer for large networks. PeerNet is not an overlay on top of IP, it is an alternative to the IP layer. In PeerNet, the address reflects the node’s current location in the network. This simplifies routing significantly but creates two new challenges: the need for consistent address allocation and an efficient node lookup service. We develop fully distributed solutions to address these and other issues using a per-node state of O(log N), where N is the number of nodes in the network. PeerNet is a radically different alternative to current network layers, and our initial design suggests that the PeerNet app...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2003
• Where: IPTPS
• Authors: Jakob Eriksson, Michalis Faloutsos, Srikanth V. Krishnamurthy
• Keywords: IP Address, IPTPS 2003, Network Layers, Peer-to-peer-based Network Layer