What Is a Peer-To-Peer (P2P) Connection?

Every single activity and interaction between users on different devices requires an established connection. Whether it be a LAN, Wi-Fi, or Ethernet connection to the web, once connected, devices can communicate and access information, exchange it. One of such connection types is the P2P or peer-to-peer connection. What is it? How does it work? What are the benefits of P2P and what role does it play in the functionality of the Kraden app? All of that will be discussed in this article!

A peer-to-peer (P2P) connection is a type of network connection that allows two or more devices to connect directly to each other, without the need for a central or intermediary server. See, once you browse the world wide web, whatever you do, say or make, is transmitted to a centralized server, and is then, accessible to others or transmitted directly to the intended recipient who is also connected to the server. So, for example, when you chat on Facebook and send a message, it gets accepted by a server, gets stored on it, and is then relayed to the recipient. So, whatever you say or share, also transitions through somewhere you might not want it to go through. Worse than that, these messages, actions and your activity are recorded and stored.

On the other hand, P2P connections are established between individual users with no intermediary servers. This type of connection is often used for file sharing and peer-to-peer networking, as it can provide faster speeds and greater flexibility than traditional client-server networks.

The security of P2P networks is unrivalled as well because there are no points of failure. In fact, due to the decentralized nature of peer-to-peer networking, it is impossible to shut down a P2P network without shutting down the entire internet.

P2P connections are usually created through the use of special software that allows devices to connect and share files directly with each other. Within the bounds of this network architecture, each access point (device) has an equal role and shares resources as well as data with other P2P members, vice versa.

The best-known peer-to-peer networking programs are Napster and Torrents, which allowed or currently still allow users to share files in a decentralized manner, with full security and privacy. Once you turn on the app and download a file, launch it through the software, the system connects to a designated P2P network and downloads the file.

The beauty of peer-to-peer networking is that it doesn’t rely on centralized servers, like so many other services and probably more than 90% of the most popular social networking and messaging platforms online. The risk with these servers is that they can be overloaded, censored, or even shut down by the authorities. Turning to P2P is a perfect solution for sharing files and bandwidth in countries with restrictive internet policies. P2P networks are less prone to hacking attacks and other exploits.

There are many advantages to using peer-to-peer networking. The first and most obvious benefit is that it allows devices to connect directly with each other, without the need for a central server. This greatly affects the privacy and security of your data and does it in a positive way. Instead of having some company store your data on their server, if possible to establish a P2P connection, you can prevent them from doing so. This will significantly reduce the risk of exposure through leaks (click here to learn more).

P2P networks can also provide faster speeds and greater flexibility than traditional client-server networks. Since there is no need to route data through a central server, peer-to-peer networking can often provide faster download speeds. In addition, peer-to-peer networking is not limited by the number of connections that a single server can handle, so it can be used to support large numbers of users. You probably experienced slow website responses, lag, or bugs during high traffic. For example, an online store works poorly when a hot new product is launched. Or when your ticket selling service breaks down one second after ticket sales for the biggest concert is launched. This is due to the fact that servers just can’t cope with the traffic. They get overloaded, slow down and your experience suffers. It is through the exploitation of slowed-down servers that most hackers are able to steal data from them or do other kinds of malicious activity.

The final benefit of peer-to-peer connection that we’d like to highlight is the impossibility to shut down a P2P network without shutting down the entire internet. This is because P2P networks are decentralized, meaning that there is no central authority or controlling node. If one peer in the network goes offline, the network will continue to function as normal. Let’s say that the network consists of 10,000 members (peers) with equal connection speeds. Even if 200 of them disconnect simultaneously, the bandwidth would only take a 2% hit. It’s not much.

Kraden focuses on working through a P2P connection between users. Our servers may retrieve encrypted data for transmission, but only in the case when direct P2P connections cannot be established.

The protocol used for real-time audio and video communications is WebRTC – an open-source, P2P-based connection protocol. STUN servers may be utilized to help multiple users find each other on the P2P network, but for the most part, maximum efforts are prioritizing establishing a P2P connection.

Peer-to-peer networking is a technology that allows devices to connect and share files directly with each other. It provides a high level of security and privacy, while also offering faster download speeds and greater flexibility than traditional client-server networks. P2P networks are decentralized and thus, should be appreciated by users who are looking to have more privacy online.