[p2p-hackers] p2p in some place or other

[coderman]

On 12/11/05, Serguei Osokine <osokin at osokin.com> wrote:
> > It assumes that the data set has a zipf-like distribution.
>
>         This makes me a bit uneasy about this model, by the way. Even
> if the content distribution in P2P nets would be Zipf (and it isn't),
> still I would be reluctant to implement anything that rigidly relies
> on any predetermined distribution. Real functioning systems tend to
> have some sort of a feedback loop and adapt to the changing situation.
> In this case, it should cache the proper amount of content regardless
> of how exactly it is distributed.

i mentioned feedbackfs a few threads earlier and this was exactly what
it intended to do: observe relevance and utility directly and
implicitly (through filesystem interaction) so that recommendation
(search) and caching (distribution) could be optimized.

i think a poor / unintelligent caching mechanism would actually create
more problems as it would be vulnerable to abuse - how do you prevent
malicious or irrelevant peers from filling your cache with crap and
consuming even more of your limited bandwidth to useless ends.

reputation / trust needs to be addressed as well; the question about
motivation for caching is a good one.

that said, it seems clear to me that caching is a big win for
performance.  if you look at various papers and experiments using this
technique everything from search to distribution is greatly enhanced
with a well designed caching mechanism.  akamai still seems to be
doing well. ;)

so perhaps for caching to work well you need a few prerequisites:
- reputation / trust between peers to prevent abuse
- feedback loop to ensure relevance / utility of cached content

i haven't seen any p2p network/app which tries to address both points.
 does anyone know of such a beast?

(i suppose mnet would fit somewhat.  the agorics model prevents abuse
of resources but i'm not sure how the feedback loop is applied)