Optimizing and Balancing Load in Fully Distributed P2P File Sharing Systems

A peer-to-peer file sharing system includes a lookup and a content distribution protocol. Very efficient peer-to-peer protocols exist for content distribution, but efficient indexing is still an open problem. Numerous work on structured overlay networks such as distributed hash tables offer a promising framework. However, balancing the load of publishing, storing indexes and answering request still remains a challenging task. We sketch a general architecture framework for solving these problems in the case of a file sharing application. Our design goals include reducing the work of file providers (they should not bare all the publishing process) and enabling keyword searching based on the assumption that few words are associated with each file.