Hybrid P2P Architecture for Transaction Management

In contrast with many centralised schemes P2P systems are flexible, scalable and highly dynamic. They offer a useful distributed platform despite concerns over security. This work is motivated by the need to address explicitly the main issues that arise in the deployment of P2P systems in a business environment. A systematic approach is proposed in the development of a secure and trusted system to support authentication, non-repudiation and trust in business transactions. This involves two stages. The first concerns the identification of the functional components designed to ensure security through authentication and non-repudiation, and those aimed at insuring trust, the second stage deals with their implementation and integration into a hybrid P2P architecture, where the entry point server plays a central role. This integration is facilitated by the layering of functional components. Secure and trusted file transactions are further enhanced by a community management layer.