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Last modified by Zenna Elfen on 2025/11/24 12:07
From version 16.1
edited by Zenna Elfen
on 2025/11/24 11:58
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To version 8.1
edited by Zenna Elfen
on 2025/11/23 22:48
Change comment: There is no comment for this version

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3 -This page contains an overview of all P4P Networks in this wiki and their building blocks.
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5 -You can also [[add a P4P Network>>doc:Projects.WebHome]] or have a look at the [[P4P Applications>>doc:P4P.Applications.WebHome]].
3 +This page contains an overview of all P4P Networks in this wiki. You can also [[add a P4P Network>>doc:Projects.WebHome]] or have a look at the [[P4P Applications>>doc:P4P.Applications.WebHome]].
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20 -
21 -== Building Blocks of P4P Networks ==
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26 -To fully assemble a P4P network one needs a few different building blocks, below is an overview of 15 of those building blocks. Lost in translation? Take a look at the [[terminology>>doc:P4P.Definitions.WebHome]].
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28 -
29 -
30 -==== **1. Data Synchronization** ====
31 -
32 -> Synchronization answers **how updates flow between peers** and how they determine what data to exchange. This layer is about **diffing, reconciliation, order, causality tracking, and efficient exchange**, not persistence or user-facing collaboration semantics.
33 -
34 -* //How do peers detect differences and synchronize state?//
35 -* Examples: Range-Based Set Reconciliation, RIBLT, Gossip-based sync, State-based vs op-based sync, Lamport/Vector/HLC clocks, Braid Protocol
36 -
37 -
38 -
39 -==== **2. Collaborative Data Structures & Conflict Resolution** ====
40 -
41 -> This layer defines **how shared data evolves** when multiple peers edit concurrently. It focuses on **conflict-free merging, causality, and consistency of meaning**, not transport or storage. CRDTs ensure deterministic convergence, while event-sourced or stream-driven models maintain a history of all changes and derive consistent state from it.
42 -
43 -* //How do peers collaboratively change shared data and merge conflicts?//
44 -* Examples: CRDTs (Yjs, Automerge), OT, Event Sourcing, Stream Processing, Version Vectors, Peritext
45 -
46 -
47 -
48 -==== **3. Data Storage & Replication** ====
49 -
50 -> This layer focuses on **durability, consistency, and redundancy**. It handles write-paths, crash-resilience, and replication semantics across nodes. It is the “database/storage engine” layer where **data lives and survives over time**, independent of sync or merging logic.
51 -
52 -* //How is data persisted locally and replicated between peers?//
53 -* Examples: SQLite, IndexedDB, LMDB, Hypercore (append-only logs), WALs, Merkle-DAGs (IPFS/IPLD), Blob/media storage
54 -
55 -
56 -
57 -==== **4. Peer & Content Discovery** ====
58 -
59 -> Discovery occurs in two phases:
60 -> 1. **Peer Discovery** → finding _any_ nodes
61 -> 2. **Topic Discovery** → finding _relevant_ nodes or resources
62 -> These mechanisms enable decentralized bootstrapping and interest-based overlays.
63 -
64 -* //How do peers find each other, and how do they discover content in the network?//
65 -* Examples: DHTs (Kademlia, Pastry), mDNS, DNS-SD, Bluetooth scanning, QR bootstrapping, static peer lists, Interest-based routing, PubSub discovery (libp2p), Rendezvous protocols
66 -
67 -
68 -
69 -==== **5. Identity & Trust** ====
70 -
71 -> Identity systems ensure reliable mapping between peers and cryptographic keys. They underpin authorization, federated trust, and secure overlays.
72 -
73 -* //How peers identify themselves, authenticate, and establish trustworthy relationships?//
74 -* Examples: PKI, Distributed Identities (DIDs), Web-of-Trust, TOFU (SSH-style), Verifiable Credentials (VCs), Peer key fingerprints (libp2p PeerIDs), Key transparency logs
75 -
76 -
77 -
78 -==== **6. Transport Layer** ====
79 -
80 -> This layer provides logical connections and flow control. QUIC and WebRTC bring modern congestion control and encryption defaults; Interpeer explores transport beyond IP assumptions.
81 -
82 -* //How do peers establish end-to-end byte streams and reliable delivery?//
83 -* Examples: TCP, UDP, QUIC, SCTP, WebRTC DataChannels, Interpeer transport stack
84 -
85 -
86 -
87 -==== **7. Underlying Transport (Physical/Link Layer)** ====
88 -
89 -> Highly relevant for **offline-first / edge networks**, device-to-device communication, and mesh networks and relates to the hardware which facilitates connections.
90 -
91 -* //How does data move across the medium?//
92 -* Examples: Ethernet, Wi-Fi Direct / Wi-Fi Aware (post-AWDL), Bluetooth Mesh, LoRa, NFC, Cellular, CSMA/CA, TDMA, FHSS
93 -
94 -
95 -
96 -==== **8. Session & Connection Management** ====
97 -
98 -> Manages **connection lifecycle**, including authentication handshakes, reconnection after drops, and session continuation—especially important in lossy or mobile networks.
99 -
100 -* //How are connections initiated, authenticated, resumed, and kept alive?//
101 -* Examples: TLS handshake semantics, Noise IK/XX patterns, session tokens, keep-alive heartbeats, reconnection strategies, session resumption tickets
102 -
103 -
104 -
105 -==== **9. Content Addressing** ====
106 -
107 -> Content addressing ensures **immutability, verifiability, and deduplication**. Identity of data = cryptographic hash, enabling offline-first and tamper-evident systems.
108 -
109 -* //How is data addressed and verified by content, not location?//
110 -* Examples: IPFS CIDs, BitTorrent infohashes, Git hashes, SHA-256 addressing, Named Data Networking (NDN)
111 -
112 -
113 -
114 -==== **10. P2P Connectivity** ====
115 -
116 -> Connectivity ensures peers bypass NATs/firewalls to reach each other. 
117 -
118 -* //How can two peers connect directly across networks, firewalls, and NATs?//
119 -* Examples: IPv6 direct, NAT Traversal, STUN, TURN, ICE (used in WebRTC), UDP hole punching, UPnP
120 -
121 -
122 -
123 -==== **11. Session & Connection Management** ====
124 -
125 -> Manages **connection lifecycle**, including authentication handshakes, reconnection after drops, and session continuation.
126 -
127 -* //How are connections initiated, authenticated, resumed, and kept alive?//
128 -* Examples: TLS handshake semantics, Noise IK/XX patterns, session tokens, keep-alive heartbeats, reconnection strategies, session resumption tickets
129 -
130 -
131 -
132 -==== **12. Message Format & Serialization** ====
133 -
134 -> Serialization ensures **portable data representation**, forward-compatible schemas, and efficient messaging. IPLD provides content-addressed structuring for P2P graph data.
135 -
136 -* //How is data encoded, structured, and made interoperable between peers?//
137 -* Examples: CBOR, Protocol Buffers, Cap’n Proto, JSON, ASN.1, IPLD schemas, Flatbuffers
138 -
139 -
140 -
141 -==== **13. File / Blob Synchronization** ====
142 -
143 -> Bulk data syncing has **different trade-offs** than small collaborative state (chunking, deduplication, partial transfer, resume logic). Critical for media and archival P2P use-cases.
144 -
145 -//How are large objects transferred and deduplicated efficiently across peers?//
146 -Examples: BitTorrent chunking, IPFS block-store, NDN segments, rsync-style delta sync, ZFS send-receive, streaming blob transfers
147 -
148 -
149 -==== **14. Local Storage & Processing Primitives** ====
150 -
151 -> Provides durable on-device state and local computation (event sourcing, materialization, compaction). Enables offline-first writes and deterministic replay.
152 -
153 -* //How do nodes persist, index, and process data locally—without external servers?//
154 -* Examples: RocksDB, LevelDB, SQLite, LMDB, local WALs/append-only logs, embedded stream processors (NATS Core JetStream mode, Actyx-like edge runtimes), Kafka-like libraries
155 -
156 -
157 -
158 -==== **15. Crash Resilience & Abortability** ====
159 -
160 -> Ensures P2P apps don’t corrupt state on crashes. Tied to **local storage & stream-processing**, and critical in offline-first and distributed update pipelines. Abortability is the updated term for Atomicity as part of the ACID abbreviation.
161 -
162 -* //How do nodes recover and maintain correctness under failure?//
163 -* Examples: WALs, idempotent ops, partial log replay, transactional journaling, write fences
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166 -
167 -
168 -== Distributed Network Types ==
169 -
170 -
171 -[[Flowchart depicting distributed network variants, under development. Building on work from Z. Elfen, 2024: ~[~[https:~~~~/~~~~/doi.org/10.17613/naj7d-6g984~>~>https://doi.org/10.17613/naj7d-6g984~]~]>>image:P4P_Typology.png||alt="Flowchart depicting typologies of distributed networks, such as Friend-2-Friend, Grassroots Networks, Federated Networks, Local-First, P2P and P4P Networks" data-xwiki-image-style-alignment="center" height="649" width="639"]]
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173 -
174 -
175 -== Overview of P4P Networks ==
176 -
177 177  {{include reference="Projects.WebHome"/}}
P4P_Typology.png
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