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Last modified by Zenna Elfen on 2025/11/24 12:07
From version 17.1
edited by Zenna Elfen
on 2025/11/24 12:07
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To version 9.1
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.
4 -
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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7 7  
8 -{{toc/}}
9 9  
10 10  
11 -== Building Blocks of P4P Networks ==
12 12  
13 13  
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15 -(((
16 -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]].
17 -)))
18 18  
19 -
20 -==== **1. Data Synchronization** ====
21 -
22 -> 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.
23 -
24 -* //How do peers detect differences and synchronize state?//
25 -* Examples: Range-Based Set Reconciliation, RIBLT, Gossip-based sync, State-based vs op-based sync, Lamport/Vector/HLC clocks, Braid Protocol
26 -
27 -
28 -
29 -==== **2. Collaborative Data Structures & Conflict Resolution** ====
30 -
31 -> 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.
32 -
33 -* //How do peers collaboratively change shared data and merge conflicts?//
34 -* Examples: CRDTs (Yjs, Automerge), OT, Event Sourcing, Stream Processing, Version Vectors, Peritext
35 -
36 -
37 -
38 -==== **3. Data Storage & Replication** ====
39 -
40 -> 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.
41 -
42 -* //How is data persisted locally and replicated between peers?//
43 -* Examples: SQLite, IndexedDB, LMDB, Hypercore (append-only logs), WALs, Merkle-DAGs (IPFS/IPLD), Blob/media storage
44 -
45 -
46 -
47 -==== **4. Peer & Content Discovery** ====
48 -
49 -> Discovery occurs in two phases:
50 -> 1. **Peer Discovery** → finding _any_ nodes
51 -> 2. **Topic Discovery** → finding _relevant_ nodes or resources
52 -> These mechanisms enable decentralized bootstrapping and interest-based overlays.
53 -
54 -* //How do peers find each other, and how do they discover content in the network?//
55 -* Examples: DHTs (Kademlia, Pastry), mDNS, DNS-SD, Bluetooth scanning, QR bootstrapping, static peer lists, Interest-based routing, PubSub discovery (libp2p), Rendezvous protocols
56 -
57 -
58 -
59 -==== **5. Identity & Trust** ====
60 -
61 -> Identity systems ensure reliable mapping between peers and cryptographic keys. They underpin authorization, federated trust, and secure overlays.
62 -
63 -* //How peers identify themselves, authenticate, and establish trustworthy relationships?//
64 -* Examples: PKI, Distributed Identities (DIDs), Web-of-Trust, TOFU (SSH-style), Verifiable Credentials (VCs), Peer key fingerprints (libp2p PeerIDs), Key transparency logs
65 -
66 -
67 -
68 -==== **6. Transport Layer** ====
69 -
70 -> This layer provides logical connections and flow control. QUIC and WebRTC bring modern congestion control and encryption defaults; Interpeer explores transport beyond IP assumptions.
71 -
72 -* //How do peers establish end-to-end byte streams and reliable delivery?//
73 -* Examples: TCP, UDP, QUIC, SCTP, WebRTC DataChannels, Interpeer transport stack
74 -
75 -
76 -
77 -==== **7. Underlying Transport (Physical/Link Layer)** ====
78 -
79 -> Highly relevant for **offline-first / edge networks**, device-to-device communication, and mesh networks and relates to the hardware which facilitates connections.
80 -
81 -* //How does data move across the medium?//
82 -* Examples: Ethernet, Wi-Fi Direct / Wi-Fi Aware (post-AWDL), Bluetooth Mesh, LoRa, NFC, Cellular, CSMA/CA, TDMA, FHSS
83 -
84 -
85 -
86 -==== **8. Session & Connection Management** ====
87 -
88 -> Manages **connection lifecycle**, including authentication handshakes, reconnection after drops, and session continuation—especially important in lossy or mobile networks.
89 -
90 -* //How are connections initiated, authenticated, resumed, and kept alive?//
91 -* Examples: TLS handshake semantics, Noise IK/XX patterns, session tokens, keep-alive heartbeats, reconnection strategies, session resumption tickets
92 -
93 -
94 -
95 -==== **9. Content Addressing** ====
96 -
97 -> Content addressing ensures **immutability, verifiability, and deduplication**. Identity of data = cryptographic hash, enabling offline-first and tamper-evident systems.
98 -
99 -* //How is data addressed and verified by content, not location?//
100 -* Examples: IPFS CIDs, BitTorrent infohashes, Git hashes, SHA-256 addressing, Named Data Networking (NDN)
101 -
102 -
103 -
104 -==== **10. P2P Connectivity** ====
105 -
106 -> Connectivity ensures peers bypass NATs/firewalls to reach each other. 
107 -
108 -* //How can two peers connect directly across networks, firewalls, and NATs?//
109 -* Examples: IPv6 direct, NAT Traversal, STUN, TURN, ICE (used in WebRTC), UDP hole punching, UPnP
110 -
111 -
112 -
113 -==== **11. Session & Connection Management** ====
114 -
115 -> Manages **connection lifecycle**, including authentication handshakes, reconnection after drops, and session continuation.
116 -
117 -* //How are connections initiated, authenticated, resumed, and kept alive?//
118 -* Examples: TLS handshake semantics, Noise IK/XX patterns, session tokens, keep-alive heartbeats, reconnection strategies, session resumption tickets
119 -
120 -
121 -
122 -==== **12. Message Format & Serialization** ====
123 -
124 -> Serialization ensures **portable data representation**, forward-compatible schemas, and efficient messaging. IPLD provides content-addressed structuring for P2P graph data.
125 -
126 -* //How is data encoded, structured, and made interoperable between peers?//
127 -* Examples: CBOR, Protocol Buffers, Cap’n Proto, JSON, ASN.1, IPLD schemas, Flatbuffers
128 -
129 -
130 -
131 -==== **13. File / Blob Synchronization** ====
132 -
133 -> 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.
134 -
135 -//How are large objects transferred and deduplicated efficiently across peers?//
136 -Examples: BitTorrent chunking, IPFS block-store, NDN segments, rsync-style delta sync, ZFS send-receive, streaming blob transfers
137 -
138 -
139 -==== **14. Local Storage & Processing Primitives** ====
140 -
141 -> Provides durable on-device state and local computation (event sourcing, materialization, compaction). Enables offline-first writes and deterministic replay.
142 -
143 -* //How do nodes persist, index, and process data locally—without external servers?//
144 -* Examples: RocksDB, LevelDB, SQLite, LMDB, local WALs/append-only logs, embedded stream processors (NATS Core JetStream mode, Actyx-like edge runtimes), Kafka-like libraries
145 -
146 -
147 -
148 -==== **15. Crash Resilience & Abortability** ====
149 -
150 -> 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.
151 -
152 -* //How do nodes recover and maintain correctness under failure?//
153 -* Examples: WALs, idempotent ops, partial log replay, transactional journaling, write fences
154 -
155 -
156 -
157 -
158 -== Distributed Network Types ==
159 -
160 -
161 -[[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"]]
162 -
163 -
164 -
165 -== Overview of P4P Networks ==
166 -
167 167  {{include reference="Projects.WebHome"/}}
P4P_Typology.png
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