🌐 Peer-to-Peer Networking Concepts

What is P2P?

Distributed architecture: peers act as both clients and servers. No central authority.

Key Concepts

  • Peer Discovery: UDP broadcast, decentralized
  • Direct Communication: TCP connections
  • Broadcast Messaging: Send to all peers
  • JSON Protocol: Structured messages
  • Network Resilience: Heartbeat system

P2P vs Client-Server

AspectP2P ChatClient-Server
ArchitectureDecentralizedCentralized
Failure PointsNo single pointServer failure breaks
ScalabilityScales with peersLimited by server
DiscoveryPeer-to-peerCentral directory
CommunicationDirectThrough server

Technical Details

  • UDP for discovery
  • TCP for messaging
  • Async Rust (tokio)
  • Ed25519 signatures

Real-World Examples

  • BitTorrent, Skype, Bitcoin, IPFS

Next Steps

  • Encryption, file sharing, private messaging, mobile support