ISPs And P2Ps Cooperate to Increase the Speed of Sharing

Researchers at Yale University say they can help ISPs reduce P2P bandwidth by 60 percent, assuming their lab results translate to the real world. The system increases P2P transfer speeds by nearly a third by matching peers based on location.

In January, Verizon and the file sharing network Pando will deploy the system in the U.S., while AT&T and the Spanish ISP Telefonica are said to be implementing it soon.

The weekly newsletter of the Distributed Computing Industry Association (DCIA) explains,

Other measures are already in use, such as throttling the speed available to consumers during peak hours or blocking certain types of traffic using deep-packet inspection (DPI) technology, but they are unpopular with many subscribers.

In addition, the increasing use of P2P technology for video distribution by peer-to-peer television (P2PTV) services such as the BBC's iPlayer and Joost means that operators and content providers may have to find more productive ways to work with P2P traffic, or face spiraling costs and unhappy subscribers...

According to Marty Lafferty, CEO of the DCIA, the initiative is a clear win-win for all involved. "P4P connects peers more quickly, giving them a higher quality of service (QoS), while ISPs benefit from significant savings in bandwidth," he said.

P2P traffic is often highly inefficient, taking unnecessarily long routes to its destination. "At the moment, P2P is random," said Doug Pasko, who represents Verizon in the P4P Working Group. "A user in New York might connect to a peer in Tokyo, eventhough there is one available down the street."

The P4P architecture builds on existing P2P protocols to solve that problem, enabling both the network owner and the P2P client to make a more intelligent selection of peers and ensuring that the traffic is routed in the most efficient way. The initiative is currently recruiting additional ISPs.