Startups vie for P2P application niches: larger firms add market validation - Netcom Update

Communications News, Nov, 2001 by Morris Edwards

The initial success of the Napster music-sharing website forcefully demonstrated that the peer-to peer (P2P) computing model can readily accommodate explosive growth and support millions of client computers. At the same time, though, the Napster phenomenon exposed one of P2P's management vulnerabilities when university computer centers had to shut down because of overloaded networks.

Now, IT managers are beginning to explore ways of leveraging P2P's strengths within their organizations, while avoiding or overcoming its management challenges. In doing so, they are aided by a number of major vendors, including Intel, IBM and Sun Microsystems, who have embraced P2P computing with new products and well-funded initiatives (see "Is peer-to-peer computing ready for business," Communications News, October, 2001, page 76). In addition, a bevy of startups has emerged to capitalize on one or more of the file-, process- and resource-sharing application niches for P2P computing.

These applications capitalize on the ability of two or more clients to work together as equals, or peers, to accomplish one or more tasks. Clients are typically laptops or personal computers, but they may also be software applications, personal digital assistants, cell phones, input/output peripheral devices, storage subsystems or servers.

In a pure P2P environment, every client needs to know where all the others are, and must be able to qualify and connect to them. A variation of this computing model, known as hybrid P2P, introduces a server, which may be used for managing the peer devices or to store information, such as replicated data, for disconnected peers. In this situation, the server plays a supporting role, unlike the leading one it has in client/server or Web server applications.

COLLABORATION AID

One popular P2P application involves brokering spare CPU time on client machines across the network to complete tasks more quickly and make more efficient use of computing resources. This so-called "grid computing" model has been used primarily for heavy-duty number-crunching in scientific research, but it is now being considered for such corporate applications as data mining and 3-D modeling.

P2P also holds considerable potential for improved collaboration both within and outside the enterprise, and for software interaction, allowing programs to send data inputs and outputs from one application to another. The most prominent collaboration systems are being developed by Groove Networks of Beverly, MA, and Endeavors Technology of Irvine, CA. These systems combine Napster's file-sharing abilities with instant messaging and other capabilities to allow work groups to communicate and share information in a secure environment.

Groove's software lets workers connect to colleagues in virtual environments to share documents and collaborate on activities ranging from event planning to surfing the Internet together. The software informs users when colleagues come online, identifies them and creates a secure area for them to communicate, whether they are on the Internet or a private intranet behind a firewall.

Endeavors' Magi P2P software enables individuals or groups to find, share and act upon information anywhere and at anytime by making the power of a Web server available on any networked or Internet-enabled device. For instance, when Magi-enabled, Compaq's iPAQ Pocket PC becomes a wireless hand-held information and file server capable of two-way Web interaction with desktops, workstations, servers and other palmtops.

Oculus Technologies Corp. of Boston targets design teams with its CO software, which ties together disparate applications and platforms to speed information flow and streamline the product-development process. United Technologies of Hartford, CT, for example, has used the CO software to tie together its engineering and design systems, and link its numerous databases so that its disparate design and development teams can collaborate better. The company says it has saved millions of dollars by reducing the flow of inaccurate or outdated information among its design teams.

Ford Motor is also using the Oculus system to design and produce more fuel-efficient cars. Using CO, Ford connects its far-flung design team members to help them evaluate more design iterations over a shorter period of time.

Systems that allow software applications to interact with one another typically break down complex problems into smaller, more manageable ones. Another promising use for software interaction is with next-generation search engines. Such engines could use software agents in a P2P architecture to gather and distribute more timely and comprehensive information than is currently possible.

CONTENT DISTRIBUTION

Other companies are harnessing P2P to distribute large files and rich-media content without overburdening enterprise and content provider networks. The Swarmcast content distribution system from Open-Cola of San Mateo, CA, converts large files into "nimble chunks," which "swarm" through the network, reassembling themselves on the user's computer.