1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related generally to peer-to-peer file transfers. In particular, the present invention is directed toward download policy and seed policy management in a peer-to-peer environment.
2. Description of Background Art
A peer-to-peer (P2P) network is one in which client computers exchange information with other client computers (also known as nodes) without the need for a server acting as an intermediary. P2P networks are frequently used to allow nodes to exchange files. A node that provides a file for downloading by other nodes is known as a seed for that file, and other nodes establish a connection to the seed to obtain the file. In some P2P environments, a file is obtained by a node from a plurality of other nodes, rather than from a single seed.
Each node in the P2P network is typically responsible for determining how much of its available bandwidth to allocate for downloading. Conventional approaches include downloading all desired files simultaneously, or downloading a predetermined maximum number of files simultaneously. However, these approaches do not use bandwidth in an efficient manner.
A node acting as a seed for one or more files must also determine when it should stop acting as a seed for each file, in order to maximize efficient use of bandwidth.
Conventional approaches include seeding all files simultaneously; simultaneously seeding a fixed number of available files; seeding only those files which were received after a certain fixed time horizon, e.g., within the last 24 hours; or simultaneously seeding only those files for which the seed has sent a total amount of data less than some fixed percentage of the file, e.g., upload up to 200% of the size of the file, and then stop. Again, these approaches have not led to an efficient use of bandwidth.