Recently on the Snoows Glossary we defined the term “B2B,” business-to-business. Today’s term, although seemingly similar is quite the opposite: P2P is also known as “peer-to-peer,” which is short for “peer-to-peer computing.”
Basically, a P2P is a network established between two users, so information can be passed from one to another, sometimes it’s a one-way share and sometimes it’s a two-way, mutual, share.
Some files are too big for email, and thus using a third party network for P2P file sharing makes the transaction happen easier and faster. And it doesn’t even denote a business or professional transaction, but rather a sharing of any kind of data from one computer to another.
A most common use of P2P sharing (and a frequent assumption) is illicit file sharing like ripped movies or music albums. Very often it can be a legitimate sharing, there are plenty of business and other reasons for sharing large amounts of data. Third party sites provide bandwidth and access, allowing users to upload files too big for emails, and then another user can hop on and pick up the file (kind of like a remote digital P.O. box).
Most important about a P2P relationship is the technical infrastructure. P2P architecture must exist for two clients to be able to interact and transmit data to one another. Popular and successful sites supply ample bandwidth and then users are able to meet up for exchanges to happen. It all gets much more technical and complicated, but for the basic understanding of the acronym, you get the idea of what “P2P” entails.
Other Resources:
SearchNetworking on peer-to-peer
Blogsdna’s Top 20 Best P2P File Sharing Programs and Applications
Image Source: VeryIcon.com
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