Overlay architectures for file distribution: Fundamental performance analysis for homogeneous and heterogeneous cases

Peer-to-peer networks have been commonly used for tasks such as file sharing or file distribution. We study a class of cooperative file distribution systems where a file is broken up into many chunks that can be downloaded independently. The different peers cooperate by mutually exchanging the different chunks of the file, each peer being client and server at the same time. While such systems are already in widespread use, little is known about their performance and scaling behavior. We develop analytic models that provide insights into how long it takes to deliver a file to N clients given a distribution architecture. Our results indicate that even for the case of heterogeneous client populations it is possible to achieve download times that are almost independent of the number of clients and very close to optimal.