Software doubles P2P file sharing speeds

The software is called Ono, and has been deployed for the Azureus BitTorrent P2P file-sharing client.

Ono is open source and does not demand the deployment of additional infrastructure. Since it was made freely and publicly available in March 2007, the software has been downloaded by more than 150,000 users.

It joins a range of recently launched applications aimed at addressing the growing conflict between ISPs and P2P traffic. Unlike others like Verizon’s P4P technology, however, Ono operates without the need for cooperation between ISPs and P2P users.

Ono uses information from content-distribution networks (CDN) and the assumption that two computers sent to the same CDN server are likely to be close to each other.

By linking nearby computers, Ono is expected to benefit Internet Service Providers (ISPs) by reducing costly cross-network traffic, without sacrificing performance for the user.

The research was supported by the National Science Foundation, and conducted by Fabián E. Bustamante, assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science, and Ph.D. student David Choffnes.

The researchers have found the software to improve transfer speeds by an average of 207 percent on a suitably configured network.

With P2P file sharing services reported to account for as much as 70 percent of Internet traffic worldwide, the researchers hope to increase Ono’s user base in order to improve its effectiveness.

"The more users we have, the better the system works, so we're just trying make it easy to spread," Bustamante said.

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