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Guide Picks - Top 4 Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Networking Books
Until recently, peer-to-peer was known merely as a basic technique for networking computers on a LAN. Now peer-to-peer is just as often called "P2P" and refers to everything from Internet file sharing technology to business models for computer networking to clusters and supercomputers. Each of these books describes P2P from a different and interesting angle. See below for the list:
1) Peer-to-Peer: Harnessing the Power of Disruptive Technologies by Andy Oram (Ed.)
Academically inclined yet accessible to the networking community at large, this text thoroughly reviews the concepts and key technologies behind P2P, the history of these systems, and the notable successes achieved to date. Readers will gain an essential understanding of peer-to-peer systems and the present context for ongoing P2P research and development.
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2) Peer-to-Peer Computing: Technologies for Sharing and Collaborating on the Net by David Barkai
The newest book in the P2P space focuses on current development efforts and the technologies behind them, in the areas of collaboration, content discovery and delivery, and resource management. It also adds a nice historical perspective in its treatment of the subject. The author positions P2P more realistically than some, as just one of several different useful approaches to network computing.

3) Peer-to-Peer: Building Secure, Scalable, and Manageable Networks by Dana Moore and John Hebeler
This book focuses on what you as a software developer need to know to actually build a P2P system. Along the way, it explores important technical considerations of P2P including naming/addressing and security on the Internet. The authors focus on collaboration and music and video applications of P2P. They also touch on key considerations for the future of P2P in business.

4) P2P: How Peer-to-Peer Technology Is Revolutionizing the Way We Do Business by Hassan M. Fattah
Targeting "managers, executives, and entrepreneurs," this book argues that P2P is "revolutionary." Although a dubious claim, the author does a good job of separating hype from reality, pulling in case studies and technology details to illustrate issues involved with P2P in a business context. The book covers collaboration and workflow, resource utilization, and supercomputing applications of P2P.

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