Ch. 4 Blog: Client/Server vs P2P

By: Jordan Dischinger-Smedes
In chapter 4, we discussed two different methods of process communication: the client/server model and the P2P model. The client/server method can be thought of as a super market. In this model, multiple clients connect with a single large server that provides requested files to the clients. Similarly, multiple customers all go to one large store to purchase all of the goods that they need. The P2P model on the other hand, can be compared t a flea market. In a P2P or peer to peer system, multiple different clients obtain a file through a method called swarming. This means that the clients download the file they need piece by piece as opposed to all at once. Each piece is downloaded from a different client that already has the piece. This means, essentially, that clients trade pieces of the file amongst themselves until they all have the desired file. The same can be said of a flea market. Consumers purchase individual items from a wide variety of individual vendors until they have all of their desired items. In addition, the vendors often exchange items that they have for items that other vendors have.