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Gnutella2?

Anenga writes "A Windows (and somewhat WINE compatible) Gnutella client, Shareaza, has released a public preview of its next version which includes a re-designed Gnutella protocol they call "Gnutella2". Gnutella2 (or "G2") dumps the Gnutella broadcast model and uses a new global searching method with UDP connections. It also features compression to limit hub-to-hub (G2 Ultrapeers) bandwidth, Tiger Tree Hashing etc. Shareaza has released a small description of the revised protocol here, but plans to release a full spec to the GDF after the release of v1.7 Final. Gnutella2, which is really a revised Gnutella protocol, will also be free and open for anyone to use in their clients. Shareaza and G2 may give Gnutella - an open and free P2P protocol which has been struggling to keep up with the times against Kazaa, eDonkey and other P2P spin-offs - the stability and power it needs to attract the closed and commercial FastTrack Network users when or if the network folds."

21 of 265 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Variety of standards by Nerant · · Score: 3, Informative

    While you have a point, I must point out Napster wasn't strictly a peer to peer network system. Napster had a centralised set of servers, and was only peer to peer in the sense that it utilised the bandwidth of those sharing to upload those files to you and vice versa. As far as I know, these centralised servers are in fact what led to litigation against napster.
    True peer to peer networks like Gnutella have no real centralised points: the process of discovery of new nodes does not require a a centralised server or servers, unlike Napster.

    --
    Be kind. There are too many mean people out there already.
  2. The Gnutella innovation I like by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Is the Gnutella Web Caching System. It allows clients to find other gnutella peers without any sort of central gnutella server.

  3. Crossing fingers by ceranta · · Score: 3, Informative

    Let's hope that this gnew version of gnutella will be better and more scalable than the previous one.

    Points from the gnutella2.com site:

    Level One: A New Protocol

    Gnutella2 introduces a flexible new protocol to support current and future P2P technologies. Packets are compact binary trees of named data items, which allow multi-vendor information nesting and augmentation, selective digital signing and other exciting features. Existing data structures can be modified and improved without disrupting deployed software, and advanced topics such as UNICODE support are handled in a uniform manner.

    Level Two: A New Data Transport Architecture

    Gnutella2 provides two interdependent data transport mechanisms: reliable compressed TCP streams, and an unreliable and semi-reliable UDP transport provider. The combination of these two systems allow higher level G2 constructs to take maximum advantage of network conditions to deliver data packets quickly and efficiently, with or without assured delivery, within bandwidth requirements and without unnecessary overhead.

    Level Three: A New Set of Base Services

    Gnutella2 takes full advantage of the first two levels to deliver an exciting new set of distributed peer-to-peer services. Controlled global object searching is implemented using an iterative walker approach, with selective out of band response delivery and translation. Combined with an abstract component interest/response query model, this system goes beyond what is available in any other P2P platform. The Gnutella Addressing System (GAS) provides the ability to reach arbitary nodes based on a known identifier, regardless of their connection method.

    Level Four: A New Implementation Standard

    One of the problems facing the legacy Gnutella network was the varying level of support for critical network features in different clients. The Gnutella2 Standard requires clients to implement the first two levels completely, as well as the dual transport providers with some form of intelligent bandwidth control, 1-bit universal QHT, simple search response, basic metadata (at minimum), simple query language, link compression, root tigertree as the primary URN, HTTP/1.1, partial transfer and sharing. If able to operate as a hub, the full set of generic routing rules must be supported. Support for G1 is recommended but not required.

    CLICK ME!

    1. Re:Crossing fingers by Adam+Fisk · · Score: 2, Informative

      Almost all of these protocols are existing standards that have been developed by the rest of the Gnutella community. In face, not one of the primary protocols has actually been developed by Shareaza -- they're basically just repackaging the existing collection of newer protocols and calling them "Gnutella 2."

      The only new additions proposed here are the binary tree structure for packets and the node addressing system. Otherwise, all of these protocol have been developed by other members of the Gnutella community. "Gnutella 2" is a marketting gimmick aimed at doing things like getting on Slashdot.
      That said, it's not all bad. The perception of Gnutella should change, as the network is continuing to develop rapidly, with powerful protocols including the Hash/URN Gnutella Extension (HUGE), the Gnutella UDP Extension for Scalable Searches (GUESS), and the Ultrapeer proposal.

      Perhaps the more important issue at hand, however, is whether or not Gnutella will remain an open, interoperable protocol, or whether it will disintegrate into proprietary schemes. As yet, none of the new parts of Gnutella 2 have been posted in public specifications. This is really a first for Gnutella -- the Gnutella community works because standards are published publicly and go through a review process among all Gnutella developers. Gnutella 2 may bode ill for the future of Gnutella as an open network, but I really I hope not. I hope that Mike (Shareaza) will quickly publish any new specifications that he has to alleviate the fears of myself and everyone else in the Gnutella world!

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      Adam Fisk

    2. Re:Crossing fingers by 0x0d0a · · Score: 5, Informative

      Yup. Raphael Manfreti (of gtk-gnutella fame) and the Limewire team (also major GDF developers), get no credit, and these "Sharezilla" wankers get a Slashdot link.

      Well, *here* is credit where credit's due:

      GTK-gnutella

      LimeWire

      Gnutella started out as an "interesting project". It is now one of the most heavily developed an analyzed projects -- somewhat less centralized than the Freenet project, but far more skill (and variety of clients) on this than, say, FastTrack and the much-lauded Kazaa.

  4. Re:Other OS P2P technologies by iofire · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'm surprised that no one has mentioned it, but giFT is a very nice open protocal modeled after the fasttrack network. (originally it used the actual fasttrack network, but now they use an open protocol called OpenFT)
    Check it out at http://gift.sourceforge.net
    The ncurses based frontend giFTcurs is very nice, but there also are graphical and even web-based frontends to it.
    I use it under linux and have been very happy with it.

    --
    --Avoid metagame thinking, browse with scores hidden (This sig is in violation of itself)
  5. Gnutella2 - The real story! by smd4985 · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'm a engineer at Lime Wire LLC so I can debunk much of this submission. Shareaza's Gnutella2 isn't so much the second iteration of Gnutella - instead, think of it as a improved Gnutella . In fact, the improvements were actually proposed by Lime Wire LLC (consult the GDF and look for messages about 'GUESS'). The GUESS protocol is a UDP based protocol we developed to allow for Gnutella network crawls/walks. We introduced it for public comment on the GDF *before* releasing it because we understand that Gnutella, as a open protocol, needs support from all Gnutella developers. I'm not sure what exactly Shareaza has implemented (because they HAVE NOT released the specs yet), but it sounds a lot like GUESS.

    So this isn't so much Gnutella2 as a improved Gnutella. Perhaps one day it will evolve into Gnutella2 more formally, but at the moment this talk of Gnutella2 is premature.

    --
    smd4985
    1. Re:Gnutella2 - The real story! by Anenga · · Score: 2, Informative

      Since you work for Limewire, then you'll know that Mike (the developer of Shareaza) was contacted by you with your GUESS proposal as he was working on his own similar proposal (wish is now used in Shareaza). I know those e-mail logs are lurking somewhere at Limewire LLC. Perhaps your accusations that Mike "stole" or "took" the GUESS protocol are a little too "immature"?

      Come now. I think were all quite tired of the poor attitude the GDF has shown towards Mike. There is no rule in the GDF against further development of the Gnutella protocol. I could of course have apathy for why your upset (Mike hasen't released the specs yet, or consulted the GDF before hand) but there is no putting off the actual facts: I get better results on G2 than G1. Less bandwidth, more fruitful results, etc etc.

      GUESS will be included in Shareaza soon enough as other clients start using it (in Shareaza's G1 capability). If you dislike the G2 design, that's fine. But we also hope that you could put aside your personal matters and actually embrace the network as really a better path to take than currently working with the mess which is G1.

    2. Re:Gnutella2 - The real story! by Adam+Fisk · · Score: 5, Informative

      On the spyware topic, we originally started bundling software purely out of the need to survive -- we needed to bring in money, or we would have closed down. Since then, we came out with LimeWire Pro and now only bundle TopMoxie with LimeWire, and it's an optional install. TopMoxie really is not spyware in the way people typically use that word. It basically does one thing -- it has affiliate programs with multiple web sites, and when you visit those sites, it pops up a really innocuous window (that times out and disappears) asking you if you would like your purchase to support LimeWire. If you click yes, we get the affiliate revenue. If you ignore it or don't notice it, nothing happens. TopMoxie is primarily used by schools and charities to raise money for them.

      So, the short answer is that we would prefer not to bundle anything. As a result, we now only bundle one program that we feel is really innocuous to the user and that they have the option not to install. On all operating systems other than Windows, LimeWire has no bundled software.

      --

      Adam Fisk

  6. Re:Other OS P2P technologies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    I've had nothing but problems with giFT. Finally started booting back into Windows and using Kazaa.

  7. Re:Kazaa vs. eDonkey by Arker · · Score: 5, Informative

    If you have a *nix box (even an apple if it's OS X) you can use mldonkey which is a very nice client. You can operate it remotely from another box, it uses both edonkey and overnet protocols simultaneously, it's partially open source (there is a key component kept secret for security reasons, the one flaw in thes protocols is that they require trusted clients unfortunately) and it really gives you the best of edonkey and overnet both, as well as supporting the move to overnet since anything you're downloading from edonkey or sharing out will also be shared to overnet.

    --
    =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
    Friends don't let friends enable ecmascript.
  8. UI by Mr_Silver · · Score: 2, Informative
    It's a small thing, but my biggest complaint about these p2p programs is that the user interface just sucks.

    Sure, it's useable, but it's horrific. Kazaa's is aweful, eDonkey's just blows and WinMX, urgh, don't get me started.

    Admitially I never really investigated Gnutella after trying the original Nullsoft version. The UI was ok, if a little plain, but the time it took to hook up to a bunch of stable nodes, the slow download time and frequency of dropped downloads just put me off.

    So really, all i'm asking is that whilst you're concentrating on making an excellent protocol, please don't employ a 7 year old with a crayon to do the UI. Hell, I'd happily help out on an OSS project, however I can't use VC++ to save my life and most people wouldn't like submissions on Visual Basic frm's - i'll probably end up standing on the sidelines shouting but having no-one listen.

    There are a few examples of technically inferior applications that do better than others simply because their UI is clean, consistent and works. Lets have that, please!

    --
    Avantslash - View Slashdot cleanly on your mobile phone.
  9. Re:Hopefully downloads are better with G2... by fault0 · · Score: 5, Informative

    > I even got my girlfriend, boss, and brother using Bearshare.

    Congratulations, you made them install quite a bit of spyware too.

    I would recommend something like XoloX, which has absolutely no spyware.

  10. Re:Kazaa vs. eDonkey by Jugalator · · Score: 4, Informative

    Same progress for me - i.e. Kazaa to eDonkey to Overnet. The biggest advantage with eDonkey over Kazaa IMHO are the "MD5 URL's" or whatever you should call them, where clicking on an URL adds the download to the eDonkey queue, by using the MD5-style checksum. So you're 100% sure it's not a fake file. You can also be 100% sure that's it's not a partial file as well.

    I guess the downside with eDonkey is that it requires up to date server lists, although that's a minor hassle really. And that's where the serverless Overnet comes in, which owns Kazaa any time except for the occasional music searches perhaps.

    --
    Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
  11. Re:Just wondered... by Troed · · Score: 2, Informative

    If an orchestra records a classic that recording is (of course) copyrighted.

  12. Re:Kazaa vs. eDonkey by bluehell · · Score: 2, Informative

    it's partially open source (there is a key component kept secret for security reasons, the one flaw in thes protocols is that they require trusted clients unfortunately)

    That's not true anymore. Since emule, anonther edonkey client, released its source code, the mldonkey author decided to open-source the remaining code.

    --
    -- To bloody go where no man has gone before.
  13. Gnucleus & GnucDNA by DeadBugs · · Score: 5, Informative

    Gnucleus has been a solid Gnutella client for me.

    They are also working on GnucDNA a component for building your own P2P applications.

    --
    http://www.kubuntu.org/
  14. Re:Just wondered... by falzer · · Score: 2, Informative

    As far as I know, the mp3s here are free. But many recordings are indeed copyrighted.

    Also, in case anyone is interested in sheet music that fell out of copyright, check out this link.

  15. Download Mirror by nstrom · · Score: 3, Informative

    Download link http://download.shareaza.com:8825/Shareaza1701.exe seems impossibly slow -- I'm getting 276 bytes per sec on my DSL connection. For anyone who wants to check out the 1.7 prerelease, here's a mirror:

    http://nstrom.chaosnet.org/Shareaza1701.exe

  16. Re:How exactly does TopMoxie work? by Adam+Fisk · · Score: 4, Informative

    The difference is in the link. In your example, the user links to Amazon from another web site. In this case, TopMoxie does nothing. If the user goes directly to Amazon by typing it in a web browser, though, TopMoxie does prompt the user for whether or not he or she would like the commission to go to LimeWire.

    --

    Adam Fisk

  17. Re:Hopefully downloads are better with G2... by golrien · · Score: 3, Informative

    To be fair, Shareaza has no spyware either. What's more, it's almost the *only* P2P client that doesn't eat up half the system resources - Kazaa, Bearshare, XoloX, Grokster (which installs more spyware than I thought was humanely possible anyway) and many others are all huge and silly. Shareaza (and at least one other Windows Gnutella client, though I forget the name) will happily multitask.

    FWIW, Bearshare doesn't install insane amounts of spyware. Okay, it's not as good as the 100%-free clients, but they seem to have said "Hey, let's sell an improved version of this to make money" rather than, "Hey, let's piss off all our users to make money"