Wireless Peer-to-Peer File Sharing

Abstract

Modem wireless communications began with the advent of the radio. This technology allowed communications and the exchange of information without the logistics of having to lay out cables, as had been the standard at the time. Over the years, wireless communications technology has advanced and has been applied to many aspects of everyday life. The study focused on the use of wireless communications technology as the means to implement a file-sharing network. The study aimed at achieving this by using a peer-to-peer architecture of devices. Each computer was given the ability to directly share files with other nodes without the need for a central server. This model maximizes the benefits of wireless communications by allowing for greater mobility of the nodes in the network. Each node in the network acted as both a client and a server. Servers waited for connections from clients and then processed them. In the case of the study, servers acted as file-servers, handling client request for files. Clients connected to servers in order to request information. The main task of clients in the study was to request files from other nodes in the network. The program created by the study allowed users to discover nodes in the area running the software and connect to them. The shared directory of each node could then be read in order to see the files a node was willing to share. Finally, a selected file could then be downloaded.