Characterisation, design and simulation of an efficient peer-to-peer content distribution system for enterprise networks

In this article, we describe the desired attributes to build a system aimed to content distribution in enterprise networks. As a result of this characterisation, we propose several additions to BitTorrent, which is currently used for personal use, so it could efficiently work with large-scale enterprise networks. The modifications are necessary to address NAT, double NAT, and firewalls that are common in enterprise environments. To deal with these problems, the protocol is augmented and also a description of the mechanisms to handle these variations is given. Simulation experiments show that results for this proposed work are much more efficient than BitTorrent since we took advantage of distinctive characteristics in these networks. By efficient, we mean: 1) decrease time to download content, 2) provide support to external hosts (other LANs), while 3) WAN bandwidth is used in the best possible manner.