Windows XP SP2 RC1

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/sp2preview.mspx


Something interesting I found off this page:

Windows Peer-to-Peer Networking
Peer-to-peer networking is the utilization of the relatively powerful personal computers (PCs) that exist at the edge of the Internet for more than just client-based computing tasks. The modern PC has a very fast processor, vast memory, and a large hard disk, none of which are being fully utilized when performing common client/server computing tasks such as e-mail and Web browsing. The modern PC can easily act as both a client and server (a peer) for many types of applications.

Peer-to-peer networking has the following advantages over client/server networking:

• Content and resources can be shared from both the center and the edge of the network.

• A network of peers is easily scaled and more reliable than a single server.

• A network of peers can share its processor, consolidating computing resources for distributed computing tasks.

• Shared resources of peer computers can be directly accessed.

• Allows for efficient multipoint communication with having to rely on IP multicast infrastructure.

• Peer-to-peer networking enables or enhances real-time communications (RTC), collaboration, content distribution, and distributed processing.


To address the need for platform-based peer-to-peer networking capabilities, Microsoft now includes Windows Peer-to-Peer Networking as the Peer-to-Peer networking component, installed from the Networking Services category of Add/Remove Windows Programs.

Prior to Windows XP SP2, Windows Peer-to-Peer Networking was installed with the Advanced Networking Pack for Windows XP, a free download that you install on Windows XP with Service Pack 1 (SP1). The Peer-to-Peer networking component is not installed by default.

Windows Peer-to-Peer Networking uses the Microsoft TCP/IP version 6 protocol as its network transport.

You can develop peer-to-peer applications using a set of Win32 functions for grouping, graphing, identity management, and more. For more information, see Windows XP Peer-to-Peer API Documentation. To develop Windows Peer-to-Peer Networking applications, you must install the Microsoft Windows XP Peer-to-Peer Software Development Kit (SDK).

For an example of a Windows Peer-to-Peer Networking application, you can download threedegrees (3°), a free application that uses the Windows Peer-to-Peer Networking platform to listen to a shared play list, send digital photos, and initiate group chats with MSN® Messenger.

For more information about the architecture of Windows Peer-to-Peer Networking, see Windows Peer-to-Peer Networking, the November 2003 The Cable Guy article.

wow that is pretty cool, i should try that when i get home

http://blogs.msdn.com/jeffdav/archive/2004/03/22/94080.aspx

http://www.threedegrees.com/DownloadThreeDegrees.aspx?lang=en-US#

hmm, cool i guess, though wouldn't 100mb ethernet be the limiting factor?

considering gig is in every new computer and quicker than most harddrives... future doesnt look like its a bottleneck..