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The World of Peer-to-Peer (P2P)/Networks and Protocols/Napster

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Napster

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The Napster network was created at application-level using a client-server protocol over point-to-point TCP. The server was in this case a centralized directory that would hold an index of all files offered (MP3/WMA). The clients would connect to the server, identify themselves to the server (users had an account on the server) and send a list of MP3/WMA files they were sharing to it enabling other clients to search that central repository for any file on the network and then request it from any available source.

Napster protocol specifications

Software Implementation

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  • OpenNap ( http://opennap.sourceforge.net ), a Napster based peer-to-peer, created as open source (GPL), in C using Win32, and so for Windows. Intended to extend the Napster protocol to allow sharing of any media type, and adding the ability to link servers together. Discontinued.
  • audioGnome ( http://www.audiognome.com ), closed source but as freeware for Windows.
  • JNerve ( http://jnerve.sourceforge.net ), an open source (GPL) Java Napster Server Protocol implementation with a goal of cross-platform compatibility.
  • Napsack ( http://napsack.sourceforge.net ) is a specialized multi-threaded client for broadcasting Napster queries across multiple servers; the list of target servers is retrieved from www.napigator.com, and is user-filterable (based on the number of users, files, or gigs indexed). Opensourced (GPL) using Java.
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