Is Peer Computing Real?

摘要

An overview of the state of the peer (a.k.a. peer-to-peer) computing industry is given. Technological and business drivers are discussed that may lead to a widespread adoption of peer computing, the most important of which is the need for local control of computing by business users. The required technology components for peer applications and their maturity are discussed. We conclude that several important obstacles remain to broad adoption of peer computing, but if they can be overcome, computing as a discipline will likely change dramatically.