Systems and methods for remote network topology discovery

A system for obtaining data about a network having a plurality of nodes, the system comprising:

• a memory at a server that is outside of the network and that is part of a file sharing system;
• and
• at least one computer processor at the server that is outside of the network, the processing device, coupled to the memory, to:
• maintain information about topology of the network and information about files stored locally on individual nodes of the plurality of nodes, the information about the topology of the network identifying a plurality of links between the plurality of nodes within the network, and comprising at least one of a link delay, a link status or a link reliability for a link of the plurality of links;
• update the information about the topology of the network, wherein to update the information about the topology of the network, the at least one computer processor is to:
• receive, from a first node of the plurality of nodes, a first request for a first file of the files;
• determine, based on the information about the files stored locally on the individual nodes, whether the first file has been previously accessed at other nodes of the plurality of nodes;
• responsive to determining that the first file has been previously accessed at the other nodes, select, from the other nodes, a second node based on at least one of (i) the second node having a shortest delay to the first node, (ii) the second node having a most reliable link to the first node, or (iii) the second node having a strongest connectivity to the plurality of nodes in the network;
• transmit, to the first node, a second request for the first node to send a communication to the second node, wherein:
• the second request includes a first address of the first node and a second address of the second node, and instructs the first node to obtain the first file from the second node;
• receive, from the first node, an indication of whether the communication to the second node is successful, wherein the communication to the second node occurred via a third address that is different from the second address;
• and
• update at least one of a link delay, a link status, a link reliability for a link between the first node and the second node, or the second address of the second node based on the received indication;
• and
• upon receiving, at the server from the first node, a third request for access to a second file stored on the server:
• determine, based on the information about the files stored locally on the individual nodes, that the second file has been previously accessed at the second node;
• identify, based on the updated information about the topology of the network, the at least one of the link delay, the link status or the link reliability for the link between the first node and the second node;
• and
• based on the identifying, decide either to transmit the second file to the first node from the server or to instruct the first node to obtain the second file from the second node.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions, which when executed by a processing device, cause the processing device to perform operations for obtaining data about a network having a plurality of nodes, the operations comprising:

• maintaining, by a server that is outside of the network and that is part of a file sharing system, information about topology of the network and information about files stored locally on individual nodes of the plurality of nodes, the information about the topology of the network identifying a plurality of links between the plurality of nodes within the network, and comprising at least one of a link delay, a link status or a link reliability for a link of the plurality of links;
• updating, by the server that is outside of the network, the information about the topology of the network, wherein the updating comprises:
• receiving, from a first node of the plurality of nodes, a first request for a first file of the files;
• determining, based on the information about the files stored locally on the individual nodes, whether the first file has been previously accessed at other nodes of the plurality of nodes;
• responsive to determining that the first file has been previously accessed at the other nodes, selecting, from the other nodes, a second node based on at least one of (i) the second node having a shortest delay to the first node, (ii) the second node having a most reliable link to the first node, or (iii) the second node having a strongest connectivity to the plurality of nodes in the network;
• transmitting, from the server to the first node, a second request for the first node to send a communication to the second node, wherein:
• the second request includes a first address of the first node and a second address of the second node, and instructs the first node to obtain the first file from the second node;
• receiving, at the server from the first node, an indication of whether the communication to the second node is successful, wherein the communication to the second node occurred via a third address that is different from the second address;
• and
• updating, by the server, at least one of a link delay, a link status, a link reliability for a link between the first node and the second node, or the second address of the second node based on the received indication;
• and
• upon receiving, at the server from the first node, a third request for access to a second file stored on the server:
• determining, based on the information about the files stored locally on the individual nodes, that the second file has been previously accessed at the second node;
• identifying, based on the updated information about the topology of the network, the at least one of the link delay, the link status or the link reliability for the link between the first node and the second node;
• and
• based on the identifying, deciding either to transmit the second file to the first node from the server or to instruct the first node to obtain the second file from the second node.