Methods and Apparatus for Identifying Peers on a Peer-to-Peer Network

Abstract

Methods and apparatus are provided for identifying participants in a peer-to-peer network, such as an Ares P2P network. Peers are identified by sending a bootstrap request message to at least one peer; receiving a response from the at least one peer to the bootstrap request, wherein the response identifies one or more additional peers; and repeating the sending and receiving steps for the one or more additional peers until the bootstrap response satisfies one or more predefined criteria. The predefined criteria can be that the bootstrap response does not identify at least one new peer within a predefined period of time, or that the bootstrap response does not identify at least one new peer at all. The bootstrap requests are generally sent only to peers that have not been previously contacted. The bootstrap request message may comprise, for example, only one packet and requests that the recipient identify a predefined number of random peers. A list of identified peers can be presented to a user, for example, based on one or more demographic criteria.

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