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Earthlink Peer to Peer?
ISP explores SIP based p2p

Earthlink's Research and Development group has announced they're experimenting with a new SIP based proof-of-concept content sharing application dubbed SIPShare. Their goal is to show that SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) can be functionally used for peer to peer applications, far removed from its traditional use in voice and video.

According to Earthlink, the program is written in Java, so it can be run on many platforms without modification. Users can share normal p2p content via standard SIP messaging, with transfers completed using a simple UDP-based file transfer protocol. (see screenshots)

It's an interesting choice at a time when Senator Orrin Hatch is gunning to get p2p developers prosecuted for "inducing" piracy. Since Earthlink is not as difficult to find as Kazaa maker Sharman Networks, (who are tucked away on an island in the Pacific) it's a risky proposition for a major ISP to support p2p development. The Earthlink R&D department is heading out on an unsturdy limb to take a digital ethics stance:

"Earthlink believes an open Internet is a good Internet. An open Internet means users have full end-to-end connectivity to say to each other whatever it is they say, be that voice, video, or other data exchanges, without the help of mediating servers in the middle whenever possible. We believe that if peer-to-peer flourishes, the Internet flourishes."

To dodge potential legal bullets, the company notes SIPShare is NOT a supported EarthLink product. "It is more than anything else a manifestation of an idea," says the company. "So if you call our Tech Support with SIPshare questions, they will have no idea what you are talking about. So please, if you use SIPshare, you're on your own."

Earthlink admits they aren't the first to explore voice over p2p (pointing to project JXTA), nor are they the first to explore alternative p2p protocols. Their primary goal is to inform the public that SIP is more than a powerful voice over IP enabler, but also a protocol that enables peer-to-peer in a standards-based way.

Users curious about the application can download it here, but should note it does not function from behind NAT gear, though that functionality could easily be added.
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Yowzaaah
Ours Go To Eleven
join:2000-12-14
DamnFlat, OH

Yowzaaah

Member

Honesty from an ISP?!?!?!?

Frankly Earthlink is admitting what most ISPs know already, most people get broadband to download things and play online games. If you just need to check your email dial-up does fine for $9.99 a month.

It's actually innovative of them to seek a standard protocol, and most likely would allow them to streamline services to better accommodate known P2P traffic.

Now they just need the ISPs with the checkbooks to join the "reality club" and lobby Congress to ignore Orrin.

Anon users
@qc.sympatico.ca

Anon users

Anon

Why use UDP-based ?

Why Use UDP-based ?

Someone plz. explain. Is it difficult to spot? Any security related concerns?

Thx.

Yowzaaah
Ours Go To Eleven
join:2000-12-14
DamnFlat, OH

Yowzaaah

Member

Re: Why use UDP-based ?

UDP is significantly less chatty than TCP in that it doesn't send confirmation packets back to the downloader.

elias
Premium Member
join:2000-07-24
Miami, FL

elias

Premium Member

NAT Support?

I don't get it...

SIP works fine behind NAT.

The last line in the article say it doesn't work behind NAT.

This is supposed to be a SIP-based P2P? Doesn't seem to make sense.

-- Elias

Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02

Karl Bode

News Guy

Re: NAT Support?

It doesn't support NAT now, but it's very easily something others can implement:
quote:
Will EarthLink SIPshare work behind NAT?

No. All messaging, including the file transfer protocol, are based on UDP. If you want to extend EarthLink SIPshare by incorporating something like STUN for NAT traversal, by all means do so.

DrTCP
Yours truly

join:1999-11-09
Round Rock, TX

DrTCP to elias

to elias
said by elias:
SIP works fine behind NAT.
This is not true. Make a google search regarding SIP and NAT issues. The NAT gateway/firewall must be SIP aware to pass through standard SIP protocol. There are currently a bunch of routers that fail SIP and they need new firmware to function.

Yes, there are efforts to add to the SIP protocol to work behind NAT gateways but not all SIP device and gateway supports this.

elias
Premium Member
join:2000-07-24
Miami, FL

elias

Premium Member

Re: NAT Support?

I disagree.

My previous job was at a SIP-based VoIP provider. We had SIP softphones on the computer as well as hardware phones.

I would say that about 99% of the time they worked just fine behind NAT w/out any configuration being done on the router.

-- Elias

DrTCP
Yours truly

join:1999-11-09
Round Rock, TX

1 edit

DrTCP

Re: NAT Support?

said by elias:
I would say that about 99% of the time they worked just fine behind NAT w/out any configuration being done on the router.
Your NAT gateway was probably SIP enabled. They need a SIP ALG code to do that (Application Level Gateway) or your VOIP softphones/hardphones implemented STUN extensions for VOIP.

See the following good whitepaper(s):

»www.sipcenter.com/sip.ns ··· rsal.pdf
»www.intertex.se/upfiles/ ··· aper.pdf
»www.newport-networks.com ··· sal.html

elias
Premium Member
join:2000-07-24
Miami, FL

elias

Premium Member

Re: NAT Support?

That's pretty odd...

We found it to work on plenty of old routers, etc.

-- Elias

Dragasoni
We're All Mad Here
Premium Member
join:2001-12-14
Palm Bay, FL

Dragasoni

Premium Member

UDP

UDP is like the post man. You mail a letter, and it usually gets there (but not always). It's a bit faster than TCP because it is not sending and receiving confirmation packets.

TCP is more reliable, but slower. Kind of like FedEx or UPS with their tracking abilities online.

-Dragasoni-

DaSneaky1D
what's up
MVM
join:2001-03-29
The Lou

DaSneaky1D

MVM

Re: UDP

You know, that's a really good analogy.
MoKi8
join:2002-12-02
Tickfaw, LA

MoKi8 to Dragasoni

Member

to Dragasoni
lol i second that

Dragasoni
We're All Mad Here
Premium Member
join:2001-12-14
Palm Bay, FL

Dragasoni

Premium Member

Why, thank you gentleman

-Dragasoni-

jap
Premium Member
join:2003-08-10
038xx

jap

Premium Member

searchable shares, too

If earthlink catches legal heat about this via "induce act" like legislation it'll be the built-in catalog creation & search capabilities that get 'em -- not the fact that they've provided a mechanism for p2p transport.

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out as earthlink is a large & respected enough business concern to offset the copywrong holding industry. I'll wager that earthlink's motivation behind this is that they *must* convert a substantial number of their longterm, dedicated dial-up base into broadband users or risk longterm biz viability.

kev681
@dhcp.eucl.wi.charter

kev681

Anon

EarthLink SIPshare

How does one install it?