Becoming a Supernode is an increasing liability of P2P technology, and for some a dangerous one!

A favoured technique of improving P2P technology performance such as Kazaa, Skype and indeed Groove is the establishment of Supernodes. A supernode takes on more responsibility and works on behalf of fellow peers to provide better performance, greater responsiveness, faster throughput. And without them many P2P technolgies would simply collapse into a heap of dissatisfied customers.

Here is Skype's definition on supernodes: "A Supernode is a computer running Skype Software that has been automatically elevated to act as a hub. Supernodes may assist in helping other users to communicate or use the Skype Software efficiently. This may include the ability for your computer to help anonymously and securely facilitate communications between other users of the Skype software who, due to network and firewall constraints, cannot establish direct connections."

So who becomes a supernode. Typically it is a question of availability of computer resources including Internet connectivity. This sounds good. "I have more, so why shouldn't I share it?" More capacity may be measured in terms of spare disk space, CPU, RAM, Internet bandwidth and firewall characteristics, 24/7 availability and perhaps other criteria. Each application will make its own decisions.

The key and dangerous point is that you "the user" typically has no choice. Your computer is automatically elevated to supernode and there's little you can do a about it. But why should you? Surely you are helping great Internet technologies work, helping them work better. And you are sharing your computer riches with others less fortunate. So what's wrong with that?

Well, it turns out that people who are using File Sharing technologies to flaunt copyright with such things as MP3 downloads are much more likely to be attacked by authorities if they are a supernode. So if you are breaking, or helping others potentially break copyright, then putting your head above the parapet as a supernode is one silly way of drawing attention to yourself and risking prosecution.

But it there are other problems with becoming supernodes as well. This I call supernode saturation. The problem is that anyone using P2P technology does not stop at just one application. They say to themselves "Direct Connect is good, so what other P2P technology can I use". So they come across Skype, Groove, Jajahand who knows what else. Suddenly you have a computer running a range of P2P applications. What happens next?

Go back to the premise of being a supernode and the logical conclusion is that each application makes a very similar decision and suddenly your computer, and I mean your computer becomes a supernode for each and every application. Suddenly your bigger and better and faster computer is suddenly becoming saturated with supernode demands. I mean, face it, Skype is not going to say in its supernode logic, "ah this computer has already become a supernode for Kazaa, so we won't become a supernode for Skype." No, in fact if anything the opposite may be true.

The result is that having a fast computer with full-on high-capacity Internet connectivity is making your P2P life hell. Suddenly all your P2P applications are competing head-on for the same resources - not for your benefit, but for the benefit on non-supernodes. And there is nothing you can do about it, and you may not even know it is happening to you. All you know is that you are not getting the good application service that others are reporting.