A Peer-to-Peer Mobile Storage System

Abstract:

This paper presents the design and implementation of a peer-to-peer
storage system that allows mobile users to transparently access and
share data. The system employs a small networked portable storage device
that is designed to compensate for weak wide-area connectivity by
leveraging ad hoc peer-to-peer connectivity and an embedded storage
element. Other key features of the system include the use of a location
and topology- sensitive multicast-like solution for locating data, lazy
peer-to-peer propagation of invalidation information for ensuring
consistency across multiple devices, and a distributed snapshot
mechanism for supporting sharing and distributed backup. A common theme
of the design decisions is minimizing the amount of distributed state
and global coordination, while still achieving the desired functionality
and good performance. Initial experiences with a prototype
implementation suggest that we have largely achieved our objectives.