Peer to Peer Network (P2P network)

What is a client-server network

Client-Server networks are those kinds of networks in which a device have the permission only to act as either a client device or as a server device. The client device will only have the permission to receive data from the server device and the server will only have the permission to provide data to the client device. Client devices will have client software on it like the web browsers and the server devices will have server software running on them.

What is a peer to peer network

A peer-to-peer (P2P) network is created when two or more PCs are connected and share resources without going through a separate and dedicated server computer. In this kind of networks, a single device will have both client and server software running on them. It can be said as a network, created by systems, which acts as both client and server at the same time. It usually occurs in home networks and in small businesses. All the systems or end-devices in a Peer to Peer network are linked together with equal permissions and responsibilities for processing data. Unlike the traditional client-server network, no devices in a Peer to Peer network are designated solely to serve or to receive data. Peer to Peer network can be abbreviated by P2P network for simplicity. 

Here in the below figure, the PC-01 has a Universal Serial Bus connection to the printer for print sharing and a network connection to PC-02 , using the Network Interface Card for File Sharing purpose. In effect, every connected PC is at once a server and a client. There's no special network operating system residing on a robust machine that supports special server-side applications like directory services (specialized databases that control who has access to what).

A Peer to Peer network can be:

• an ad hoc connection—a couple of computers connected via a Universal Serial Bus to transfer files. 
• a permanent infrastructure that links a half-dozen computers in a small office over copper wires. 
• a network on a much grander scale in which special protocols and applications set up direct relationships among users over the Internet.

In general, office and home P2P networks operate over Ethernet (10M bit/sec.) or Fast Ethernet (100M bit/sec.) and employ a hub-and-spoke topology. Category 5 (twisted-pair) copper wire runs among the PCs and an Ethernet hub or switch, enabling users of those networked PCs access to one another's hard drives, printers or perhaps a shared Internet connection. Peer to Peer network allows you to easily share data without having to use a separate server for your file-sharing. Each end-computer that connects to this network becomes a 'peer' and is allowed to receive or send files to other computers in its network. This enables you to work collaboratively to perform certain tasks that need group attention, and it also allows you to provide services to another peer.