Distributed Proximity-Aware Peer Clustering in BitTorrent-Like Peer-to-Peer Networks

In this paper, we propose a hierarchical architecture for grouping peers into clusters in a large-scale BitTorrent-like underlying overlay network in such a way that clusters are evenly distributed and that the peers within are relatively close together. We achieve this by constructing the CBT (Clustered BitTorrent) system with two novel algorithms: a peer joining algorithm and a super-peer selection algorithm. Proximity and distribution are determined by the measurement of distances among peers. Performance evaluations demonstrate that the new architecture achieves better results than a randomly organized BitTorrent network, improving the system scalability and efficiency while retaining the robustness and incentives of original BitTorrent paradigm.