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Why Manage (or even prohbit) P2P?

  • P2P, by establishing many connections at once, "games the system" to seize priority over other traffic and can degrade time-sensitive applications, such as Voice over IP (VoIP) , running on the same network

  • P2P disrupts the expected duty cycle and balance of upstream to downstream traffic, particularly degrading certain types of networks (DSL, cable modem)

  • Most P2P traffic consists of illegally redistributed intellectual property, potentially exposing network operators to liability

  • P2P programs establish servers on users' machines (often without their knowledge), usually inducing them to violate their contracts with their ISPs

  • P2P programs impose many times more of a traffic burden on the network than do standard downloading protocols such as FTP and HTTP

  • P2P programs transfer content provider's costs to the end user's ISP without permission or compensation -- and multiply those costs in the process. (Bandwidth on an ISP's network can be 100x as costly as bandwidth on a co-located server)