There is a different kind of networking that is becoming an increasingly common experience in the average internet user's daily life. That networking design is referred to as peer-to-peer, or P2P, networking.

Basically, a P2P network is an ad hoc network that connects participants directly, rather than through a central point. The combined bandwidth of participants is used to transfer data. There are no clients and servers and each node is an equal on the network — creating the "peer" in P2P.

Today, P2P networks are most commonly used for sharing files real-time data transfer. Most people think of the high profile Napster case a few years ago that involved illegally file sharing — namely music. So, unfortunately, there are still negative connotations associated with the term peer-to-peer.