The Kad network is a

peer-to-peer Peer-to-peer (P2P) computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads between peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the network. They are said to form a peer-to-peer ...

(P2P) network which implements the Kademlia P2P overlay protocol. The majority of users on the Kad Network are also connected to servers on the eDonkey network, and Kad Network

client Client(s) or The Client may refer to: * Client (business) * Client (computing), hardware or software that accesses a remote service on another computer * Customer or client, a recipient of goods or services in return for monetary or other valuabl ...

s typically query known nodes on the eDonkey network in order to find an initial node on the Kad network.

Usage

The Kad network uses a UDP-based protocol to: * Find sources for eD2k hashes. * Search for eD2k hashes based on keywords in the file name. * Find comments and ratings for files (hashes). * Provide buddy services for

firewall Firewall may refer to: * Firewall (computing), a technological barrier designed to prevent unauthorized or unwanted communications between computer networks or hosts * Firewall (construction), a barrier inside a building, designed to limit the spre ...

ed ( Low ID) nodes. * Store locations, comments and (keywords out of) filenames. Note that the Kad network is not used to actually transfer files across the P2P network. Instead, when a file transfer is initiated, clients connect directly to each other (using the standard public IP network). This traffic is susceptible to blocking/shaping/tracking by an ISP or any other opportunistic middle-man. As with all decentralized networks, the Kad network requires no official or common servers. As such, it cannot be disabled by shutting down a given subset of key

node In general, a node is a localized swelling (a " knot") or a point of intersection (a vertex). Node may refer to: In mathematics * Vertex (graph theory), a vertex in a mathematical graph * Vertex (geometry), a point where two or more curves, line ...

s. While the decentralization of the network prevents a simple shut-down, traffic analysis and deep packet inspection will more readily identify the traffic as P2P due to the high variable-destination packet throughput. The large packet volume typically causes a reduction in available CPU and/or network resources usually associated with P2P traffic.

Clients

Client search

The Kad network supports searching of files by name and a number of secondary characteristics such as size, extension, bit-rate, and more. Features vary based on client used.

Major clients

Only a few major clients currently support the Kad network implementation. However, they comprise over 80% of the user base and are probably closer to 95% of ed2k installations. *

eMule eMule is a free peer-to-peer file sharing application for Microsoft Windows. Started in May 2002 as an alternative to eDonkey2000, eMule now connects to both the eDonkey network and the Kad network. The distinguishing features of eMule are th ...

: An

open source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized so ...

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for se ...

client which is the most popular, with 80% of network users. It also runs on Linux using the

Wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented grapes. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different ...

libraries. There are a number of minor variants, or forks, of eMule which support the same basic features as eMule itself. They include:

aMule aMule is a free peer-to-peer file sharing utility that works with the eDonkey network and the Kad network, offering similar features to eMule and adding others such as GeoIP (country flags). On August 18, 2003 it was forked from the xMule ...

(A Linux client similar to eMule) and eMule Mods (not

eMule Plus eMule is a free peer-to-peer file sharing application for Microsoft Windows. Started in May 2002 as an alternative to eDonkey2000, eMule now connects to both the eDonkey network and the Kad network. The distinguishing features of eMule are ...

), possibly others. *

: An

client popular among

Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, whi ...

Operating Systems. Currently aMule (officially) supports a wide variety of platforms and operating systems. *

MLDonkey MLDonkey is an open-source, multi-protocol, peer-to-peer file sharing application that runs as a back-end server application on many platforms. It can be controlled through a user interface provided by one of many separate front-ends, including ...

: An

cross-platform In computing, cross-platform software (also called multi-platform software, platform-agnostic software, or platform-independent software) is computer software that is designed to work in several computing platforms. Some cross-platform software ...

client that runs on many platforms and supports numerous other file-sharing protocols as well. *iMule: An anonymous,

client. Supports only the Kad network and

I2P The Invisible Internet Project (I2P) is an anonymous network layer (implemented as a mix network) that allows for censorship-resistant, peer-to-peer communication. Anonymous connections are achieved by encrypting the user's traffic (by using ...

network. eDonkey network has been dropped. *

Lphant Lphant was a peer-to-peer file sharing client for the Microsoft Windows, Linux and Mac OS operating systems, which supports the eDonkey Network and the BitTorrent protocol. It was available in 19 languages. The name and logo of the original Lp ...

: Supports also eDonkey network and BitTorrent protocol. To use Kad network make sure you have 3.51 version.

Malware/virus

* TDL-4: A

botnet A botnet is a group of Internet-connected devices, each of which runs one or more bots. Botnets can be used to perform Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, steal data, send spam, and allow the attacker to access the device and its conn ...

virus that is reported to use this network as a backup for updates and new instructions if its Command and Control servers are taken down.

References

External links

A global view of KAD

Improving Lookup Performance over a Widely-Deployed DHT
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kad Network File sharing networks Overlay networks Key-based routing Mix networks

Usage

Clients

Client search

Major clients

Malware/virus

See also

References

External links