Gnutella2

Gnutella2, often abbreviated as G2, is a peer-to-peer file sharing protocol. It emerged as a successor to the original Gnutella protocol, aiming to address some of its perceived limitations and introduce new features. Gnutella2 utilizes a hybrid supernode architecture, where some nodes act as "supernodes" responsible for maintaining connection tables and routing search queries to other nodes. This design helps to improve search efficiency and network stability compared to purely distributed or hierarchical models.

One of the key design principles of Gnutella2 is its extensibility. The protocol is designed to allow for future development and the integration of new functionalities without requiring a complete overhaul. This has led to various client implementations that support different features and optimizations. While Gnutella2 shares some conceptual similarities with its predecessor, it is not directly compatible with the original Gnutella network. This means that clients designed for Gnutella2 cannot connect to or share files with clients using the original Gnutella protocol, and vice versa.

The network's popularity has fluctuated over time, influenced by the rise of other file sharing technologies and legal challenges faced by peer-to-peer networks. Despite these challenges, Gnutella2 has maintained a user base and continues to be supported by several file sharing clients. Its development has been largely driven by community efforts, with open-source clients playing a significant role in its evolution.