An efficient interest-group based search mechanism in unstructured peer-to-peer networks

Efficient search mechanism is a very important aspect of any peer-to-peer system. Current search mechanisms in both DHT-based structured peer-to-peer networks and unstructured peer-to-peer networks are either lack of flexibility or very inefficient. In this paper, we propose an efficient search mechanism based on interest-group, which is formed by nodes sharing similar interests. Metadata are used to describe and represent documents that nodes share with others. We deploy Metadata Slide Window and metadata replication to facilitate the search process. Preliminary analysis and simulation results prove the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed search mechanism.