On Pollution in eDonkey-like Peer-to-Peer File-Sharing Networks

In this paper we propose an analytical model for file diffusion in a peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing network based on biological epidemics. During the downloading process, the peer shares the downloaded parts of the file and, thus, contributes to distributing it in the network. This behavior is similar to the spreading of epidemic diseases which is a well researched subject in mathematical biology. With our model we investigate the dynamics of file diffusion focusing on the effects of pollution, e.g. malicious peers sharing corrupted version of the file.