Backing up the internet in a P2P 'cloud'

[Sepp Hasslberger]

With optical cables being cut in the Middle East impeding internet traffic in some geographical areas and a recent court action resulting in WikiLeaks being taken off line, it becomes clear that access to the net may not be as assured as we tend to think.

While the basic architecture of the net does protect to some degree against these dangers, I believe we might profit from developing a way to "back up the internet" so that, even if there are major disruptions, we still have a workable means of communication, data storage and exchange of ideas.

My dream is a p2p application that uses some of the free hard disk storage space on our personal computers to redundantly back up the net and allow work to continue more or less seamlessly in the event of a major catastrophe.

Would such a thing be doable? What do you think?

Is anyone already working on this?

[Natanael L]

Nice, I've got to see how well it works.

Does it work (well) inside a LAN? I've got multiple computers that I often want to use to share data in between.

[Dave Paine]

Ah, that is a good question. Currently it only works inside a LAN :-) We do have an early alpha version that will work across the internet, but its setup is too technical to release (NAT issues, mainly) at the moment.

It is the LAN version that is in beta. Please - if you do download it, let us know how you get on via the web site :-)

[Natanael L]

Looks like it's not open source. I prefer "tinkering-friendly" apps.
What's your ideas regarding this?

[Dave Paine]

You are right, it isn't open source. There is an API for it that we plan to document and support to enable others to use the infrastructure. That will at least allow you to create your own look and feel and extend the capabilities. I personally love open source (linux is my OS of choice). Heppy to discuss this with you offline :-)

[Martien van Steenbergen]

The Apache Cassandra project seems to already have a working solution for this. Proven, Decentralized, Elastic, Fault Tolerant, Highly Availabile, Rich Data Model, and, finally, Consistent, Eventually.

See http://incubator.apache.org/cassandra/

[Sepp Hasslberger]

Another piece of the puzzle:

Evernote: Cloud App for Mobile Phones

found on: http://www.dailywireless.org/2010/03/10/evernote-cloud-app-for-mobile/

Evernote uses the “cloud” to store data and perform tasks. Your mobile device can gather (or view) the files you create. Evernote on the iPhone and Evernote for Android let you create text notes, snap photos and record audio memos and store them on “the cloud”. The idea behind Evernote is to be a sort of digital file cabinet, explains Walt Mossberg.

It allows you to create “notebooks” containing items called notes. These notes can range from text to photos to many kinds of attached files. You can locate, group and peruse them quickly, without having to dig through a computer’s file system.

Evernote for Android is now bundled on new Samsung Android phones from T-Mobile USA, including the Samsung Behold II. Besides creating new stuff, you can launch Evernote and find all the notes that you made on your phone, desktop or the web. You can also find notes created near your current location.

It’s available in free and pay versions. Evernote Premium gives you bigger upload capacity, supports more file types, and offers enhanced security. Plus, you get PDF searching, faster image recognition, and no ads.

[Sepp Hasslberger]

Starting to move... January 2011:

 

There is a movement just starting up - it is not very well developed yet - that has as its vision the establishment of an independent layer of connectivity between end users, by means of directly networking (mesh network) Wifi or similar wireless connections. The connectivity layer is owned by users, who form a cooperative which takes care of the technical details such as choice of equipment and installation, and which acts as a representative of its members towards internet access providers, negotiating one or more high bandwidth internet connections which are then made available to all the members of the cooperative network. 

 

This would add a robust and sustainable local layer of connectivity and communication to the internet, and it would make the net much more resilient against centralized control and even against unforseen catastrophic events. Once a local network is functioning, data can be cached, making each neighborhood more independent and more resilient to outside interference.

 

The Importance of Local Connectivity

[Natanael L]

Me like! I'm taking a look at it now.