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Tech Differences

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Difference Between Client-Server and Peer-to-Peer Network

client-server-vs-peer-to-peerWorking on computers for long you may have heard the terms Client-Server and Peer-to-Peer. These two are the common network models that we use in our day-to-day life. The Client-Server network model focuses on information sharing whereas, the Peer-to-Peer network model focuses on connectivity to the remote computers.

The main difference between the Client-Server and Peer-to-Peer network model is that in Client-Server model, the data management is centralised whereas, in Peer-to-Peer each user has its own data and applications. Further, we will discuss some more differences between Client-Server and Peer-to-Peer network model with the help of comparison chart shown below, just have a look.

Content: Client-Server Vs Peer-to-Peer

  1. Comparison Chart
  2. Definition
  3. Key Differences
  4. Conclusion

Comparison Chart

Basis for ComapaisonClient-ServerPeer-to-Peer
Basic There is a specific server and specific clients connected to the server.Clients and server are not distinguished; each node act as client and server.
ServiceThe client request for service and server respond with the service.Each node can request for services and can also provide the services.
FocusSharing the information.Connectivity.
DataThe data is stored in a centralized server.Each peer has its own data.
ServerWhen several clients request for the services simultaneously, a server can get bottlenecked.As the services are provided by several servers distributed in the peer-to-peer system, a server in not bottlenecked.
Expense The client-server are expensive to implement.Peer-to-peer are less expensive to implement.
StabilityClient-Server is more stable and scalable.Peer-toPeer suffers if the number of peers increases in the system.

Definition of Client-Server

The Client-Server network model is widely used network model. Here, Server is a powerful system that stores the data or information in it. On the other hands, the Client is the machine which let the users access the data on the remote server.

client-serverThe system administrator manages the data on the server. The client machines and the server are connected through a network. It allows the clients to access data even if the client machine and server are far apart from each other.

In Client-Server model, the client process on the client machine sends the request to the server process on the server machine. When the server receives the client request, it lookouts for the requested data and send it back with the reply.

As all the services are provided by a centralized server, there may be chances of server getting bottlenecked, slowing down the efficiency of the system.

Definition of Peer-to-Peer

Unlike Client-Server, the Peer-to-Peer model does not distinguish between client and server instead each node can either be a client or a server depending on the whether the node is requesting or providing the services. Each node is considered as a peer.

peer-to-peerTo become a part of peer-to-peer, a node must initially join the network. After joining it must start to provide services to and must request the services from other nodes in the peer-to-peer system. There are two ways to know which node provides which services; they are as follow:

  • When a node enters the peer-to-peer system, it must register the services it will be providing, into a centralized lookup service on the network. When a node desires for any specific service it must contact centralized lookup services to check out which node will provide the desired services. Rest of the communication is done by the desiring node and the service providing node.
  • A node desiring for the specific services must broadcast the request for services to all other nodes in the peer-to-peer system. The node providing the requested service will respond to the node making the request.

Peer-to-Peer network has the advantage over client-server that the server is not bottlenecked as the services are provided by the several nodes distributed in a peer-to-peer system.

Key Differences Between Client-Server and Peer-to-Peer Network

  1. The key difference between Client-Server and Peer-to-Peer network is that there is a dedicated server and specific clients in the client-server network model whereas, in peer-to-peer each node can act as both server and client.
  2. In the client-server model, the server provides services to the client. However, in peer-to-peer, each peer can provide services and can also request for the services.
  3. In the client-server model, sharing information is more important whereas, in peer-to-peer model connectivity between peers is more important.
  4. In the client-server model, data is stored on a centralized server whereas, in peer-to-peer each peer has its own data.
  5. In peer-to-peer model, the servers are distributed in a system, so there are fewer chances of server getting bottlenecked, but in the client-server model, there is a single server serving the clients, so there are more chances of server getting bottlenecked.
  6. The client-server model is more expensive to implement than peer-to-peer.
  7. The client-server model is more scalable and stable than peer-to-peer.

Conclusion

It depends on the environment which network model to implement; each model has its own strength and flaws.

Related Differences:

  1. Difference Between Stack and Queue
  2. Difference Between Array and Linked List
  3. Difference Between Data Warehouse and Data Mart
  4. Difference Between Star and Ring Topology
  5. Difference Between Server-side Scripting and Client-side Scripting

Comments

  1. Saki says

    September 8, 2017 at 6:12 am

    Good job on the article!

    Reply
  2. davo says

    June 21, 2018 at 2:05 am

    Thank you, mam.

    Reply
  3. madan says

    June 22, 2018 at 9:25 am

    sure a nicely written article. thank you

    Reply
  4. Dramani Rophine says

    July 24, 2018 at 5:12 am

    so nice article.

    Reply
  5. smitty says

    January 9, 2019 at 3:19 pm

    Good article.

    Reply
  6. Ravi says

    May 3, 2019 at 7:13 pm

    Nice

    Reply
  7. Steve Jobs says

    June 25, 2019 at 7:39 am

    I like this content…

    Reply
  8. Teshani says

    August 14, 2019 at 5:04 am

    Great article with very clear information.Thank you!

    Reply
  9. Abdihamid says

    September 18, 2019 at 10:36 am

    Great article, thank you…

    Reply
  10. yousuf says

    November 13, 2019 at 12:12 pm

    Nice, thanks for the information it really helped

    Reply
  11. WOW says

    January 9, 2020 at 8:06 am

    I surely liked this article because it helped me in my IT-lesson this morning, NICE

    Reply
  12. bibesh says

    January 29, 2020 at 11:30 am

    nice

    Reply
  13. Vlad says

    March 25, 2020 at 3:02 am

    Wow thanks this article is really clear and understandable

    Reply
  14. Mary Jane Cenizal says

    June 23, 2020 at 8:03 am

    Thank you for the information I will use it for the explanation of both architecture in my class, Simple explanation and easy to understand. Good job!

    Reply
  15. compuetrcargo says

    April 20, 2021 at 4:09 pm

    great content ….nice to visit your website

    Reply
  16. Anish Kumar says

    June 30, 2021 at 8:37 am

    Thanks mam

    Reply
  17. Ritovash Banerjee says

    October 1, 2021 at 1:00 pm

    You have shared a very informative article. I loved your work. in future, I would like to read more articles like this from you.

    Reply
  18. Rob says

    October 20, 2022 at 1:26 am

    The main reason why I only use P2P (Utopia ecosystem) is the lack of servers where all my personal information will be stored.

    Reply

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