💡 Inspiration

Networking is a vital area of computer science, and through this project, we wanted to explore this field, more specifically how systems communicate using TCP/IP, while addressing challenges like data transmission and reliability.
We set out to build a distributed Peer-to-Peer (P2P) system capable of splitting large files into manageable chunks for seamless sharing between at least 4 devices.
Our goal was to develop a straightforward, reliable system using the TCP/IP protocol to ensure error-free file transfers.

🚀 What it does

🗂️ Splits files into chunks with a maximum size of 512 bytes and distributes them across a network of at least 4 nodes.
⬆️ Uploads and ⬇️ downloads file chunks between nodes.
🛠️ Reconstructs the original file with complete integrity after all chunks are collected.
✅ Verifies the correctness of the downloaded file once all chunks have been received and assembled.

Leveraged the socket library to implement TCP/IP networking, establishing continuous communication between the nodes.
If a node wants to upload a file, it is divided into 512-byte chunks, each starting with a custom header, which are then distributed and transferred across the nodes.
If that node wants to retrieve its original file, it retrieves the different packets from the nodes it was spread to, reconstructs them in order, and saves it as a new file.
The system was built in Python, focusing on efficient chunking, network transfer, and file reconstruction, ensuring reliability throughout the process.

Learning how to effectively use the socket, threading, and struct libraries for building the system.
Maintaining file integrity during chunking, transmission, and reconstruction was a significant challenge.
Solving issues related to properly reconstructing the original file from distributed chunks.
Handling slicing and processing headers during file transfer.
Designing a mechanism to prevent peers from unnecessarily waiting for packets after the file transfer is completed.
Managing concurrent transfers across multiple nodes while handling network errors such as packet loss or connection drops.

Successfully established a functional network with more than 4 nodes capable of reliable upload and download of file chunks.
Achieved file integrity and ensured smooth reconstruction of the original file after transfers.
Built a fully operational P2P file-sharing system from the ground up using the TCP/IP stack.
Our system can handle files of any extension and reliably reconstructs them after transfer.

Enhanced our understanding of socket programming and the intricacies of the TCP/IP networking stack.
Developed skills to handle distributed data transfers and ensure data integrity in networked environments.
Gained valuable experience in managing concurrent communication between multiple nodes in a P2P system.

Implement encryption for secure file transfers, ensuring data confidentiality. 🔒
Handling nodes joining and leaving the network without compromising data
Introduce recovery mechanisms for handling interrupted transfers to improve reliability.
Optimize the algorithm for the downloading logic, reducing the complexity and enhancing performance.