Distributed Hash Tables and Internet Architecture April 15, 2004

Location: 34-101 (Map)

Speaker: Professor Scott Shenker, ICSI Berkeley

Abstract: The explosive growth but primitive design of early peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing systems led the research community to develop a more sophisticated technology called distributed hash tables (DHTs).

Despite their origin, DHTs have had only a limited impact on P2P file sharing. Instead, DHTs have become a rather popular systems hammer in search of application nails. This talk will first review the basics of DHTs and their use in various settings and then wander into speculations about the possible role of DHTs in a future Internet architecture. Given MIT's role in both DHTs and Internet architecture, this talk is a massive exercise in "bringing coals to Newcastle".