FastTrack protocol

After the Napster decision. file-sharing programs largely moved away from the central-server model.22 Many of the newer programs use the FastTrack protocol, which uses a two-tiered system consisting of “super nodes” and ordinary nodes rather than a central server.23 Each node consists of an individual user’s computer.24

“Super nodes” essentially perform the directory role that the centralized server provided in the original Napster architecture.25 Using the file-sharing software, an ordinary node connects to a super node and sends a query for a file, and then the super node checks its index of files and sends the ordinary node a list of any matches.26 The user can then click on a match to establish a direct peer-to-peer connection and obtain the file from the selected peer.27