i2hub supercharged file trading network appears on Internet2

src="http://www.cdfreaks.com/contentimages/newsimages/1395813531" align=right border=0>Bringing
this process to Internet2 could conceivably raise the stakes for the
content industries, particularly the movie studios. Using ordinary
broadband connections, movies can take many hours to download,
particularly if a network is congested.

Internet2 was developed by a
consortium of universities and technology companies to provide vast
improvements in connections speeds. Researchers use it to exchange large
data files, experiments with high-definition video and other applications.
But the same speed could make traditional file-swapping happen in the
blink of an eye.

The i2hub network is based on
a piece of open-source software called Direct Connect, which connects
users and allows them to search each other’s hard drives, using technology
similar to the original Napster. Unlike most recent file-swapping
networks, it routes search requests through a central server, which can be
operated on an ordinary PC in a dorm room.

This version of Direct
Connect links only students at universities with access to Internet2.
While this keeps all traffic on the fast network, it’s probably not the
first time that Internet2 has seen file-swapping incursions. Some schools
automatically route students’ data traffic over Internet2, if the
destination is another participating university. Thus, some students even
using older tools such as Kazaa might already be using the fast academic
network without knowing it.