Freenet Network Topology

Small-World Network

Freenet is structured as a decentralized peer-to-peer network, based on the idea of a small-world network. This network topology is scalable and efficient, allowing contract state to be found quickly and without any reliance on a central authority.

Freenet Peers

In Freenet, a "peer" is any computer running the Freenet Core software. The peers are organized in a ring-like structure, with each peer assigned a specific numerical value between 0.0 and 1.0, indicating its location in the network's topology. This location is derived from the peer's IP address.

Establishing Neighbor Connections

Every Freenet peer, also referred to as a node, forms two-way connections with a set of other peers, termed "neighbors." These connections utilize the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) and can do Frewall hole punching when necessary. Peers manage their resource usage — bandwidth, memory, CPU, and storage — based on limits set by the user.

Adaptive behavior

Peers keep track of their neighbor's performance and learn to prefer faster connections over time.

Peers can also identify bad behavior by other peers like excess resource usage and will disconnect from them.