APconnections Releases Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Locator Technology
APconnections Releases NetEqualizer P2P Locator Technology
APconnections, a leading supplier of plug-and-play bandwidth shaping products and the creator of the NetEqualizer, this week announced the release of its peer-to-peer (P2P) locator technology. The release is the most recent addition to the growing capabilities of NetEqualizer 5.0 and marks another significant step in APconnections’ commitment to ensuring network quality while maintaining user privacy.
Although the NetEqualizer has long been able to thwart P2P behavior without any controversial layer-7 packet inspection, this new utility can now automatically pinpoint and identify an individual P2P user or gamer without looking at any private data.
The key to determining a user’s behavior is the analysis of fluctuations in their connection counts and the total number of connections. By taking snapshots of network activity over a few seconds, the utility differentiates P2P use from gaming, Web browsing and even video.
Using this information, the utility provides:
- A list of users that are suspected of using P2P
- A list of users that are likely hosting gaming servers
- A confidence rating for each user (from high to low)
- The option of tracking users by IP and MAC address
In the past, the ability to do so required the time-consuming study of network behavior. However, the new utility provides administrators the results without the additional legwork.
“Many customers just want to know the basics — who is using P2P, hosting game servers, etc.,” APconnections CTO and co-founder Art Reisman said. “They don’t always have the time to follow a manual diagnostic recipe. Now the information is at their fingertips.”
NetEqualizer 5.0, and the P2P locator technology, is available at no charge for customers with current NetEqualizer Software Subscriptions (NSS). Additional information about the NetEqualizer and user privacy can be found in the NetEqualizer News Blog’s “NetEqualizer Offers Net Neutrality, User Privacy Compromise.”
The NetEqualizer is a plug-and-play bandwidth control and WAN/Internet optimization appliance that is flexible and scalable. When the network is congested, NetEqualizer’s unique “behavior-shaping” technology dynamically and automatically gives priority to latency sensitive applications such as VoIP and e-mail, thus improving on other available bandwidth shaping technologies. The NetEqualizer controls network flow for the best WAN optimization.
APconnections is a privately held company founded in 2003 and is based in Lafayette, Colorado (http://www.netequalizer.com).
