EEP2P: An energy-efficient and economy-efficient P2P network protocol

Peer-To-Peer (P2P) file-sharing protocols have been widely used for distributing massive data over the Internet. To satisfy the requirement of P2P platforms, like BitTorrent, edge devices have to be powered on continuously to either download files or assist other peers to download files, which could lead to the wasted energy, especially for those time-insensitive files such as online games or high-definition movies. Energy problem is not only related to energy consumption, but also to economic problems in the smart grid area for P2P. In this work, we present a framework combining the Time-Of-Use (TOU) pricing model and P2P protocols in smart grid area. Peers adjust their energy consumption per unit time based on the TOU pricing model automatically, by switching between a dormant state and an active state in accordance with a time schedule sequence. Our simulation results show that our protocol is both economically efficient and energy efficient for transferring files of various sizes on different systems such as Personal Computers (PCs) and mobile devices.