Distributed path restoration algorithm for anonymity in P2P file sharing systems

In this paper, a new mechanism to achieve anonymity in peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing systems is proposed. As usual, the anonymity is obtained by means of connecting the source and destination peers through a set of intermediate nodes, creating a multiple-hop path. The main paper contribution is a distributed algorithm able to guarantee the anonymity even when a node in a path fails (voluntarily or not). The algorithm takes into account the inherent costs associated with multiple-hop communications and tries to reach a well-balanced solution between the anonymity degree and its associated costs. Some parameters are obtained analytically but the main network performances are evaluated by simulation.