Server-based multi-user file-sharing client
 

Hi everyone.

I've been looking for an implementation of a file-sharing application that can be run on a central server and accessed by clients (In my case, the clients are the machines inside a LAN). I'd like all peer-to-peer connections, searches and downloading to be executed by the server machine on behalf of the clients requesting it. To the client, it appears as though they're the only ones using the application - they have no knowledge of what other users are searching or downloading.

The closest I can find is Shareaza's remote control function, however, I'd need to run a separate instance of Shareaza for each user, and it's also limited to Windows. The main disadvantage of this is that each instance of Shareaza would try to make its own connections instead of the one program maintaining it all.

Preferably, I'd like a Linux console application (that can be run as a daemon). A web-interface would be super, but not a necessity.

Basically, it's a multi-user environment (Requiring a user to login (LDAP authentication would be absolutely beautiful), or based on IP, etc) with a light-weight client similar to Hagelslag.

So, can anyone help me out?

Thanks a lot.

This might be possible with Phex, by setting up one instance as forced Ultrapeer on the central server, and the others as leaves with only the Ultrapeer as starting IP, only one desired UP connection and no allowance to go to UP.

You'd have to set the UP to allow many Leave-connections, and set every client to block all ports except he non-standard port of the UP (not 6346), so they don't connect outside.

I might be able to compile Phex in such a way, that it does that, but I'm not really sure.

Still Users could simply change the settings (Phex is openly configurable), when they want to.

If you are interested, I can try to set it up (will take a bit of time, though. This weekend my girlfriend's here, so I won't have time to dabble with Gnutella :) ).

Through security settings I can also block any result from outside your LAN, so noone will ever see a search result from outside.

By setting it up as rivate Network, Programs fro outside can be shunned completely.

Thanks for the reply arne_bab.

Haha yeah, girlfriend > Gnutella :)

Sorry, but I don't quite understand this bit. Block results at the server or the LAN client?

Just for clarification: I want the searches performed by a client to leave the network and return the results to them. If possible, I don't want the various computers on the LAN to know about each other - preferably searches would not even include them.

I think I have a simpler way to explain what I'm after. One machine does everything, whether it be maintenance of the connections to the p2p network, executing the searches and downloading the requested files. The clients are more like dumb terminals whereby they just "ask" the server to perform a search, or download a file.

Perhaps I'm being a bit too specific. :o

Thanks again for your response, I'll look into Phex - I like that I can run it on a Linux server with Windows/Linux/Mac OS X clients :)

Ah! Now I understand.

You want the server to be intermediate between the Clients and the outer Internet.

What you want is what an Ultrapeer does for its leaves. If you want to exclude search results from inside the lan, you can do so with the sae settings which could exclude searches from outside, but except for pushes, downloads are normally performed by the individual clients themselves.

Every client will only keep a connection to the single Ultrapeer (and most expectedly will have a connection overhead of less than 500B/s).

Phex is at http://phex.kouk.de and the sources at http://sf.net/projects/phex in the CVS.