P2P has a bad rap. Many associate the initialism with stealing content, not legitimately distributing it. Even more frustrating for those involved in the networking field is that file sharing is only one of the many interesting things one can do with a network of distributed computers. To work around the stereotype, many players have taken to referring to their P2P technologies using different terms. Content distribution networks being one of them.

It was thus heartening to see Microsoft's recent announcement of their Secure Content Downloader and not shirk away from the association with P2P. They claim that they'll use peers. What isn't clear is where these peers reside. Do they mean consumer machines on the Internet or their own machines deployed in selected ISPs in a form similar to that employed by Akamai?

In any event, this beta release is only for a specific Microsoft product. It will be interesting to see if they open it up as a technology for others to deploy.

According to their website, the main features of the MSCD (Microsoft Secure Content Delivery Network) are:

• Secure content description
  • Each file available for download has a secure description, ensuring the content you download is exactly what the publisher published.
• Scalable performance
  • MCSD is a peer-assisted technology. Each client downloads content by exchanging parts of the file they’re interested in with other clients, in addition to downloading parts from the server.
    • No matter how great the internet’s demand for the file, you will always be able to make progress downloading.
    • MSCD lets you download content quicker than is possible without peer assistance.