I've attached a diagram that gives a better picture of what supernodes do. In the diagram, each little oval is one computer, or "node," on the network, and each line is a connection between the nodes.
The larger ovals are the supernodes. The smaller nodes are the "client" nodes. Each client node only has a connection to the supernode.
I will attach a second quick diagram in the next message (I think I can only do one attachment per post) that depicts the current network.
As you will see, sending a message out on the current network makes traffic fly everywhere. With the supernodes, the client nodes also only receive searches if they actually have the requested file. Otherwise, the supernode does not forward the search to them. |