Patent ID: 8572180

Claim:
A method for distributing peer-to-peer communications between two or more communicating client nodes in a communications channel of a peer-to-peer communications network, the method comprising: selecting a proxy node including a disinterested client node relative to the two or more communicating client nodes, the disinterested client node of the proxy node providing network resources to the peer-to-peer communications network, selecting a proxy node comprising: evaluating a list of potential proxy nodes available to the peer-to-peer communications network; comparing an Internet protocol (IP) address of each of the potential proxy nodes and an IP address of the two or more communicating client nodes to identify one or more disinterested proxy nodes; and selecting at least one proxy node from the one or more identified disinterested proxy nodes; masking identification of the two or more communicating client nodes using the selected proxy node to isolate knowledge about the IP addresses of the two or more communicating client nodes; directing peer-to-peer communications of the two or more communicating client nodes through the selected proxy node to mask the identification of the two or more communicating client nodes; establishing the communications channel for an amount of client nodes; determining an amount of proxy nodes required for the communications channel based upon the amount of client nodes; and selecting an additional proxy node from a quick switch list of potential proxy nodes upon determining failure of a proxy node, the additional proxy node also including a disinterested client node relative to the two or more communicating client nodes.