Patent ID: 8037162

Claim:
A method of transmitting data to a client in a peer-to-peer network, the peer-to-peer network including a plurality of clients, each of which being capable of initiating queries to at least two other clients in the peer-to-peer network, the queries identifying a desired data item and being sent to at least two other clients to each provide a different portion of the data item, each of the clients also being capable of responding to queries from other clients, the method comprising: (a) identifying queries initiated by the first client to at least two other clients in the peer-to-peer network to have the at least two other clients each provide a different portion of a data item identified by the queries; (b) determining whether any of the different portions of the data item that is identified by the queries initiated by the first client are stored at one or more acceleration servers; (c) when any one of the different portions of the data item that is identified by the queries initiated by the first client is stored at the one or more acceleration servers, transmitting that portion of the data item stored at the one or more acceleration servers to the first client such that the first client receives that portion of the data item from the one or more acceleration servers instead of from the at least two other clients in the peer-to-peer network; and (d) when any one of the different portions of the data item that is identified by the queries initiated by the first client is not stored at the one or more acceleration servers, receiving that portion of the data item from one or more clients in the peer-to-peer network and storing the portions of the data item at the one or more acceleration servers such that a subsequent request by a client for that portion of the data item can be satisfied by the one or more acceleration servers.