Patent ID: 7962627

Claim:
One or more computer-readable media, where the media is not a signal, storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed on one or more processors of a first peer in a peer-to-peer architecture, perform acts comprising: executing a Simple Traversal of User Datagram Protocol through Network Address Translators (STUN) protocol to detect a NAT type and NAT address of the first peer; recording a second peer of the peer-to-peer architecture to a distributed STUN server list stored on the first peer, the second peer having a NAT type of Open Internet Protocol (IP); sending, to multiple other peers of the peer-to-peer architecture and via a gossip-based protocol: (i) the NAT type of the first peer; (ii) the NAT address of the first peer; (iii) an IP address of the first peer, and (iv) the distributed STUN server list that includes the second peer; receiving, from the second peer having the NAT type of Open IP, a request to initiate a connection with a third peer of the peer-to-peer architecture; responsive to the receiving of the message, initiating a connection with the third peer; and responsive to the initiating of the connection with the third peer, establishing a connection with the third peer.