Editing Peer-to-peer (section)

===Resilient and scalable computer networks===
{{See also|Wireless mesh network|Distributed computing}}
The decentralized nature of P2P networks increases robustness because it removes the [[Reliability engineering|single point of failure]] that can be inherent in a client–server based system.<ref name="ms-overlay-survey">{{cite web |url=http://academic.research.microsoft.com/Publication/2633870/a-survey-and-comparison-of-peer-to-peer-overlay-network-schemes |title=A survey and comparison of peer-to-peer overlay network schemes |last1=Lua |first1=Eng Keong |last2=Crowcroft |first2=Jon |last3=Pias |first3=Marcelo |last4=Sharma |first4=Ravi |last5=Lim |first5=Steven |year=2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724222234/http://academic.research.microsoft.com/Publication/2633870/a-survey-and-comparison-of-peer-to-peer-overlay-network-schemes |archive-date=2012-07-24 }}</ref> As nodes arrive and demand on the system increases, the total capacity of the system also increases, and the likelihood of failure decreases. If one peer on the network fails to function properly, the whole network is not compromised or damaged. In contrast, in a typical client–server architecture, clients share only their demands with the system, but not their resources. In this case, as more clients join the system, fewer resources are available to serve each client, and if the central server fails, the entire network is taken down.