FastTrack Protocol (Kazaa) Released

In March 2001, Scandinavian entrepreneurs Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis (who would later create Skype) released Kazaa, a file-sharing application powered by their new FastTrack protocol. FastTrack represented the second generation of P2P. It solved the scalability problems of Gnutella (which flooded the network with traffic) by introducing Supernodes. A Supernode was a user with a powerful computer and fast internet connection that temporarily acted as a local search hub for other users.

This hierarchical architecture made the network faster and more efficient than any previous P2P system. It allowed FastTrack to support millions of simultaneous users, far exceeding Napster's capacity. The protocol also supported segmented downloading, where a single file could be downloaded from multiple sources simultaneously, increasing speed and reliability. This concept of fetching data from multiple peers is analogous to how Bitcoin nodes sync the blockchain from multiple peers to verify history.

FastTrack proved that P2P networks could scale to global levels. However, the Supernode architecture still presented a legal target (the companies distributing the software could be sued, as eventually happened to Kazaa). Zennström and Friis would later apply these same P2P lessons to revolutionize telephony with Skype. FastTrack's Supernode architecture demonstrated how to balance decentralization with efficiency, a concept that mirrors the role of full nodes and mining pools in the Bitcoin network.

Key Sources:
• Wikipedia: FastTrack Protocol
• The Register: Kazaa History
• HowStuffWorks: How Kazaa Works