METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR DATA TRANSFER IN NETWORKS USING DISTRIBUTED FILE LOCATION INDICES

Methods and apparatus for data transfer according to various aspects of the present invention operate in conjunction with a peer-to-peer (p2p) network associated with distributed file location index. For example, a system according to various aspects of the present invention may identify a high-demand file item according to communications on the p2p network and store a copy of the high-demand file item. The system may assign a non-random node identifier to the system for identifying the computer system in the p2p network. The system may then respond to requests for the high-demand file item.