HMail: A hybrid mailing system based on the collaboration between traditional and Peer-to-Peer mailing architectures

Abstract

Current mailing systems have adopted a server-centric model in handling email traffic over the Internet. Although the traditional mailing providers employ a large number of servers where mail operations are evenly distributed, all the emails are routed to a central gateway, resulting in accessibility issues if the gateway link is severed. Moreover, the necessity of having dedicated buildings and trained personnel for handling large email operations and network traffic is unavoidable. This paper introduces a new mailing architecture design by combining our research activities on developing a hierarchical Peer-to-Peer (P2P) framework and resource evaluation methods of a certain peer in the network. We also group users according to their geographical distribution for assuring a load-balance in network traffic regarding email operations and present a way that helps the traditional mailing architecture rely on certain Peer-to-Peer decision blocks.