Hierarchical multidimensional search in peer-to-peer networks

We propose a P2P search solution, called EZSearch, that enables efficient multidimensional search for remotely located contents that best match the search criteria. EZSearch is a hierarchical approach; it organizes the network into a hierarchy in a way fundamentally different from existing search techniques. EZSearch is based on Zigzag, a P2P overlay architecture known for its scalability and robustness under network growth and dynamics. The indexing architecture of EZSearch is built on top of the Zigzag hierarchy, that allows both k-nearest-neighbor and range queries to be answered with low search overhead and worst-case search time logarithmic with the network size. The indices are fairly distributed over a small number of nodes at a modest cost for index storage and update. The performance results of EZSearch drawn from our performance study are encouraging.