A new structured peer-to-peer network overlay is disclosed that uses a novel structured dual layer approach to sort peers according to their availability in a distributed fashion. The network builds an overlay structure where the reliability of a peer is indicated by its positi on in the network. The overlay adapts well to churn and effectively manages networks that could potentially contain peers with varying degrees of resources. The overlay is DHT capable and supports dynami c storage and retrieval policies with an average lookup time of O(log(n)). The network is capable of utilizing carrier class servers to augment the overlay performance, but will continue to function ev en if those servers fail or are permanently removed from the network.
