Content Addressable Network

A Content Addressable Network (CAN) is a distributed system where information is stored across multiple computers based on the content’s unique address or key. Instead of locating data by its physical location, you retrieve it by its address or identifier. Think of it as a giant, organized filing system where each document is stored based on a specific label, making it easy and efficient to find and access data from anywhere in the network. This system enhances data retrieval speed and reliability, especially in large, decentralized networks like peer-to-peer filesharing.