Peer-to-peer refers to a mode of connecting computers so that every participating node is equal in rights and responsibilities, at least potentially. Unlike the client-server model, peers in p2p can choose whether to initiate an action (acting as a client) or respond (acting as server) at any time.
Client-Server
In the client-server model of networking, the protocol design determines which machine initiates a request or action, and thus acts as the client. By contrast, a server machine idles until it needs to fulfil a client request.
The implication is that servers need to be reachable. They have an IP address that can be connected to. Firewall rules can prevent incoming requests; such rules are not suitable for servers.
At the same time, firewall rules often permit clients to make outgoing requests.
P2P
In peer-to-peer models, the roles of client and server are more fluid. Or, to put it differently, each node is both client and server, able to issue and respond to requests.
Because the service architecture is thus not as strictly predefined, it usually follows that nodes employ their own algorithms for judging how to act at any given time. Additionally, administrative policies may influence whether a node acts more like a client or more like a server.
An implication of this fluidity in roles is that p2p nodes need to be reachable. This is either accomplished by running nodes on reachable IP addresses – or by using other means to establish connections, such as NAT piercing.
NAT Piercing
Network Address Translation or NAT for short is a method by which gateways provide a single address to one network, but connect to a wholly different network on the other side. To permit traffic between them, addresses need to be translated.
There are various kinds of NAT, but they tend to employ mapping each IP address of the private network to a new port on the single address the public network knows. Because the mapping method is unknown, NAT makes it difficult for outside computers to connect to machines inside the private network, preventing p2p operations.
NAT piercing refers to a variety of techniques used to establish a connection in this direction anyway. Protocols such as STUN help facilitate this.
Further Reading
The peer-to-peer term has become relatively ambiguous over time. Because the term is useful at different levels of abstraction, and also in a human rather than computing context, it is not guaranteed that two people using it mean the same thing. In “peering through the fog”, you can read more about the different meanings of the term.