Comparison of MCP and ANP: What Kind of Communication Protocol Do Agents Need?

MCP and ANP differ significantly in protocol architecture, identity authentication, and information organization.

• MCP is a typical Client-Server (CS) architecture, while ANP is a typical Peer-to-Peer (P2P) architecture.
• MCP's identity authentication is based on the OAuth standard, facilitating client access to current internet resources. ANP's identity authentication is based on the W3C DID standard, focusing on cross-platform interoperability among agents, enabling seamless connectivity.
• MCP organizes information using JSON-RPC technology, essentially API calls. ANP uses semantic web Linked-Data technology to build a data network that is easily accessible and understandable by AI.

ANP is agent-centric, where each agent has equal status, forming a decentralized agent collaboration network.