Is the topology of the Internet network really fit to sustain its function?

V. Rosato, L. Issacharoff, S. Meloni, D. Caligiore and F. Tiriticco

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 2008, vol. 387, issue 7, 1689-1704

Abstract: The Internet is one of the most interesting realizations of a “complex” network. As a non-supervised growing object, it allows the study of the selective pressure which drives the network to assume its current structure. The DIMES and the ROUTEVIEWS projects are ongoing projects aimed at evaluating the topological structure of the Internet (at the Autonomous System or AS grain-level) on the basis of different types of measurements. The topological analysis of the networks produced by the two projects has allowed us to infer a growth mechanism which has been used to build up synthetic networks with similar properties. These networks have been used as test-beds for the implementation of a model of traffic dynamics, with the aim of assessing the ability of the Internet’s topology to support the basic actions for data traffic handling. Results have been compared with those obtained by using a random network of similar size. The effects of some structural perturbations (arcs and nodes’ removal, traffic localization) have been also evaluated in terms of the induced variations of the network’s efficiency. The resulting scenario is consistent with the hypothesis that the structure of the Internet is only partially fit to host communication processes and that the intelligence of the TCP/IP protocol is partly needed to overcome some “structural” deficiencies.

Keywords: Complex networks; Topology analysis; Traffic simulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:387:y:2008:i:7:p:1689-1704

DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2007.10.065

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