Modeling and Simulations of the Impact of Network Topology on Epidemic Protocols
Maziar Nekovee, Yamir Moreno · SSRN Electronic Journal · 2003
A large class of distributed networked systems require dissemination of information from one source to a large group of end-users. An effective way for propagating information in such scenarios is by using epidemic protocols. Most previous studies of the performance of these protocols do not adequately incorporate the underlying network topology. In this paper we report the results of our large-scale simulation studies of the impact of network topology on reliability, efficiency and delivery latency of these protocols. These studies are performed for networks with both homogeneous network with random graph topology, and strongly heterogeneous small-world networks with power-law degree distribution. In addition to our simulations, we present a novel analytical model for the dynamics of epidemic protocols in networks with arbitrary connectivity distributions. Our studies provide new insight on the complex interplay between network connectivity and the rules of epidemic protocols, and how network topology may be be exploited to optimize the performance of these protocols.