Modeling Internet topology

Abstract

The topology of a network, or a group of networks such as the Internet, has a strong bearing on many management and performance issues. Good models of the topological structure of a network are essential for developing and analyzing internetworking technology. This article discusses how graph-based models can be used to represent the topology of large networks, particularly aspects of locality and hierarchy present in the Internet. Two implementations that generate networks whose topology resembles that of typical internetworks are described, together with publicly available source code.