The Rich-Club Phenomenon in the Internet

Title: The Rich-Club Phenomenon in the Internet

Research Question: Can we characterize the core tier of the AS (Autonomous System) without making any heuristic assumptions?

Methodology: The researchers introduced the rich-club phenomenon, a quantitative way to characterize a core tier without making any heuristic assumptions. They used an extended map of the AS graph, which is a network representing the relationships between different autonomous systems in the Internet. They compared the rich-club measured in the AS graph with the rich-club produced by the Barabási-Albert (BA) scale-free model, the Fitness BA model, and the Inet-3.0 model.

Results: The researchers found that the BA and Fitness BA model did not create a rich-club. The Inet-3.0 model created a rich-club but with a deficit in the number of core-links. This suggests that these models do not accurately represent the core tier structure of the AS graph.

Implications: The rich-club phenomenon provides a simple qualitative way to differentiate between power-law topologies and offers a criterion for new network models. It allows for a better understanding of the core tier structure in networks, which can be useful in various applications such as network security, routing algorithms, and traffic management.

Link to Article: https://arxiv.org/abs/0308036v2 Authors: arXiv ID: 0308036v2