Scaling in the structure of directory trees in a computer cluster

Abstract

We describe the topological structure and the underlying organization principles of the directories created by users of a computer cluster. Users create trees with a scale-free degree distribution whose properties are reproduced by a growth and preferential attachment mechanism with a single parameter. The degree distribution has a nonuniversal exponent associated with different values of the parameter. However, the distribution of branch sizes has a universal exponent analytically obtained from the model. © 2005 The American Physical Society.