From individual to collective behaviour in CA like models of data communication networks

Abstract

Understanding the collective behaviour of packets traffic in data networks is of vital importance for their future developments. Some aspects of this behaviour can be captured and investigated by simplified models of data networks. We present our CA like model describing processes taking place at the Network Layer of the OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) Reference Model. We use this model to study spatiotemporal packets traffic dynamics for various routing algorithms and traffic loads presented to the network. We investigate how additional links, added to a network connection topology, affect the collective behaviour of packets traffic. We discuss how some of the network performance aggregate measures reflect and relate to the emergence of packets collective spatio-temporal dynamics. We present selected simulation results and analyse them. © Springer-Verlag 2004.