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Modeling Large-scale Peer-to-Peer Networks and a Case Study of Gnutella

Jovanovic, Mihajlo A
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin989967592

Abstract Details

2001, MS, University of Cincinnati, Engineering : Computer Science.
The ongoing digital revolution has brought on the emergence of novel network applications such as Gnutella, Freenet, and Napster, intended to facilitate worldwide sharing of information. These applications have embraced the familiar peer-to-peer (P2P) architecture model of the original Internet in new and innovative ways, forever changing the world of personal computing. However if P2P is to truly replace the well-established client-server model as the computing paradigm of the future, more efficient decentralized algorithms must first be designed. This requires better understanding of the P2P network model on which those algorithms would be operating. Such model includes both network topology and traffic. In this thesis, we study both of these factors using as our case study Gnutella - a fully-decentralized file sharing network application. In order to study the Gnutella network topology, we have developed a network crawler that allows topology discovery to be performed in parallel. Upon analyzing the obtained topology data, we discovered it exhibits strong "small-world" properties. More specifically, we observed the properties of small diameter and clustering in the Gnutella network topology. In addition, we report evidence of four different power laws previously observed in other technological networks, such as the Internet and the WWW. In the second part of our thesis, we utilize our topology model in order to study network traffic. Specifically, we show that heterogeneous latencies present in many large-scale P2P network applications, when combined with the standard protocol mechanisms of time-to-live (TTL) and unique message identification (UID) used to govern flooding message transmissions, can potentially have a devastating effect on the reachability of message broadcast. We call this combined effect "short-circuiting," and we investigate consequences of this phenomenon. We show through experimentation that, in the worst case, short-circuiting can near-completely eliminate the reach of broadcast messages. We report measurements obtained through both network simulation studies and experimental studies performed on Gnutella. Our results indicate that, on average, the real effects of short-circuiting are significant, but not devastating to the performance of an overall large-scale system. We believe our discoveries of both network topology properties and short-circuiting are an important step toward a uniform model of P2P network applications, and could serve as a valuable tool in analyzing the performance of existing algorithms, as well as designing new, more scalable solutions.
Fred Annexstein (Advisor)
81 p.
Computer Science
network modeling; peer-to-peer; topology discovery; short-circuiting; small-world; power-laws; Gnutella

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Jovanovic, M. A. (2001). Modeling Large-scale Peer-to-Peer Networks and a Case Study of Gnutella [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin989967592

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Jovanovic, Mihajlo. Modeling Large-scale Peer-to-Peer Networks and a Case Study of Gnutella. 2001. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin989967592.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Jovanovic, Mihajlo. "Modeling Large-scale Peer-to-Peer Networks and a Case Study of Gnutella." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2001. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin989967592

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.