Topology Management in Heterogeneous P2P Overlay Networks

The deployment of wireless communication technologies has led to significant research in the area of heterogeneous network management. Pervasive computing applications based on networks with both wired and wireless connections involve collections of heterogeneous and resource-limited devices, typically operated over ad-hoc, completely decentralized networks and without requiring dedicated infrastructure support. Peer-to-peer overlay networks constructed on top of such infrastructures is a prominent approach to mitigate the drawbacks brought by such pervasive networks such as dynamicity, heterogeneity and complexity. This report presents a series of experiments based on BlatAnt, a fully distributed and adaptive algorithm inspired by Ant Colony Optimization (ACO). It manages the topology of P2P overlays by bounding its diameter within a user-defined limit. Our experiments included both confirmatory tests and exploratory tests; the latter one formed the basis for our studies of a new research topic which focuses on the management of dynamic heterogeneous networks.