Network Robustness and Graph Topology

Two important recent trends in military and civilian communications have been the increasing tendency to base operations around an internal network, and the increasing threats to communications infrastructure. This combination of factors makes it important to study the robustness of network topologies. We use graph-theoretic concepts of connectivity to do this, and argue that node connectivity is the most useful such measure. We examine the relationship between node connectivity and network symmetry, and describe two conditions which robust networks should satisfy. To assist with the process of designing robust networks, we have developed a powerful network design and analysis tool called CAVALIER, which we briefly describe.