A Case for Complexity Models in Network Design and Management
File(s)
Date
2008Author
Benson, Theophilus
Akella, Aditya
Maltz, Dave
Publisher
University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Computer Sciences
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Anecdotal evidence and intuition suggest that an
operator?s ability to manage a network decreases as the network
becomes more complex. However, there is currently no way
to systematically quantify how complex a network?s design is
nor how complexity may impact network management activities.
In this paper, we develop a suite of complexity models that
describe the routing design and con?guration of a network in
a succinct fashion, abstracting away details of the underlying
con?guration languages. Our models, and the complexity metrics
arising from them, capture the dif?culty of con?guring speci?c
control and data plane behaviors in various routers. They also
enable measurement of the inherent complexity of reachability
constraints that a network implements via its routing design.
Our models simplify network design and management by facil-
itating comparison between alternative designs for a network.
To demonstrate their value, we use the metrics to perform a
comparative study of the complexity of ?ve different networks,
including three university networks and two enterprise networks.
Permanent Link
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1793/60650Citation
TR1643