Evolution of Internet Topology

This project attempts to understand the Internet topology and its evolution. Such a topology is a time-varying graph where a node represents an Autonomous System (AS) and a link represents the existence of one or multiple BGP routing sessions between the particular nodes. Specifically, the goal is an empirical desciption and articulated model of the topology evolution: when and where AS nodes and inter-AS links are added or removed over time. The resulting model predicts that the effect of transient routing dynamics on the observed topology decreases exponentially over time, and the real topology changes can be modeled as the combination of a constant-rate birth process and a constant-rate death process. This model was tested over three different data sources: BGP logs, traceroute, and Internet registries. A similar methodology is being applied to other Internet routing data, such as data on network stability.