Internet topology at the router and autonomous system level

TL;DR

This paper analyzes Internet topology at router and autonomous system levels, revealing scale-free and hierarchical properties crucial for improving topology models.

Contribution

It provides a quantitative analysis of Internet topological metrics at two resolution scales, highlighting scale-free and hierarchical features.

Findings

Presence of scale-free signatures in distributions

Hierarchical structure of Internet topology confirmed

Implications for more accurate topology generators

Abstract

We present a statistical analysis of different metrics characterizing the topological properties of Internet maps, collected at two different resolution scales: the router and the autonomous system level. The metrics we consider allow us to confirm the presence of scale-free signatures in several statistical distributions, as well as to show in a quantitative way the hierarchical nature of the Internet. Our findings are relevant for the development of more accurate Internet topology generators, which should include, along with the scale-free properties of the connectivity distribution, the hierarchical signatures unveiled in the present work.