Influences on standards adoption in de facto standardization

In the IT industry, de facto standards emerge from standards competition as firms offer incompatible technologies, and user choices determine the outcome of the competition. The standards literature suggests that strong network effects create a bias toward a standard with a large installed base, leading to a winner-take-all outcome. More recently, several researchers have revealed that the dynamics of standardization are much more complex than the explanation offered by the economic theory of networks. Markets do not always exhibit tipping behavior so there is not always a single winner in de facto standardization; and the size of an overall installed base does not always exert a strong influence on adoption decisions. In contrast, network effects drawn from local social influence may be more salient to user adoption decisions. We ask: (1) Do we always observe a winner-take-all outcome in de facto standards competition? (2) What are the different technology adoption patterns observed in de facto standards competition? (3) What are the implications of network effects, switching costs, pricing, and functionality enhancement strategies on the outcome of de facto standards competition in different user network structures? Drawing on the economic theory of networks, the complex network theory, and previous work in the standards literature, we examine the influence of network effects, switching costs, price, and technology functionality on user adoption decisions using agent-based simulation. We incorporate underlying user network structures frequently observed in the real world as an important determining factor of user adoption decisions. Our results suggest that de facto standardization process does not always follow a three-phased S-shaped pattern. Winner-take-all is not a necessary outcome of standards competition. User network structures have a significant impact on the dynamics and outcomes of standards competition.     

A Distributed π-Calculus with Local Areas of Communication

This paper introduces a process calculus designed to capture the phenomenon of names which are known universally but always refer to local information. Our system extends the π-calculus so that a channel name can have within its scope several disjoint local areas. Such a channel name may be used for communication within an area, it may be sent between areas, but it cannot itself be used to transmit information from one area to another. Areas are arranged in a hierarchy of levels, distinguishing for example between a single application, a machine, or a whole network. We give an operational semantics for the calculus, and develop a type system that guarantees the proper use of channels within their local areas. We illustrate with models of an internet service protocol and a pair of distributed agents.     

Conventional and early token release scheduling models for the IEEE 802.5 token ring

We develop analyticalscheduling models for both the original IEEE 802.5 token ring protocol and a recent extension to the original protocol that allows early token release (ETR). A scheduling model is an abstraction that supports reasoning about the timing correctness of a given set of real-time messages scheduled on the network. Scheduling analysis of the original IEEE 802.5 token ring protocol has previously been discussed in Strosnider and Marchok (1989) and Pleinevaux (1992) in the context of improving responsiveness of soft deadline aperiodic messages. In contrast, this paper develops schedulability conditions for arbitrary periodic message sets. The main contributions of this work are: Scheduling models for both the original protocol and ETR protocol; comparison for maximum achievable utilizations for the two protocols; comparison between the original protocol and ETR from a schedulability viewpoint. We also demonstrate the utility of our scheduling models to select network operating parameters such as maximum packet size, and to quantify effects of parameters such as the number of stations, and network size on schedulability.     

Efficient reliable communication over partially authenticated networks

Reliable communication between processors in a network is a basic requirement for executing any protocol. Dolev [7] and Dolev et al. [8] showed that reliable communication is possible if and only if the communication network is sufficiently connected. Beimel and Franklin [1] showed that the connectivity requirement can be relaxed if some pairs of processors share authentication keys. That is, costly communication channels can be replaced by authentication keys. In this work, we continue this line of research. We consider the scenario where there is a specific sender and a specific receiver in a synchronous network. In this case, the protocol of [1] has n^O(n) rounds even if there is a single Byzantine processor. We present a more efficient protocol with round complexity of (n/t)^O(t), where n is the number of processors in the network and t is an upper bound on the number of Byzantine processors in the network. Specifically, our protocol is polynomial when the number of Byzantine processors is O(1), and for every t its round complexity is bounded by 2^O(n). The same improvements hold for reliable and private communication. The improved protocol is obtained by analyzing the properties of a "communication and authentication graph" that characterizes reliable communication. Received: 13 January 2004, Accepted: 22 September 2004, Published online: 13 January 2005 A preliminary version of this paper appeared in [2].     

高能量节点驱动的按需距离矢量路由协议

无线自组织网络中的按需距离矢量路由协议(AODV)没有考虑到能量消耗的均衡性和网络生命期的问题。针对AODV的这一缺点,提出了一种高能量节点驱动的AODV协议(HN-AODV)。此协议将高能量节点驱动的策略应用于按需路由发现过程,尽量选择能量较高的节点来承担转发任务,以此来平衡网络能耗。仿真结果显示,HN-AODV在基本不降低数据传输性能的前提下,显著提高了网络生命周期。这种高能量节点驱动的方案同样可以运用在其它类似的反应式路由协议中。     

Universal dynamic synchronous self–stabilization

Summary. We prove the existence of a “universal” synchronous self-stabilizing protocol, that is, a protocol that allows a distributed system to stabilize to a desired nonreactive behaviour (as long as a protocol stabilizing to that behaviour exists). Previous proposals required drastic increases in asymmetry and knowledge to work, whereas our protocol does not use any additional knowledge, and does not require more symmetry-breaking conditions than available; thus, it is also stabilizing with respect to dynamic changes in the topology. We prove an optimal quiescence time n+D for a synchronous network of n processors and diameter D; the protocol can be made finite state with a negligible loss in quiescence time. Moreover, an optimal D+1 protocol is given for the case of unique identifiers. As a consequence, we provide an effective proof technique that allows to show whether self-stabilization to a certain behaviour is possible under a wide range of models. Received: January 1999 / Accepted: July 2001     

Tight Results on Minimum Entropy Set Cover

In the minimum entropy set cover problem, one is given a collection of k sets which collectively cover an n-element ground set. A feasible solution of the problem is a partition of the ground set into parts such that each part is included in some of the k given sets. Such a partition defines a probability distribution, obtained by dividing each part size by n. The goal is to find a feasible solution minimizing the (binary) entropy of the corresponding distribution. Halperin and Karp have recently proved that the greedy algorithm always returns a solution whose cost is at most the optimum plus a constant. We improve their result by showing that the greedy algorithm approximates the minimum entropy set cover problem within an additive error of 1 nat =log ₂ e bits ≃1.4427 bits. Moreover, inspired by recent work by Feige, Lovász and Tetali on the minimum sum set cover problem, we prove that no polynomial-time algorithm can achieve a better constant, unless P = NP. We also discuss some consequences for the related minimum entropy coloring problem. G. Joret is a Research Fellow of the Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS).     

Passivity‐based state synchronization of homogeneous multiagent systems via static protocol in the presence of input saturation

This paper studies semiglobal and global state synchronization of homogeneous multiagent systems with partial‐state coupling (ie, agents are coupled through part of their states) via a static protocol. We consider 2 classes of agents, ie, G‐passive and G‐passifiable via input feedforward, which are subjected to input saturation. The proposed static protocol is purely decentralized, ie, without an additional channel for the exchange of controller states. For semiglobal synchronization, a static protocol is designed for an a priori given set of network graphs with a directed spanning tree. In other words, the static protocol only needs rough information on the network graph, ie, a lower bound for the real part and an upper bound for the modulus, of the nonzero eigenvalues of the corresponding Laplacian matrix. Whereas for global synchronization, only strongly connected and detailed balanced network graphs are considered. In this case, for G‐passive agents, the static protocol does not need any network information, whereas for G‐passifiable agents via input feedforward, the static protocol only needs an upper bound for the modulus of the eigenvalues of the corresponding Laplacian matrix.     

Scheduling Protocols for Switches with Large Envelopes

Traditionally, switches make scheduling decisions on the granularity of a packet. However, this is becoming increasingly difficult since network bandwidth is growing rapidly whereas packet sizes remain largely unchanged. Therefore the service time of an individual packet is decreasing rapidly. In this paper we study switches that make scheduling decisions on the granularity of an envelope which can be much larger than a packet in size. For an output-queued switch with envelope size E, each output chooses one input every E time steps and transmits packets from this chosen input during the next E steps. For an input-queued switch with envelope size E, one matching from the inputs to the outputs is computed every E steps and only the input–output pairs that are defined by this matching are allowed to transmit packets during the next E steps. Traditional switches correspond to envelope size E = 1 and almost all previous scheduling work deals with this case exclusively. We first show how some stable protocols for scheduling networks of output-queued switches with E = 1 fail for arbitrary E when these protocols are generalized in the most straightforward manner. We then present an extremely simple protocol that does guarantee network stability for output-queued switches for any E ≥ 1. For input-queued switches we first present a max-weight matching protocol that is stable for a single switch with arbitrary E. We then present a more complex protocol that achieves stability for a network of input-queued switches for any E ≥ 1.     

Eventual Leader Election with Weak Assumptions on Initial Knowledge,Communication Reliability,and Synchrony

his paper considers the eventual leader election problem in asynchronous message-passing systems where an arbitrary number t of processes can crash (t < n, where n is the total number of processes). It considers weak assumptions both on the initial knowledge of the processes and on the network behavior. More precisely, initially, a process knows only its identity and the fact that the process identities are different and totally ordered (it knows neither n nor t). Two eventual leader election protocols and a lower bound are presented. The first protocol assumes that a process also knows a lower bound α on the number of processes that do not crash. This protocol requires the following behavioral properties from the underlying network: the graph made up of the correct processes and fair lossy links is strongly connected, and there is a correct process connected to (n − f) − α other correct processes (where f is the actual number of crashes in the considered run) through eventually timely paths (paths made up of correct processes and eventually timely links). This protocol is not communication-efficient in the sense that each correct process has to send messages forever. The second protocol is communication-efficient: after some time, only the final common leader has to send messages forever. This protocol does not require the processes to know α, but requires stronger properties from the underlying network: each pair of correct processes has to be connected by fair lossy links (one in each direction), and there is a correct process whose n − f − 1 output links to the rest of correct processes have to be eventually timely. A matching lower bound result shows that any eventual leader election protocol must have runs with this number of eventually timely links, even if all processes know all the processes identities. In addition to being communication-efficient, the second protocol has another noteworthy efficiency property, namely, be the run finite or infinite, all the local variables and message fields have a finite domain in the run.     

Lower bounds for the broadcast problem in mobile radio networks

Summary.  In this paper, we prove a lower bound on the number of rounds required by a deterministic distributed protocol for broadcasting a message in radio networks whose processors do not know the identities of their neighbors. Such an assumption captures the main characteristic of mobile and wireless environments [3], i.e., the instability of the network topology. For any distributed broadcast protocol Π, for any n and for any D≦n/2, we exhibit a network G with n nodes and diameter D such that the number of rounds needed by Π for broadcasting a message in G is Ω(D log n). The result still holds even if the processors in the network use a different program and know n and D. We also consider the version of the broadcast problem in which an arbitrary number of processors issue at the same time an identical message that has to be delivered to the other processors. In such a case we prove that, even assuming that the processors know the network topology, Ω(n) rounds are required for solving the problem on a complete network (D=1) with n processors. Received: August 1994 / Accepted: August 1996     

Exact formulations for the minimum interference problem in k‐connected ad hoc wireless networks

Energy consumption is one of the most critical issues in wireless ad hoc and sensor networks. A considerable amount of energy is dissipated due to radio transmission power and interference (message collisions). A typical topology control technique aims at reducing energy consumption while ensuring specific desired properties to the established wireless network (such as biconnectivity). Energy minimization can be achieved by reducing the transmission power and selecting edges that suffer or cause less interference. We propose four integer programming formulations for the k‐connected minimum wireless ad hoc interference problem, which consists in a topology control technique to find a power assignment to the nodes of an ad hoc wireless network such that the resulting network topology is k‐vertex connected and the radio interference is minimum. Interference is measured by three different models: Boolean, protocol, and physical. We report computational experiments comparing the formulations and interference models. Optimal solutions for moderately sized networks are obtained using a commercial solver.     

Self-stabilizing depth-first token circulation in arbitrary rooted networks

Abstract. We present a deterministic distributed depth-first token passing protocol on a rooted network. This protocol uses neither the processor identifiers nor the size of the network, but assumes the existence of a distinguished processor, called the root of the network. The protocol is self-stabilizing, meaning that starting from an arbitrary state (in response to an arbitrary perturbation modifying the memory state), it is guaranteed to reach a state with no more than one token in the network. Our protocol implements a strictly fair token circulation scheme. The proposed protocol has extremely small state requirement – only states per processor, i.e., bits per processor, where is the degree of the network. The protocol can be used to implement a strictly fair distributed mutual exclusion in any rooted network. This protocol can also be used to construct a DFS spanning tree. Received: July 1998 / Accepted: April 2000     

Network invariants for real-time systems

We extend the approach of model checking parameterized networks of processes by means of network invariants to the setting of real-time systems. We introduce timed transition structures (which are similar in spirit to timed automata) and define a notion of abstraction that is safe with respect to linear temporal properties. We strengthen the notion of abstraction to allow a finite system, then called network invariant, to be an abstraction of networks of real-time systems. In general the problem of checking abstraction of real-time systems is undecidable. Hence, we provide sufficient criteria, which can be checked automatically, to conclude that one system is an abstraction of a concrete one. Our method is based on timed superposition and discretization of timed systems. We exemplify our approach by proving mutual exclusion of a simple protocol inspired by Fischer’s protocol, using the model checker TLV. Part of this work was done during O. Grinchtein’s stay at Weizmann Institute. This author was supported by the European Research Training Network “Games”.     

Assigning labels in an unknown anonymous network with a leader

We consider the task of assigning distinct labels to nodes of an unknown anonymous network in a distributed manner. A priori, nodes do not have any identities, except for one distinguished node, called the source, and do not know the topology or the size of the network. They execute identical algorithms, apart from the source which plays the role of a leader and starts the labeling process. Our goal is to assign short labels, as fast as possible. The quality of a labeling algorithm is measured by the range from which the algorithm picks the labels, or alternatively, the length of the assigned labels. Natural efficiency measures are the time, i.e., the number of rounds required for the label assignment, and the message and bit complexities of the label assignment protocol, i.e., the total number of messages (resp., bits) circulating in the network. We present label assignment algorithms whose time and message complexity are asymptotically optimal and which assign short labels. On the other hand, we establish inherent trade-offs between quality and efficiency for labeling algorithms. Received: July 2000 / Accepted: February 2001     

On improving the efficiency of truthful routing in MANETs with selfish nodes

In Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs), nodes depend upon each other for routing and forwarding packets. However, nodes belonging to independent authorities in MANETs may behave selfishly and may not forward packets to save battery and other resources. To stimulate cooperation, nodes are rewarded for their forwarding service. Since nodes spend different cost to forward packets, it is desirable to reimburse nodes according to their cost so that nodes get incentive while the least total payment is charged to the sender. However, to maximize their utility, nodes may tell lie about their cost. This poses the requirement of truthful protocols, which maximizes the utility of nodes only when they declare their true cost. Anderegg and Eidenbenz recently proposed a truthful routing protocol, named ad hoc-VCG. This protocol incurs the route discovery overhead of O(n³), where n is the number of nodes in the network. This routing overhead is likely to become prohibitively large as the network size grows. Moreover, it leads to low network performance due to congestion and interference. We present a low-overhead truthful routing protocol for route discovery in MANETs with selfish nodes by applying mechanism design. The protocol, named LOTTO (Low Overhead Truthful rouTing prOtocol), finds a least cost path for data forwarding with a lower routing overhead of O(n²). We conduct an extensive simulation study to evaluate the performance of our protocol and compare it with ad hoc-VCG. Simulation results show that our protocol provides a much higher packet delivery ratio, generates much lower overhead and has much lower end-to-end delay.     

Group rekeying with limited unicast recovery

In secure group communications, a key server can deliver a “group-oriented” rekey message [C.K. Wong, M.G. Gouda, S.S. Lam, Secure group communications using key graphs, in: Proceedings of ACM SIGCOMM ’98, September 1998, pp. 68–79] to a large number of users efficiently using multicast. For reliable delivery, Keystone [C.K. Wong, S.S. Lam, Keystone: a group key management system, in: Proceedings of International Conference on Telecommunications, Acapulco, Mexico, May 2000] proposed the use of forward error correction (FEC) in an initial multicast, followed by the use of unicast delivery for users that cannot recover their new keys from the multicast. In this paper, we investigate how to limit unicast recovery to a small fraction r of the user population. By specifying a very small r, almost all users in the group will receive their new keys within a single multicast round.We present analytic models for deriving r as a function of the amount of FEC redundant information (denoted by h) and the rekeying interval duration (denoted by T) for both Bernoulli and two-state Markov Chain loss models. From our analyses, we conclude that r decreases roughly at an exponential rate as h increases. We then present a protocol designed to adaptively adjust (h,T) to achieve a specified r. In particular, our protocol chooses from among all feasible (h,T) pairs one with h and T values close to their feasible minima. Our protocol also adapts to an increase in network traffic. Simulation results using ns-2 show that with network congestion our adaptive FEC protocol can still achieve a specified r by adjusting values of h and T.     

The level of handshake required for managing a connection

A connection between two hosts across a wide-area network may consist of many sessions over time, each called an incarnation. A connection is synchronized using a connection establishment protocol, based on a handshake mechanism, to allow reliable exchange of data. This paper identifies the precise level of handshake needed under different assumptions on the nodes and on the network, using a formal model for connection management. In particular, the following parameters are studied: the size of the memory at the nodes, the information retained between incarnations, and the existence of time constraints on the network. Among the results we obtain are: (1) If both nodes have bounded memory, no incarnation management protocol exists. (2) If the nodes have unbounded memory, then a two-way handshake incarnation management protocol exists. (3) If the nodes have unbounded memory, and the server does not retain connection-specific information between incarnations, then a three-way handshake incarnation management protocol exists. On the other hand, a two-way handshake incarnation management protocol does not exist, even if some global information is retained. (4) If a bound on maximum packet lifetime (MPL) is known, then a two-way handshake incarnation management protocol exists, in which the server does not retain connection-specific information between incarnations. Received: July 1995 / Accepted: July 1997     

A conceptual model of service customization and its implementation

With the development of Internet and next generation networks in telecommunications, more and more new services are required to be introduced into networks. Introducing new services into traditional network is always associated with standardizing new protocols. The progress of protocol standardization usually takes several years, which cannot meet the increasing demands of the applications in Internet and next generation networks. Service customization in network systems may be one possible solution to cope with this problem. Based on the principle that network service is provided by interactions among protocol entities, this paper proposes a conceptual model of service customization (SECUM) by separating the service logic from protocol interactive logic within existing network architecture. The theory of Communicating Sequential Processes (CSP) is used to formalize the SECUM in order to locate exactly the service logic and to define precisely the SECUM. For validating the SECUM‘s usability in practical network systems, this paper also proposes an implementation model for SECUM: a component-based protocol implementation model (CPIM). CPIM discomposes protocol entity into application component, service component, message component and communication component. Service component associates application component with message component. Users or network managers can customize network services by configuring service component. The paper shows respectively the applications of SECUM and CPIM by proposing a customizable IP service model based on SECUM and describing an implementation of Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) based on CPIM. Compared with the existing service-customization techniques, SECUM is a service customization model internal to network system and may provide more powerful capabilities of service customization.