NECO: Towards a theory of network evolution

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As the evolution of living species is determined by few basic mechanisms, such as genetic heritage, genetic variation, and natural selection, it may be that the evolution of large-scale internetworks is similarly determined by simple, but still unknown, principles.The investigators aim to discover the fundamental character of network evolution, the laws that describe it, and ways in which networking researchers or innovators can effectively influence this process.This research can cause a paradigm shift in the way we understand the Internet and on how we attempt to introduce new features and correct its problems. The project also has a significant education component, including a new course that is cross-listed in the computer science and biology graduate programs of Georgia Tech. The first thread of this research focuses on the evolution of the Internet Autonomous System (AS) ecosystem. The goal is to better understand this complex and dynamic ecosystem, the behavior of entities that constitute it, and the nature of interactions between those entities. ASes attempt to optimize their utility or financial gains by dynamically changing the ASes they interact with, and thus by changing the organization of their ecosystem.In the second research thread, the focus is on the evolution of network design and architecture and on the laws and principles that determine the evolution of large-scale internetworks. The investigators will explore questions about the price of evolution in network design, the trade-offs between evolutionary and clean-slate architectures and the evolutionary implications of layered network organization. The objective is not only to understand the evolution of the Internet, but also to provide concrete guidelines for the design of evolvable architectures for the Future Internet.