2002/09/26 by Adriana Iamnitchi, Matei Ripeanu, Ian Foster
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #cs.DC #cond-mat
published as 1st International Workshop on Peer-to-Peer Systems IPTPS 2002 · 8 pages
arxiv created 2002/09/26 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30
Data-sharing scientific collaborations have particular characteristics, potentially different from the current peer-to-peer environments. In this paper we advocate the benefits of exploiting emergent patterns in self-configuring networks specialized for scientific data-sharing collaborations. We speculate that a peer-to-peer scientific collaboration network will exhibit small-world topology, as do a large number of social networks for which the same pattern has been documented. We propose a solution for locating data in decentralized, scientific, data-sharing environments that exploits the small-worlds topology. The research challenge we raise is: what protocols should be used to allow a self-configuring peer-to-peer network to form small worlds similar to the way in which the humans that use the network do in their social interactions?