Reliability Indices for Topological Design of Computer Communication Networks

Incorporating network reliability parameter in the design of reliable computer communication networks makes the computations prohibitive. Interdependence among network topological parameters does not permit the design of a maximally reliable network using any one of the parameters and thus, there arises a real need for a composite reliability index which gives a more realistic assessment of network reliability. After discussing experimental results regarding the effects of various topological parameters on network reliability, we present two heuristic reliability indices which give a fair indication of overall reliability. A design procedure for reliable computer communication network based on local search technique incorporating these reliability indices is suggested. Having only one composite reliability index which is very simple to evaluate saves computation while designing maximally reliable computer networks as compared to the existing techniques based on several reliability measures.