Use of Network Families in Survivable Network Design and Optimization

In modeling communication networks for simulation of survivability schemes, one goal is often to design these networks across varying degrees of nodal connectivity to get unbiased performance results. Abstractions of real networks, simple random networks, and families of networks are the most common categories of these sample networks. This paper looks at how using the network family concept provides a solid unbiased foundation to compare different network protection models. The network family provides an advantage over random networks by requiring one solution per average nodal degree, as opposed to have to solve many, which could take a significant amount of time. Also, because the network family looks at a protection scheme across a variety of average nodal connectivities, a clearer picture of the scheme´s performance is gained compared to just running the simulation on a single network.