Improved Algorithm for Network Topology Probe Based on Binary Search

Network topology measurement is the basis of network management which makes better use of Internet for people. Using Trace route tool is the traditional way to get information about the network topology. However, Trace route sends numerous packets into the network which increases the network load. In order to reduce the amount of duplicated packets, this paper presents an algorithm named BST. According to the idea of Binary Search, BST selects the last node that has been probed and probes the nodes following the selected node along the path in parallel. By comparing to some major network topology probe methods, experimental results show that BST sends fewer packets and costs less running time. The efficiency of network topology probe can be improved dramatically by the BST algorithm.