Network-Centric Warfare
Further Information
Small World Networks
Developed by Duncan Watts and Steven Strogatz, Small-World networks are produced by taking a regular ring-like network, and replacing a small number of the original links by random links across the network.
This highlights the importance of the average number of “hops” to get from one node in the network to another, which in turn relates to the time taken to send a message across the network. Even a small number of “cross-links” can significantly reduce the average number of “hops,” and a fully randomly-connected network does not improve this much further:
Although reducing the average number of “hops” is an important principle, this does not mean that Small-World networks are an effective design for ADF communication networks (see Topology).
Small-World networks have also been used as a picture of human communication (with the regular links corresponding to normal work contacts, and the “cross-links” corresponding to the highly important “sideways” connections. However, Scale-Free networks are now viewed as a more realistic depiction of human communication networks.
References- Duncan Watts (2003), Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age, William Heinemann.
- Anthony Dekker (2005), Network Topology and Military Performance (draft paper).
- Scale-Free Networks
- Topology