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Network-Centric Warfare

The topology of a network refers to its “shape,” i.e. how the nodes are connected. Some example network topologies are:

Different network topologies have different properties. Some important properties are:

The density of the network, i.e. the average number of links per node.

•  The symmetry of the network, i.e. whether each node “looks the same,” or alternatively whether the network is randomly generated.
• Whether some of the nodes are highly connected “hubs” (as in a star network).
• The average number of “hops” between nodes, which relates to the time taken to send a message across the network.
• The k-connectivity of the network, i.e. the minimum number of independent paths between pairs of nodes. For example, if there are 2 independent paths between pairs of nodes, we say that the network is 2-connected. This is a measure of robustness.

For Defence communication networks, the choice of topology would depend on the relative importance of cost, robustness, and transmission time. Simulation results show that:

• The number of independent paths between pairs of nodes has an important impact on military combat performance in high-threat environments.
• The average number of “hops” between nodes has an important impact on military combat performance in time-critical environments.

References

• Anthony Dekker (2004), Simulating Network Robustness: Two Perspectives on Reality. Proc. SimTecT 2004, 24–27 May 2004, Canberra, Australia.
• Anthony Dekker (2005), Simulating Network Robustness for Critical Infrastructure Networks, Proc. 28th Australasian Computer Science Conference, Newcastle, Australia.
• International Journal of Network Management, Wiley.

Related Topics

• Scale-Free Networks
• Small-World Networks
• Defence Architectures