Local and Global Models for Large-Scale Peer-to-Peer Systems

Abstract

Abstract-This article considers selected mathematical models on the spectrum between local (microscopic) and global (macroscopic) extreme views. The classification is oriented to the large-scale property, which may not be ignored in designs of P2P systems for the today's and future Internet. A local model exploits the knowledge directly available at a given node, leading to easy implementation. A global model needs the knowledge about the entire system, leading to preservation of certain system invariants. The discussion introduces a rich family of analytical models that fall into this classification and can be constructed using rather simple mathematical techniques.