Abstract-Motivated by applications to sensor, peer-to-peer, and ad hoc networks, we study distributed algorithms, also known as gossip algorithms, for exchanging information and for computing in an arbitrarily connected network of nodes. The topology of such networks changes continuously as new nodes join and old nodes leave the network. Algorithms for such networks need to be robust against changes in topology. Additionally, nodes in sensor networks operate under limited computational, communication, and energy resources. These constraints have motivated the design of "gossip" algorithms: schemes which distribute the computational burden and in which a node communicates with a randomly chosen neighbor.We analyze the averaging problem under the gossip constraint for an arbitrary network graph, and find that the averaging time of a gossip algorithm depends on the second largest eigenvalue of a doubly stochastic matrix characterizing the algorithm. Designing the fastest gossip algorithm corresponds to minimizing this eigenvalue, which is a semidefinite program (SDP). In general, SDPs cannot be solved in a distributed fashion; however, exploiting problem structure, we propose a distributed subgradient method that solves the optimization problem over the network.The relation of averaging time to the second largest eigenvalue naturally relates it to the mixing time of a random walk with transition probabilities derived from the gossip algorithm. We use this connection to study the performance and scaling of gossip algorithms on two popular networks: Wireless Sensor Networks, which are modeled as Geometric Random Graphs, and the Internet graph under the so-called Preferential Connectivity (PC) model.

We provide a systematic study of the problem of finding the source of a rumor in a network. We model rumor spreading in a network with a variant of the popular SIR model and then construct an estimator for the rumor source. This estimator is based upon a novel topological quantity which we term rumor centrality. We establish that this is an ML estimator for a class of graphs. We find the following surprising threshold phenomenon: on trees which grow faster than a line, the estimator always has non-trivial detection probability, whereas on trees that grow like a line, the detection probability will go to 0 as the network grows. Simulations performed on synthetic networks such as the popular small-world and scale-free networks, and on real networks such as an internet AS network and the U.S. electric power grid network, show that the estimator either finds the source exactly or within a few hops of the true source across different network topologies. We compare rumor centrality to another common network centrality notion known as distance centrality. We prove that on trees, the rumor center and distance center are equivalent, but on general networks, they may differ. Indeed, simulations show that rumor centrality outperforms distance centrality in finding rumor sources in networks which are not tree-like. arXiv:0909.4370v2 [stat.ML]

, whereis the velocity of the mobile nodes. We then describe a scheme that achieves the optimal order of delay for any given throughput. The scheme varies (i) the number of hops, (ii) the transmission range and (iii) the degree of node mobility to achieve the optimal throughput-delay trade-off. The scheme produces a range of models that capture the Gupta-Kumar model at one extreme and the Grossglauser-Tse model at the other. In the course of our work, we recover previous results of Gupta and Kumar, and Grossglauser and Tse using simpler techniques, which might be of a separate interest.

Gupta and Kumar (2000) introduced a random model to study throughput scaling in a wireless network with static nodes, and showed that the throughput per source-destination pair is Θ 1/ √ n log n . Grossglauser and Tse (2001) showed that when nodes are mobile it is possible to have a constant throughput scaling per source-destination pair.In most applications delay is also a key metric of network performance. It is expected that high throughput is achieved at the cost of high delay and that one can be improved at the cost of the other. The focus of this paper is on studying this trade-off for wireless networks in a general framework. Optimal throughput-delay scaling laws for static and mobile wireless networks are established. For static networks, it is shown that the optimal throughput-delay trade-off is given by D(n) = Θ(nT (n)), where T (n) and D(n) are the throughput and delay scaling, respectively. For mobile networks, a simple proof of the throughput scaling of Θ(1) for the Grossglauser-Tse scheme is given and the associated delay scaling is shown to be Θ(n log n). The optimal throughput-delay trade-off for mobile networks is also established. To capture physical movement in the real world, a random walk model for node mobility is assumed. It is shown that for throughput of O 1/ √ n log n , which can also be achieved in static networks, the throughput-delay trade-off is the same as in static networks, i.e., D(n) = Θ(nT (n)). Surprisingly, for almost any throughput of a higher order, the delay is shown to be Θ(n log n), which is the delay for throughput of Θ(1). Our result, thus, suggests that the use of mobility to increase throughput, even slightly, in real-world networks would necessitate an abrupt and very large increase in delay.