Title
Race Conditions in Coexisting Overlay Networks
Abstract
By allowing end hosts to make independent routing decisions at the application level, different overlay networks may unintentionally interfere with each other. This paper describes how multiple similar or dissimilar overlay networks could experience race conditions, resulting in oscillations (in both route selection and network load) and cascading reactions. We pinpoint the causes for synchronization and derive an analytic formulation for the synchronization probability of two overlays. Our model indicates that the probability of synchronization is non-negligible across a wide range of parameter settings, thus implying that the ill effects of synchronization should not be ignored. Using the analytical model, we find an upper bound on the duration of traffic oscillations. We also show that the model can be easily extended to include a large number of co-existing overlays. We validate our model through simulations that are designed to capture the transient routing behavior of both the IP- and overlay-layers. We use our model to study the effects of factors such as path diversity (measured in round trip times) and probing aggressiveness on these race conditions. Finally, we discuss the implications of our study on the design of path probing process in overlay networks and examine strategies to reduce the impact of race conditions.
Year
DOI
Venue
2008
10.1109/TNET.2007.897959
Networking, IEEE/ACM Transactions
Keywords
Field
DocType
telecommunication congestion control,telecommunication network routing,cascading reaction,coexisting overlay networks,dissimilar overlay network,overlay layer,path diversity,path probing process,race condition,synchronization probability,traffic oscillation,transient routing behavior,Interaction between multiple overlay networks,race conditions,synchronization,traffic oscillations
Race condition,Synchronization,Engineering profession,Upper and lower bounds,Computer science,Computer network,Overlay,Overlay network,Distributed computing,The Internet
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
16
1
1063-6692
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
12
0.81
13
Authors
4
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
R. Keralapura1312.88
Chen-Nee Chuah221322.23
Nina Taft32109154.92
Iannaccone, Gianluca416512.50