Modeling gossip-based content dissemination and search in distributed networking

This paper presents a rigorous analytic study of gossip-based message dissemination schemes that can be employed for content/service dissemination or discovery in unstructured and distributed networks. When using random gossiping, communication with multiple peers in one gossiping round is allowed. The algorithms studied in this paper are considered under different network conditions, depending on the knowledge of the state of the neighboring nodes in the network. Different node behaviors, with respect to their degree of cooperation and compliance with the gossiping process, are also incorporated. From the exact analysis, several important performance metrics and design parameters are analytically determined. Based on the proposed metrics and parameters, the performance of the gossip-based dissemination or search schemes, as well as the impact of the design parameters, are evaluated.