Agent Network Topology

Topological theory of intelligent agent networks provides crucial information about the structure of agent distribution over a network. Agent network topologies not only take agent distribution into consideration, but also consider agent mobility and intelligence in a network. Current research in the agent network topology area adopts topological theory from the distributed system andcomputing network fields, such as LAN without considering mobility and intelligence aspects. Moreover, current agent network topology theory is not systematic and relies on graph-based methodology, which is inefficient in describing large-scale agent networks.

Related Work

The term, agent network topology, is derived from mathematical topological theory. This concept overlaps with topological theory in data communications and distributed systems areas.

Existing topological theories in the computing field have been mainly applied to data communications and distributed systems areas. These theories have made some extraordinary contributions. However, as an emerging discipline, topological theory in multi-agent systems is inadequate. Existing topological theory cannot fulfill the needs of an agent network because an agent network has its specific characteristics, which include mobility, intelligence, and flexibility. Agent network topologies take not only agent distribution into consideration but also consider agent mobility in a network. Most of the current research work in the agent network topology area adopts topological theory from the distributed system and computing network fields without considering mobility and intelligence aspects.

Current research work in the agent network topology area is also not systematic and relies on graph-based methodology. Graph-based topological analysis of a network topology is often based on the network graph provided and sometimes lacks precise measurements of each agent. Moreover, existing agent network topologies are incapable of providing detailed information about each agent and its relationship with other agents on a network. This increases the difficulty of agent communication and cooperation, such as agent searching or matching, over a network. Thus, the research direction of agent network topologies needs to follow these three characteristics based on some concrete network performance analysis.

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