Using a Graph Algorithm Based Metric to Navigate Important Nodes and Validate Network Availability Design

The network availability has always been an attractive topics. However, till now, there is no universally consistent metric that can be used to measure the network availability. In addition, among various proposed metrics, there is no metric considering redundant connections in a network topology. So, to provide another view in the network availability, this paper introduces a new metric, named redundant connection, to measure the cruciality assigned to the nodes in a computer network based on the network topology. Along with the new metric, a simple algorithm is proposed to identify the critical nodes in a computer network using the new metric and analyze the connection availability design at each node in the network. The results can demonstrate the network general availability. A case study was conducted on a practical computer network designed by a medium business enterprise to be used internally. The results produced by the new metric and algorithm are very encouraging.