Mean Internodal Distance in Multihop Store & Forward Networks.

This study has shown that a viable choice for network structure is, surprisingly, an almost randomly constructed (semi-random) network. Semi-random networks, which are constructed randomly using a ring structure as a starting point (to ensure connectivity), display smaller mean internodal distances (and therefore higher channel efficiencies) than more structured and seemingly optimal networks. For smaller N, these semi-random networks display mean internodal distances comparable to the more structured networks. This result leads to the conclusion that a large number of networks display similarly low mean internodal distances. For these reasons, careful selection of network topology to minimize the mean internodal distance may be important in only the most sensitive applications. And even in such sensitive applications, an almost randomly chosen network may be the best choice.