Can complexity science support the engineering of critical network infrastructures?

Abstract

Considerable attention is now being devoted to the study of "complexity science" with the intent of discovering and applying universal laws of highly interconnected and evolved systems. This paper considers several issues related to the use of these theories in the context of critical infrastructures, particularly the Internet. Specifically, we revisit the notion of "organized complexity" and suggest that it is fundamental to our ability to understand, operate, and design next-generation infrastructure networks. We comment on the role of engineering in defining an architecture to support networked infrastructures and highlight recent advances in the theory of distributed control driven by network technologies.

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