Reliable Architectures for Networks under Stress

In this paper, we consider the task of designing a physical network topology that meets a high level of reliability with unreliable network elements. Our simple network model is one in which nodes are invulnerable and links are subject to failure in a statistically independent fashion. Our reliability metrics are alland two-terminal reliability. In our treatment of the problem, we bring together previous contributions in the field and introduce additional insights that allow us to design networks which meet prescribed reliability levels. We address both the case when links are very reliable, and the often neglected case, where links are very unreliable. We focus on Harary graphs as candidate topologies, as they have been shown to possess many attractive reliability properties, and develop new results for this family of graphs.