How BRITE Works

The specific details regarding how a topology is generated depend on the specific generation model being used. We can think of the generation process as divided into a four-step process:

1. Placing the nodes in the plane
2. Interconnecting the nodes
3. Assigning attributes to topological components (delay and bandwidth for links, AS id for nodes, etc.)
4. Outputting the topology to a specific format.

This of course is not a clear-cut division that will fit every generation model but conceptually reflects what happens when a topology is being generated. Also, several models may share specific steps during the generation process, while other models differ significantly on the individual steps. In the next section we will discuss these steps in the context of particular models provided in the current distribution of BRITE.