{{Short description|Number and type of nodes and alternative paths that exist within a computer network}} '''Network complexity''' is the number of nodes and alternative paths that exist within a computer network, as well as the variety of communication media, communications equipment, protocols, and hardware and software platforms found in the network.

''Simple network'': A small LAN with no alternative paths, a single communication protocol, and identical hardware and software platforms across nodes would be classified as a simple network.

''Complex network'': An enterprise-wide network that uses multiple communication media and communication protocols to interconnect geographically distributed networks with dissimilar hardware and software platforms would be classified as a complex network.

==See also== *{{anl|Connectivity (graph theory)}} *{{anl|Robustness of complex networks}}

==References== *{{cite book|chapter-url=http://conferences.sigcomm.org/co-next/2009/workshops/rearch/papers/Behringer.pdf|title=Proceedings of the 2009 workshop on Re-architecting the internet|publisher=ACM|year=2009|author=Michael H. Behringer|chapter=Classifying network complexity |doi=10.1145/1658978.1658983|pages=13–18|isbn=978-1-60558-749-3 }} *{{cite book|chapter-url=https://piazza.com/class_profile/get_resource/hpxgai1xazb2sr/hruw056vqka23c|chapter=Quantitative Measures of Network Complexity|author=Danail Bonchev, Gregory A. Buck|title=Complexity in Chemistry, Biology, and Ecology |year=2007|pages=191–235 |publisher=Springer |location=Boston, MA |doi=10.1007/0-387-25871-X_5|isbn=978-0-387-23264-5 }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Network Complexity}} Complexity

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