Publish-subscribe systems via gossip: a study based on complex networks

This paper analyzes the adoption of unstructured P2P overlay networks to build publish-subscribe systems. We consider a very simple distributed communication protocol, based on gossip and on the local knowledge each node has about subscriptions made by its neighbours. A mathematical analysis is provided to estimate the number of nodes receiving the event. These outcomes are compared to those obtained via simulation. Results show even when the amount of subscribers represents a very small (yet non-negligible) portion of network nodes, by tuning the gossip probability the event can percolate through the overlay