Using taxonomies for content-based routing with ants

Although the ant metaphor has been successfully applied to routing of data packets both in wireless and fixed networks, little is known yet about its appropriateness for search in peer-to-peer environments. This paper presents SemAnt, a distributed content-based routing algorithm based on the Ant Colony Optimization meta-heuristic and adapted for deployment in peer-to-peer networks. Under the assumption that content is annotated according to a taxonomy, it is possible to determine the hierarchical relationships between queries, and to exploit this information to improve the routing process. Our results show that using taxonomies enhances search performance in peer-to-peer networks. The degree of enhancement is highly dependent on the content distribution in the network. Categories and Subject Descriptors C.2.2 [Computer-Communication Networks]: Network Protocols—Routing Protocols; H.3.4 [Information Storage and Retrieval]: Systems and Software—Information networks; I.2.8 [Artifi...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2007
• Where: CN
• Authors: Elke Michlmayr, Arno Pany, Gerti Kappel
• Keywords: Ant Colony Optimization, CN 2007, Distributed Content-based Routing, Peer-to-peer Networks