Evaluating advanced routing algorithms for content-based publish/subscribe systems

Abstract

We present an evaluation of advanced routing algorithms for content-based publish/subscribe systems that focuses on the inherent characteristics of routing algorithms (routing table sizes and filter forwarding overhead) instead of system-specific parameters (CPU load etc.). The evaluation is based on a working prototype instead of simulations and compares several routing algorithms to each other. Moreover, the effects of locality among the interests of the consumers are investigated. The results offer new insights into the behavior of content-based routing algorithms. Firstly, advanced routing algorithms can be considered mandatory in large-scale publish/subscribe systems. Secondly, the use of advertisements considerably improves scalability. Thirdly, advanced routing algorithms operate efficiently in more dynamic environments than was previously thought. Finally, the good behavior of the algorithms improves even if the interests of the consumers are not evenly distributed, which can be expected in practice.