Network Topology

Freenet uses a small world topology network, in both opennet and darknet modes. This allows routing to work efficiently with a simple (greedy) routing algorithm.

In darknet mode, the small world topology is assumed to exist because it exists in the underlying social network that the darknet connections arise from. The problem then becomes one of assigning good locations to the individual nodes; this is done by location swapping.

In opennet mode, the connections must be made automatically. The connection policies are designed to drop old connections and make new ones in a way that creates the requisite topology.