Efficient Network Analysis Under Link Deletion

The problem of worst case edge deletion from a network is considered. Suppose that you have a communication network and you can delete a single edge. Which edge deletion causes the largest disruption? More formally, given a graph, which edge after deletion disconnects the maximum number of pairs of vertices, where ties for number of pairs disconnected are broken by finding an edge that increases the average shortest path length the maximum amount. This problem is interesting both practically and theoretically. In practice, it is a good tool to measure network robustness and find vulnerable edges. In theory, it is related, though subtly different, to classical problems including the dynamic all-pairs shortest paths problem, and the decremental shortest paths problem.