Optimizing 4 player peer-to-peer network topology
I'm developing a realtime game using Sprite Kit and Game Kit. The game features a multiplayer mode where 4 players can play with each other. I've been reading the Game Kit programing guide and came across the following passage:
Although the GKMatch object creates a full peer-to-peer connection between all the participants, you can reduce the network traffic by layering a ring or client-server networking architecture on top of it. Figure 8-1 shows three possible network topologies for a four-player game. On the left, a peer-to-peer game has 12 connections between the various devices. However, you could layer a client-server architecture on top of this by nominating one of the devices to act as the host. If your game transmits to or from the host only, you can halve the number of connections. A ring architecture allows devices to forward network packets to the next device only, but further reduces the number of connections. Each topology provides different performance characteristics, so you will want to test different models to find one that provides the performance your game requires.
So here is where I am confused. Currently in my game I have implemented the peer-to-peer topology, where each user sends their position to every other player in the game. This ends up totaling 12 messages being sent, because each player sends 3 messages.
However according to the documentation, if I layer a client-server topology over my game, I can reduce the network traffic by reducing the number of connections. If I do this though, then each client will send their position to the host and then the host would need to relay those positions to the remaining clients. So now one player (the host) needs to work extra because the clients no longer communicate with each other. And then we still end up with 12 messages. The host sends 9 messages (3 messages for each player, plus 6 messages for relaying the other clients' positions) then each client sends 1 position message to the host. 9 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 12 messages. Which makes sense, all we did was unevenly distribute the message sending, so now one player needs to work harder to makeup for the less work the other players are doing.
Furthermore, relaying the client messages takes additional time because each client's position now needs to pass through the host.
So while there are now less connections, one player is sending more messages (9 messages) rather than each player evenly distributing the workload (i.e. each player sending 3 messages). This seems like it would lead to a greater chance for disconnects to occur because it will be easier for the host to disconnect from the match.
So can someone explain to me how network traffic gets reduced by layering a client-server topology? Does just the fact of having less connections in the match reduce network traffic even though overall messages are the same? Keep in mind, there is no dedicated server here, I (and the documentation) am talking about layering a client-server topology on top of the peer-to-peer match. Also isn't the host at a greater chance of disconnecting because he is sending 3X as much messages as the other players. After all, the GKMatch will disconnect a player after a brief period of packet loss. Or does simply the fact of having 12 connections have a greater chance for disconnects because of the supposedly increased traffic?
I am sorry for the very short answer to a very descriptive and well written question, but the answer is simple. The Server (you used the term "host", but this is confusing) does not have to send 3 separate messages to each client. The Server collects all the information and sends just one message containing all information to each client.