We initiate the study of network monitoring algorithms in a class of hybrid networks in which the nodes are connected by an external network and an internal network (as a short form for externally and internally controlled network). While the external network lies outside of the control of the nodes (or in our case, the monitoring protocol running in them) and might be exposed to continuous changes, the internal network is fully under the control of the nodes. As an example, consider a group of users with mobile devices having access to the cell phone infrastructure. While the network formed by the WiFi connections of the devices is an external network (as its structure is not necessarily under the control of the monitoring protocol), the connections between the devices via the cell phone infrastructure represent an internal network (as it can be controlled by the monitoring protocol). Our goal is to continuously monitor properties of the external network with the help of the internal network. We present scalable distributed algorithms that efficiently monitor the number of edges, the average node degree, the clustering coefficient, the bipartiteness, and the weight of a minimum spanning tree. Their performance bounds demonstrate that monitoring the external network state with the help of an internal network can be done much more efficiently than just using the external network, as is usually done in the literature.

We consider the problem of computing shortest paths in \emph{hybrid networks}, in which nodes can make use of different communication modes. For example, mobile phones may use ad-hoc connections via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi in addition to the cellular network to solve tasks more efficiently. Like in this case, the different communication modes may differ considerably in range, bandwidth, and flexibility. We build upon the model of Augustine et al. [SODA '20], which captures these differences by a \emph{local} and a \emph{global} mode. Specifically, the local edges model a fixed communication network in which $O(1)$ messages of size $O(\log n)$ can be sent over every edge in each synchronous round. The global edges form a clique, but nodes are only allowed to send and receive a total of at most $O(\log n)$ messages over global edges, which restricts the nodes to use these edges only very sparsely. We demonstrate the power of hybrid networks by presenting algorithms to compute Single-Source Shortest Paths and the diameter very efficiently in \emph{sparse graphs}. Specifically, we present exact $O(\log n)$ time algorithms for cactus graphs (i.e., graphs in which each edge is contained in at most one cycle), and $3$-approximations for graphs that have at most $n + O(n^{1/3})$ edges and arboricity $O(\log n)$. For these graph classes, our algorithms provide exponentially faster solutions than the best known algorithms for general graphs in this model. Beyond shortest paths, we also provide a variety of useful tools and techniques for hybrid networks, which may be of independent interest.