  Big networks express various large-scale networks in many practical areas
such as computer networks, internet of things, cloud computation, manufacturing
systems, transportation networks, and healthcare systems. This paper analyzes
such big networks, and applies the mean-field theory and the nonlinear Markov
processes to set up a broad class of nonlinear continuous-time block-structured
Markov processes, which can be applied to deal with many practical stochastic
systems. Firstly, a nonlinear Markov process is derived from a large number of
interacting big networks with symmetric interactions, each of which is
described as a continuous-time block-structured Markov process. Secondly, some
effective algorithms are given for computing the fixed points of the nonlinear
Markov process by means of the UL-type RG-factorization. Finally, the Birkhoff
center, the Lyapunov functions and the relative entropy are used to analyze
stability or metastability of the big network, and several interesting open
problems are proposed with detailed interpretation. We believe that the results
given in this paper can be useful and effective in the study of big networks.
