Abstract
Cascading effects can result in the nonlinear propagation of failures in complex networks, ultimately leading to network collapse. Research on the fault propagation principles, defense strategies, and repair strategies can help mitigate the effects of cascading failures. Especially, proactive defense and dynamic repair are flexible and effective methods to ensure network security. Most studies on the cascade of complex networks are based on the unprocessed initial information of the network. However, marginal nodes are a type of node that cloaks the initial information of the network. In this study, we rank the importance of nodes according to the intensity of network energy confusion after the removal of this node, clarify the meaning of marginal nodes and proposed two methods to screen marginal nodes. The results indicated that the proactive removal of marginal nodes can effectively reduce the effect of cascading failures without causing any negative disturbance to the energy flow of the network. In addition, network repair according to the proposed strategy can minimize the cascade effect in the repair process and improve repair efficiency.