Topological network design: A survey

• Published in: Journal of network and computer applications Vol. 32; no. 3; pp. 501 - 509
• Main Author: Abd-El-Barr, Mostafa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2009; Elsevier
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Computer networks; Enumerative techniques; Exact sciences and technology; Fault tolerance; Hierarchical techniques; Iterative techniques; Organization and planning of networks (techniques and equipments); Reliability; Spanning trees; Systems, networks and services of telecommunications; Telecommunications; Telecommunications and information theory; Teleprocessing networks. Isdn; Topological optimization of networks; Transmission and modulation (techniques and equipments); Valuation and optimization of characteristics. Simulation; Fault tolerance; Spanning trees; Enumerative techniques; Computer networks; Iterative techniques; Reliability; Hierarchical techniques; Topological optimization of networks; Network architecture; Iterative method; Algorithm; Nodes; Optimization; Topological structure; Computer network; Spanning tree; NP hard problem; Telecommunication network
• ISSN: 1084-8045; 1095-8592
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jnca.2008.12.001

We consider the problem of topological optimization of communication networks subject to a number of design constraints, such as maximum network diameter, maximum node degree, k-node (link) survivability, and network fault tolerance. The primary design problem can be described as follows: Given a set of network nodes, it is required to find a topology Ψ, selected from all possible topologies, so that the cost of Ψ (measured possibly in terms of the maximum diameter, maximum node degree, etc.) is less than that of any other network topology and such that Ψ satisfies some given design constraints. Fault tolerance is concerned with the ability of the network nodes to communicate in the presence of a set of faulty links and/or nodes. The network design problem considering reliability constraints is NP-hard. We classify the research efforts presented in the literature for solving the topological optimization design problem as hierarchical, enumerative, or iterative techniques. In this paper, we provide a survey of the topological network design techniques under different design constraints. Experimental results obtained by applying a number of algorithms to a set of randomly generated networks are presented and compared.