A novel approach of backup path reservation for survivable high-speed networks

For high-speed networks, a restoration mechanism based on backup path (BP) provides a means for assuring their survivability. We propose a two-phase BP reservation mechanism for high-speed networks. In the admission phase, a pair of working path (WP) and backup path is selected from the provisioned sets of WPs and BPs. In the adjustment phase, if backup capacity utilization exceeds the preset threshold, BP assignments are rearranged to optimize the usage of backup capacity. A mathematical model is formulated to verify the quality of the optimized solutions. Computational experiments indicate that the proposed mechanism significantly reduces the consumption of backup capacity while still maintaining a high degree of survivability. Moreover, experiments show that the optimized solutions obtained are on average within 3.6 percent of optimal.