Optimal routing in circuit switched communication networks

Consideration is given to the optimal circuit routing problem in an existing circuit-switched network. The objective is to find circuit routing which accommodates a given circuit demand while maximizing the residual capacity of the network. In addition, the cost of accommodating the circuit demand should not exceed a given amount. Practical considerations require that a solution be robust to the variations in circuit demand and cost. The objective function for the optimal circuit routing problem is not a smooth one. In order to overcome the difficulties of nonsmooth optimization, the objective function is approximated by smooth concave functions. The optimization algorithm for the circuit routing problem is obtained as a limiting case of the sequence of optimal routing strategies for the corresponding smooth convex optimization problems, and the proof of its convergence to the optimal solution is given. An approach to calculating the optimal multicommodity flow is presented. The optimization algorithm efficiently handles networks with a large number of commodities, satisfies the robustness requirements, and can be used to solve circuit routing problems for large networks