An optimal dimensioning of ATM networks

A number of optimization methods for the dimensioning problem of ATM networks have been proposed in the literature. Two important constraints mentioned in the Recommendations for the dimensioning of ATM networks (e.g., E.735, E.736, E.737) but missed in most of the literature are the modularity of resources allocated to a transmission path (TP) and the non-bifurcation of a VP link over more than one TP. Most of the existing dimensioning methods simply allocate resources to established VPCs and link groups without considering the module sizes of the resources and the non-bifurcation of the VP link. We propose mathematical models for dimensioning ATM networks, based on the network synthesis methods and a generalized bin packing problem, where the modularity of resources allocated to a TP, the non-bifurcation of a VP link over more than one TP, and the concept of bandwidth modules are taken into account. Algorithms and numerical results are also presented