Path Computation for Traffic Engineering in MPLS Networks

Abstract

We consider the problem of computing traffic engineered paths for bandwidth requests, when these requests arrive in the network independent of one another. Reservation of bandwidth along pre-selected paths have become important in networks providing service differentiation and bandwidth guarantees to applications. Service providers are looking at traffic engineering to automate path selection procedures and to maintain network loading at an optimal level. Sophisticated path selection algorithms are being developed which deviate from the “shortest path” philosophy in traditional IP networks. While these algorithms perform well under moderate network loads, their behavior under high load conditions often leads to risks of network instability. In addition, these sophisticated algorithms are often computationally intensive. In this paper we provide an O(nlogn) algorithm that improves network utilization under moderate load and also maintains stability under high load conditions. We show that the algorithm reduces the complexity of a competitive algorithm and achieves better performance.