Chapter 4 - Network Flow Models

Abstract

In a computer network, an important function is to carry traffic efficiently, given the routing paradigm in place. This efficiency is achieved through traffic engineering. In this chapter, we discuss common traffic engineering goals such as minimum cost routing, minimization of the most congested links (“load balancing”), and minimization of the average delay by presenting network flow models for these goals. Mathematical formulations for these traffic engineering optimization problems for given routing requirements are presented for both the link-path and node-link representations, along with simple illustrations.