Queueing delay guarantees in bandwidth packing

Abstract

This paper proposes a new formulation for the bandwidth packing problem, assuring maximum service delay in telecommunications networks. The bandwidth packing problem is one of selecting calls, from a list of requests, to be routed in the network. We limit the maximum queueing delay, while maximizing revenues generated from the routed calls. An efficient Lagrangean relaxation based heuristic procedure for finding bounds and solutions to the problem is demonstrated, and computational results from a variety of problem instances are reported. We show that the procedure is both efficient and effective in finding good solutions. Scope and purpose The bandwidth packing problem is one of selecting and routing calls in a telecommunications network. The selection is normally performed as to maximize the revenues from the calls routed. However, this may cause serious queueing delays in the network, possibly causing lost profitability and lost customer satisfaction for the network owners. The scope of this paper is to propose a mathematical formulation that addresses the bandwidth packing problem – one that maximizes revenues but also at the same time limits the maximum queueing delays in the network. In addition, we propose a Lagrangian-based solution procedure that produces both lower bounds and high quality solutions for the bandwidth packing problem.