Scheduling file transfers in fully connected networks

Abstract

AbstractWe consider the problem of transferring a set of files from their given locations in a fully connected network to their respective target locations in minimum time. We show that this problem is NP‐hard even with the restriction that no file uses more than two edges in its route. We present an efficient algorithm to solve this problem in the case when there is only one source and one or more destinations. For the general case, we propose a two‐phase approach to find two‐edge schedules that are optimal or close‐to‐optimal. In Phase I, two‐edge routes are assigned to files; in Phase II, a schedule is determined for the use of the links in these routes. For Phase I, we present an exact solution that is based on integer programming formulation and also give theoretical bounds for approximate solution. We also propose a route assignment algorithm that attempts to assign routes of minimum congestion. For Phase II, we present an efficient algorithm that constructs a schedule from the solution obtained in the first phase.