A multi-model algorithm for the cost-oriented design of the information technology infrastructure

Marco Trubian Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Informazione Università degli studi di Milano 20135 Milan, Italy Phone:+39 02 503 16230, Fax:+39 02 503 16253 trubian@dsi.unimi.it Abstract Multiple combinations of hardware and network components can be selected to design an information technology (IT) infrastructure that satisfies performance requirements. The professional criterion to deal with these degrees of freedom is cost minimization. However, a scientific approach has been rarely applied to cost minimization and a rigorous methodological support to cost issues of infrastructural design is still lacking. The methodological contribution of this paper is the representation of complex infrastructural design issues as a set of four intertwined cost-minimization sub-problems: two set-coverings, a set-packing and a min k-cut with a non linear objective function. Optimization is accomplished by sequentially solving all sub-problems with a heuristic approach and finally tuning the solution with a local-search approach.