Dynamic network configuration management

Configuration and traffic management for reconfigurable networks is investigated. Such networks have the potential to adapt well to changing traffic patterns and to failure of physical facilities. The authors define the underlying constrained optimization problem in general, and apply a heuristic technique to a simple case to illustrate the benefit of reconfiguring the logical network. It is found that reconfiguration results in substantial improvements in the blocking performance of the network when it is subjected to uneven loading. The authors compare and contrast reconfiguration with a dynamic alternate routing scheme, concluding that the two techniques together provide the best performance. Technology and systems issues relevant to managing such reconfigurable networks are discussed.<<ETX>>