Dominant, an algorithm for the p-center problem

In this paper we present Dominant, an algorithm for the p-center problem, that is the problem of locating p facilities on a network so as to minimise the maximum distance from each customer to his nearest facility. The algorithm Dominant solves a series of set covering problems, according to a predefined maximum distance: it has four versions, two of which can solve optimally problems with up to 900 demand points. A set of 45 test problems taken from literature is solved, and results are reported.