Tabu search heuristic algorithm for designing broadband convergence networks

In this paper, we deal with an access network design problem arising from the deployment of broadband convergence networks (BcN). The problem seeks to minimize the total cost of switch and cable while satisfying the requirement of demand and quality of service (QoS). We develop mixed integer programming models to obtain the optimal switch location of the access network. We develop a Tabu Search (TS) heuristic algorithm for finding a good feasible solution within a reasonable time limit. We propose real networks with up to 25 nodes and 180 demands. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, we generate lower bounds from nonlinear QoS relaxation problem. Computational results show that the proposed heuristic algorithm provides upper bounds within 5% optimality gap in 10 seconds.