Applications of meta-heuristics to traffic engineering in IP networks

Intra-domain routing protocols are based on shortest path first (SPF) routing, where shortest paths are calculated between each pair of nodes (routers) using pre-assigned link weights, also referred to as link metric. These link weights can be modified by network administrators in accordance with the routing policies of the network operator. The operator's objective is usually to minimize traffic congestion or minimize total routing cost subject to the traffic demands and the protocol constraints. However, determining a link weights combination that best suits the network operator's requirements is a difficult task. This paper provides a survey of meta-heuristic approaches to traffic engineering, focusing on local search approaches and extensions to the basic problem taking into account changing demands and robustness issues with respect to network failures.