Generalized load sharing for packet-switching networks. I. Theory and packet-based algorithm

In this paper, we propose a framework to study how to effectively perform load sharing in multipath communication networks. A generalized load sharing (GLS) model has been developed to conceptualize how traffic is split ideally on a set of active paths. A simple traffic splitting algorithm, called packet-by-packet weighted fair routing (PWFR), has been developed to approximate GLS with the given routing weight vector by transmitting each packet as a whole. We have developed some performance bounds for PWFR and found that PWFR is a deterministically fair traffic splitting algorithm. This attractive property is useful in the provision of service with guaranteed performance when multiple paths can be used simultaneously to transmit packets which belong to the same flow. Our simulation studies, based on a collection of Internet backbone traces, reveal that PWFR outperforms two other traffic splitting algorithms, namely, packet-by-packet generalized round robin routing (PGRR), and packet-by-packet probabilistic routing (PPRR).