MENTOR: an algorithm for mesh network topological optimization and routing

The problem of obtaining a minimum cost topology for a mesh network given matrices specifying the cost of links between all pairs of nodes and the internode requirements is considered. A heuristic algorithm which works in terms of general network design principles and uses utilization as a figure of merit is presented. The procedure is applicable to a wide variety of networks, especially to the problem of obtaining starting topologies for other network design procedures. The algorithm's computational complexity is shown to be of order N/sup 2/, a significant improvement over currently used algorithms and fast enough to be embedded in the inner loop of other more general design procedures, e.g., node selection procedures. Computational experience is presented which shows that the procedure is fast and simple and yields solutions of a quality competitive with other much slower procedures.<
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