Tabu search for bicriteria multipoint-to-multipoint virtual connections

Multipoint-to-multipoint virtual connections in communication transport networks can be defined through a network management system where they can be computed as a tree which interconnects a given subset of network nodes. This problem can be modelled as a Steiner tree problem ii graphs with the aim of obtaining the lowest-cost tree for interconnecting the subset of network nodes involved in each multipoint-to-multipoint virtual connection, where the cost can represent, for instance, the occupancy of each link. In real networks however it may be advantageous not only to obtain the lowest-cost tree but also to obtain the tree with the minimum number of arcs, in order that multipoint-to-multipoint virtual connections might be implemented with the minimum of network resources. This problem can be considered as a bicriteria Steiner tree problem for which a tabu search resolution approach is herein proposed and evaluated. This new approach leads to better results than the obtained by other heuristics presented earlier to solve the same problem.