On modeling of minimum cost multicast topology with multiple static streams in overlay communication networks

Overlay communication networks create logical structures at the top of the Internet. Such a concept is also an efficient approach in the context of multicast applications. Moreover, the overlay multicast has actually outperformed network layer-based multicast provided by the IP protocol and attracted developers of multimedia systems, recently. In this paper, we take a look at modeling techniques and the problem of optimal flow assignment in the meaning of creating a minimum cost multicast topology based on multiple multicast static streams in overlay communication networks. We formulate the problem as an ILP (integer linear programming) model and additionally we develop a new model based on a constraint programming paradigm (CP). In order to compare and evaluate effectiveness of both modeling approaches, we use IBM ILOG CPLEX Optimization Studio that provides an efficient way to build optimization models and solve the problem.