An application of network flow programming to locate concentrators in a communication network

摘要

In a subscriber network, the conventional method of satisfying the circuit demands is by voice frequency engineering. Modern electronic equipments such as pair gain systems, distributed and lumped subscriber carriers, which will be called concentrators for simplicity, can substantially reduce the network reinforcement cost. This has a significant impact on the conventional voice frequency provisioning. The problem is to determine the time and locations of concentrators so that the demands are met at the minimum cost over a planning period. This paper gives a formulation of the problem. The combinatorial nature of the problem makes the enumerative approach prohibitively expensive. By making use of the network flow programming technique, we propose an iterative procedure that provides a good approximate solution. The testing of the computer program indicates that it is efficient and flexible enough for practical purposes.