Robust network design

In this paper, we address the problem of robust network design. Robustness is defined as the minimizing variations in network performance, such as average delay and throughput, due to the perturbations in the network, e.g. topology, demand and community of interest. We pose an optimization problem is cast in the form of minimizing a new robustness metric that is a function of network routing, capacities and external traffic demand distributions. We use the correspondence between packet flows in a network and random walk models. We use Markov chain sensitivity analysis to derive a new measure and prove its robustness property. We show that the node robustness factor, along with the Kemeny constant, plays a critical role in the robustness of a network. We evaluate the proposed robust optimization method by comparing to conventional network design approaches.