A genetic algorithm for the degree-constrained multicasting problem

In communication networks, the degree-constrained multicasting problem is of great importance, which can be formulated as finding a minimal cost tree in the presence of constraints on the copying ability of the individual switch nodes in the networks. Up to now, there are few efficient algorithms for solving this problem because of its NP-hard complexity. A new approach for solving this degree-constrained problem by using a genetic algorithm is presented, and our experimental results show that this genetic algorithm provides fast and good quality of solutions.