Trunk reservation based control of circuit switched networks with dynamic routing

Dynamic routing in nonhierarchical circuit-switched networks is considered. Using a lattice model, the authors formulate the problem of spatially distributed control of the network by trunk reservation based on local information. A set of integrodifferential equations is derived for the time evolution of the distribution of link occupancies, with the trunk reservation parameter appearing as a control variable (hydrodynamic limit). In the case of spatially homogeneous initial conditions these equations collapse to a controlled nonlinear vector ordinary differential equation. The performance of trunk reservation strategies derived from this control problem is compared with a natural analog of the separable routing scheme of K.R. Krishnan and T. Ott (1986). The trunk reservation strategy appears to perform favorably, but work on more realistic examples will be needed before definitive conclusions can be reached