Distributed Constrained Agents for Allocating Service Demands in Multi-provider Networks

The aim of this work is to deene a paradigm which supports the routing of service demands across distinct network domains. The distributed nature of this problem (i.e., network resources are spatially distributed, and distinct domains can contain heterogeneous components), and the constraints imposed by the environment suggest the use of distributed problem solving techniques and multi-agent technology. Intelligent agents enable a exible multi-domain routing since they allow routing algorithms and network management functions to be dynamically loaded in the infrastructure. Nevertheless, agent technology by itself does not improve the way diierent networks interact, unless a good strategy is deened to allow them to coordinate their actions and solve possible con-icts. This paper describes how techniques developed in the Distributed Constraints Satisfaction Problem eld supply a compact way to formalise the Quality of Service-based multi-domain routing process, and how this formalism enables a multi-agent system to dynamically route demands across several domains.