Load Balancing in Broadband Multi-Service Networks: A Management Perspective

This paper proposes a hierarchical approach to the routing issue in ATM-based broadband multi-service networks. We show how distributed Route Selection Algorithms embedded within network nodes may be managed by a TMN system, by virtue of a management service called Load Balancing, to increase their adaptivity to network wide conditions and therefore their effectiveness. The proposed management service influences routing decisions by conveying network-wide information and contributes to network load balancing by directing the routing algorithms to route traffic to the least congested network areas. We demonstrate how the processing power of the TMN can be used to ensure that the network is used as efficiently as possible while at the same time ensuring that quality of service is not compromised. The proposed management architecture enables the routing algorithms embedded in the network nodes to be as simple as possible, allowing fast decisions to be made at call set-up times but without having to involve the TMN in on-line decisions and without imposing a communication overhead between the network nodes. The paper presents the issues involved and presents specific algorithms and a TMN architecture fulfilling the objectives of the proposed Load Balancing management service.