Adaptive Telecommunication Network Traffic Control A Multi-Agent System Approach

This paper proposes an approach to the management of traffic in telecommunication networks. It was motivated by the growing need for Intelligent Network Management in current Telecommunication Networks such as PSTN, ISDN or transmission networks. The goal is to constantly act upon the network in order to control the traffic flow, trying to maximize the number of calls that reach destination or simply to reduce the congestion level of the network. In this approach, the traffic control task is based on a Multi-Agent System with learning capability. This control system depends on other peripheral systems which supply processed traffic information (mainly performance alarms), interact with the user and forward traffic controls to the corresponding Network Elements. Each agent is dedicated to the control of a single Network Element. The whole structure of the MultiAgent System will control the communication network. In order to provide adaptation and evolution of the control strategies each agent has on-line learning capability with an algorithm combining concepts from Cobweb