Route Recommendation System for Transport Network Cost Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Carriers face challenges in optimizing their transport networks to minimize costs while ensuring high network availability for user connections across diverse sub-networks with different technologies and vendors, leading to potentially unoptimized route support and increased operating costs.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that create a cost model based on network topology information, using a network cost graph to recommend routes by assigning edge costs and applying heuristics to determine the most cost-efficient paths for connection routing, multiplexing, and lightpath setup across DWDM and ROADM sub-networks, considering optical transponder costs and multiplexing policies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a carrier supports connections using multiple different routes across diverse sub-networks, then network availability and connectivity are improved, but operating costs increase due to unoptimized route selection
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the parameter of route selection by introducing a cost model that assigns different cost values to different routes and sub-networks. This allows the system to optimize route selection by comparing cost parameters rather than using fixed or arbitrary routing decisions, thereby reducing operating costs while maintaining network availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback through the cost model that continuously evaluates and compares different routing options. By applying heuristics and algorithms that learn from cost data, the system can dynamically adjust route recommendations to minimize operating costs while ensuring network availability requirements are met.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a carrier uses equipment from different vendors with different supporting technologies across sub-networks, then network versatility and adaptability are improved, but device complexity and optimization difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cost model serves as a universal framework that can evaluate and compare different sub-networks, vendors, and technologies on a common basis. By translating diverse technical characteristics into standardized cost parameters, the system achieves multi-functionality in handling heterogeneous network elements, simplifying the complexity of managing diverse vendor equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The cost model acts as an intermediary layer between the diverse sub-networks and the route selection process. It mediates the complexity by abstracting different vendor technologies and sub-network types into unified cost metrics, allowing the routing algorithm to make decisions without directly managing the underlying complexity of diverse equipment.
3Ease of manufacture
If manual route optimization is performed without automated cost modeling, then implementation simplicity is maintained, but productivity and optimization accuracy decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service automation where the cost model and heuristic algorithms automatically perform route optimization without requiring manual intervention. The system serves itself by gathering network topology information, calculating costs, and generating optimized route recommendations, significantly improving network planning efficiency while maintaining ease of use through automated processes.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for providing a route recommendation are disclosed. For example, the method obtains network topology information, wherein the network topology information comprises a plurality of underlying subnetwork types for a network. The method creates a cost model for the network, and receives a request from a user for a connection to be supported by the network. The method provides the route recommendation for supporting the connection by applying the cost model.