Pareto-optimal Nash equilibrium in capacity allocation game for self-managed networks

In this paper we introduce a capacity allocation game which models the problem of maximizing network utility from the perspective of distributed noncooperative agents. Motivated by the idea of self-managed networks, in the developed framework the decision-making entities are associated with individual transmission links, deciding on the way they split capacity among concurrent flows. An efficient decentralized algorithm is given for computing a strongly Pareto-optimal strategies, constituting a pure Nash equilibrium. Subsequently, we discuss the properties of the introduced game related to the Price of Anarchy and Price of Stability. The paper is concluded with an experimental study.     

Beam search algorithm for capacity allocation problem in flexible manufacturing systems

This study considers the operation assignment and tool allocation problem in flexible manufacturing systems. A set of operations together with their required tools are selected so as to maximize the total weight. The machines have limited time and tool magazine capacities and the tools are available in limited quantities. We develop a beam search algorithm and obtain near optimal solutions for large size problems very quickly.     

Bounding approaches for operation assignment and capacity allocation problem in flexible manufacturing systems

This study considers an operation assignment and capacity allocation problem that arises in flexible manufacturing systems. Automated machines are assumed to have scarce time and tool magazine capacities and the tools are available in limited quantities. The aim is to select a subset of operations with maximum total weight. The weight of an operation may represent its profit, processing load, relative priority. Several upper bounding procedures have been taken into account. The results of computational tests have revealed that the proposed upper bounding procedures produce satisfactory solutions in reasonable CPU times. We suggest using some of the bounds when the quality of the solutions is more important than the speed of achieving them and some others when the speed is more important than the quality.     

Application of a genetic algorithm in solving the capacity allocation problem with machine dedication in the photolithography area

Wafer fabrication is a complicated manufacturing process with high process capability. Hence, maximizing machine capacity to meet customer deadlines is a very important issue in this field. This study proposes an integer programming model and a heuristic algorithm approach to solve the loading balance problem for the photolithography area in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. Considering process capability, machine dedication, and reticle constraints, we aim to minimize the difference in loading between machines. Process capability means that each product must be processed in machines that meet the process specification. Machine dedication means that if the first critical layer of a wafer is assigned to a certain machine, then the following critical layers of such wafer must be processed in this certain machine to ensure wafer quality. This research compares the results of two methods and finds the best parameter settings of the genetic algorithm (GA). The computational performance results of the GA shows that we can find the near-optimal solution within a reasonable amount of time. Finally, this research analyzes machine capability and reticle flexibility to determine the best percentage that can be used as reference for application in the semiconductor industry.     

An efficient link allocation algorithm for survivable ATM-based personal communication networks

The integration of the issue of survivability of wireless networks in the design process of the backbone network is addressed in this paper. The effectiveness of this integration plays a critical role in the success of the wireless network and the satisfaction of its mobile users. In this paper, we consider the design problem of allocating the backbone links in ATM-based personal communication networks (PCNs) that are survivable under single backbone link failures. Survivability is achieved by selecting two link-disjoint routes in the backbone network between every pair of ATM switches. We also take the novel approach of not only minimizing the diameter of the network as a primary objective but also minimizing the total length of the network as a secondary objective. We propose a new heuristic algorithm to optimize the design of the network based on both objectives. We report the results of an extensive simulation study that show that our algorithm generates backbone networks that can withstand single link failures, have shorter average diameters and smaller total lengths and achieve a higher percentage of admitted calls under a mobile environment.     

On capacity allocation for operating rooms

This paper studies capacity planning decisions that allocate surgical specialties to operating-room (OR) days with the objective of minimizing total expected costs due to penalties for any patients who are not accommodated and for under- (i.e., idleness) and over- (i.e., overtime) usage of OR capacity. It presents a prototypical non-linear, stochastic programming model to structure relevant and practical features of the problem and four adaptations, along with associated solution approaches, with the goal of facilitating solution by overcoming the computational disadvantages of the prototype. Each of these adaptations offers advantages but is also attended by disadvantages. Computational tests compare the four adaptations and solution approaches with respect to solution quality and run time.     

Channel allocation in multi-channel wireless mesh networks

In this article, we survey the latest progress in multi-channel wireless mesh networks, focusing on wireless interference models and channel allocation algorithms with the goal of maximizing the network performance. We present the studies of different interference models and illustrate how they could affect the design of channel assignment. We also summarize channel allocation algorithms with different strategies in both omni-directional and directional antenna networks. We conclude that both static and dynamic channel allocation strategies have advantages and disadvantages, and the design of channel allocation algorithms strongly depends on the interference model and the assumption of network traffic.     

网络可存活生成树的快速恢复算法

如何应对网络链接失效是具有挑战性的问题之一,通常采用包含两棵生成树的可存活连接来预防链接失效。由于网络数据传输速率的高速增长,当两棵生成树的共享链接失效时,可存活连接中的生成树将全部失效。针对可存活连接中共享链接的失效提出了一种快速恢复算法,该算法通过搜索失效链接的可替换链接集,将失效概率最小的链接加入原可存活连接中的生成树,生成新的可存活连接。实验结果表明,该算法能够在显著降低恢复时间和时间复杂度的情形下,同时保证可存活连接的存活度接近当前网络的最优存活度。当网络节点数在10～100变化时,提出的算法比现有算法在恢复时间上的平均优化高达34.42%,同时在存活度上的误差不超过1%。     

Multi-period design of survivable wireless access networks under capacity constraints

Design of survivable wireless access networks plays a key role in the overall design of a wireless network. In this research, the multi-period design of a wireless access network under capacity and survivability constraints is considered. Given the location of the cells and hubs, the cost of interconnection, and the demands generated by the cells, the goal of the designer is to find the best interconnection between cells and hubs so that the overall connection cost is minimized and the capacity and the survivability constraints are met. Integer programming formulations for this problem are proposed and the problems are solved using heuristic methods. Using different combination of network sizes, demand patterns and various time periods, a number of numerical experiments are conducted and all of them are found to yield high quality solutions.     

Product mix determination and capacity allocation for heterogeneous products in thin film transistor liquid crystal display manufacturing

In the thin-film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) manufacturing, the development of models to determine product mix and capacity allocation for a multi-stage, multi-site, and multi-generation company is very important. As rapid advancement of the electronic-paper display (EPD) technology, it is a trend of the coexistence of heterogeneous products involving LCD and EPD products. In the case we investigated, the TFT-LCD company merged an EPD company and incorporated their electro-phoretic technologies into their company. Notably, the manufacturing processes of the EPD products do not incorporate the process steps of liquid crystal injection and attachment of color filters. Consequently, to minimize the total cost, it is essential to decide the appropriate product mix and capacity allocation with considerations of the resource consumption of LCD and EPD products simultaneously. In this paper, we present mathematical models to determine product mix and capacity allocation, which involve three subsystems for TFT-LCD process with consideration of net demand, inventory level, yield rates, cost, margin, outsourcing allocation, cycle time, and panel conversion rate. To demonstrate the applicability of the proposed models, we present a real-world case taken from a TFT-LCD company located in the Science-Based Industrial Park at Hsinchu, Taiwan and perform sensitivity analysis to investigate the effect on the optimal solution.     

Coverage and connectivity issues in wireless sensor networks: A survey

Sensing coverage and network connectivity are two of the most fundamental problems in wireless sensor networks. Finding an optimal node deployment strategy that would minimize cost, reduce computation and communication overhead, be resilient to node failures, and provide a high degree of coverage with network connectivity is extremely challenging. Coverage and connectivity together can be treated as a measure of quality of service in a sensor network; it tells us how well each point in the region is covered and how accurate is the information gathered by the nodes. Therefore, maximizing coverage as well as maintaining network connectivity using the resource constrained nodes is a non-trivial problem. In this survey article, we present and compare several state-of-the-art algorithms and techniques that aim to address this coverage–connectivity issue.     

Decentralized capacity allocation of a single-facility with fuzzy demand

Capacity allocation under uncertainty environment is an important decision problem in manufacturing. The decentralized capacity allocation of a single-facility among different organizations with fuzzy demand is investigated in this paper. The objective and demand of each organization are assumed to be private information that other organizations and the facility cannot access to. In addition, we assume organizations have limited view of the capacity and loading of the facility. First, fuzzy optimization models associated with each organization and the facility are set up. Then, based on fuzzy theory, the fuzzy optimization models are converted into parametric programming models and subsequently an interactive algorithm is proposed to solve those parametric programming models. The extra benefit of this algorithm is that the whole solving process is amenable to decentralized implementation. Finally, experimental results illustrate the effectiveness of this work under two levels of information sharing: capacity information of the facility unknown to organizations and capacity information of the facility partially known to organizations.     

无线传感器网络的连通性问题研究

无线传感器网络的初始配置最优可以减少传感器网络的拓扑变化和降低网络重置的能量消耗.对初始均匀随机分布的无线传感器网络的连通性进行了研究.运用覆盖理论给出了传感器节点的连通度概率分布模型,并在此模型基础上推导出传感器节点的通信半径与期望连通度概率最大之间的关系.仿真结果表明了结论的正确性.     

Dual time-scale distributed capacity allocation and load redirect algorithms for cloud systems

Resource management remains one of the main issues of cloud computing providers because system resources have to be continuously allocated to handle workload fluctuations while guaranteeing Service Level Agreements (SLA) to the end users. In this paper, we propose novel capacity allocation algorithms able to coordinate multiple distributed resource controllers operating in geographically distributed cloud sites. Capacity allocation solutions are integrated with a load redirection mechanism which, when necessary, distributes incoming requests among different sites. The overall goal is to minimize the costs of allocated resources in terms of virtual machines, while guaranteeing SLA constraints expressed as a threshold on the average response time. We propose a distributed solution which integrates workload prediction and distributed non-linear optimization techniques. Experiments show how the proposed solutions improve other heuristics proposed in literature without penalizing SLAs, and our results are close to the global optimum which can be obtained by an oracle with a perfect knowledge about the future offered load.     

求解网络连通度问题的新算法

连通度是评价网络系统连通状况及抗毁性的重要指标,也是网络结构的重要特征。针对现有算法在求解网络连通度时需要将原有网络转化为容量网络或进行其他变换的不足,受交通网络瘫痪事例的启发,提出了一种求解网络连通度的新算法。该算法通过引入点影响度和网络影响度来刻画各顶点在网络中的重要程度,不仅能求解网络连通度,同时还可以确定网络的最小点割,算法步骤简单、易于实现。最后算法分析和仿真实验表明了新算法的有效性。     

泡形互连网络的条件连通性度量

n维泡形网络是设计大规模多处理机系统时最常用的互连网络拓扑结构之一,它以n维泡形图Bn为数学模型。F是连通图G的顶点子集,使得G-F不再连通且G-F的每个连通分支都有至少有n个顶点的F的势叫做G的Rk连通度。Rk连通度是衡量网络可靠性的一个重要参数。一般来说,网络的Rk连通度越大,其可靠性越高。研究了n维泡形网络的 k连通性;证明了在n维泡形网络中,当n≥3时,其R1连通度为2n-4;当n≥4 时,其R2连通度为4n-12。     

基于Stackelberg博弈的协作网络功率分配策略

针对协作网络中的功率分配问题,提出基于Stackelberg博弈的分配策略。首先建立博弈模型,源节点根据中继节点分配的功率给出价格;中继节点根据自身资源情况、信道状态、位置信息以及源节点提出的价格,进行协作传输功率的分配,从而构建用户效用函数;接着证明了该效用函数满足凹函数的条件,且存在均衡点,因此参与决策的用户可以通过求解协作功率和价格的Stackelberg均衡解(SE)最大化自己的效用;最后,通过仿真实验验证了均衡点的存在,并对源节点位置不同情况下节点的价格、功率和效用进行了分析,实验中离中继更近的源节点的协作功率和效用分别是距离较远用户的1.29倍和1.37倍。理论分析与实验结果证明了策略的有效性,而且该策略能适用于协作网络及其他分布式网络。     

Algebraic and topological aspects of the regulator problem for lumped linear systems

The regulator problem with robustness is solved for systems modelled by rational transfer matrices. A topology for possibly unstable plants is presented. A necessary and sufficient condition is derived for the existence of a proper controller which provides internal stability and output regulation throughout an open neighbourhood of the plant. A characterization of all such controllers is determined.