Routing algorithm for provisioning symmetric virtual private networks in the hose model

Abstract

A virtual private network (VPN) is a private data network where remote sites are connected over a shared provider network. In order to provide secure communications between customer sites, predetermined paths are used to forward data packets. To support quality of service (QoS), bandwidth has to be reserved on these paths. Then, finding appropriate paths in order to optimize the bandwidth used becomes an important problem. In this paper, we study the routing problem of VPNs under the hose model, where VPN endpoints specify the maximum bandwidth they need in sending and receiving data. Some previous works considered the problem under the assumption that all links have infinite capacities. We remove this constraint in our studies and develop enhancement to existing algorithms. Our simulation results show that our algorithm works very well in networks where link capacities are tight. © 2005 IEEE.