Towards an accurate solution of wireless network design problems

The optimal design of wireless networks has been widely studied in the literature and many optimization models have been proposed over the years. However, most models directly include the signal-to-interference ratios representing service coverage conditions. This leads to mixed-integer linear programs with constraint matrices containing tiny coefficients that vary widely in their order of magnitude. … Read more

An Exact Algorithm for a Resource Allocation Problem in Mobile Wireless Communications

We consider a challenging resource allocation problem arising in mobile wireless communications. The goal is to allocate the available channels and power in a so-called OFDMA system, in order to maximise the transmission rate, subject to quality of service (QoS) constraints. Standard MINLP software struggled to solve even small instances of this problem. Using outer … Read more

Lagrangian and Branch-and-Cut Approaches for Upgrading Spanning Tree Problems

Problems aiming at finding budget constrained optimal upgrading schemes to improve network performance have received attention over the last two decades. In their general setting, these problems consist of designing a network and, simultaneously, allocating (limited) upgrading resources in order to enhance the performance of the designed network. In this paper we address two particular … Read more

On the NP-Completeness of the Multi-Period Minimum Spanning Tree Problem

In this note, we consider the Multi-period Minimum Spanning Tree Problem (MMST), a variant of the well known Minimum Spanning Tree Problem (MST), that consists in the fol- lowing. Given a connected and undirected graph G and a finite discrete time horizon, one has to schedule the moment in time edges are added to a … Read more

Network Design Problem with Relays

Relays are regenerators extending the reach of optical signals in telecommunication networks; they may be strategic locations where exchange of drivers, trucks or mode of transportation takes place in transportation networks; they may become refuelling/recharging stations extending the reach of alternative fuel vehicles in green transportation. With different names and characteristics, relays play a crucial … Read more

On an open question about the complexity of a dynamic spectrum management problem

In this paper we discuss the complexity of a dynamic spectrum management problem within a multi-user communication system with K users and N available tones. In this problem a common utility function is optimized. In particular, so called min-rate, harmonic mean and geometric mean utility functions are considered. The complexity of the optimization problems with … Read more

On Auction Models of Conflict with Network Applications

We consider several models of complex systems with active elements and show that the auction mechanism appears very natural in attaining proper equilibrium states, even in comparison with game theory ones. In particular, network equilibria are treated as implementation of the auction principle. An additional example of resource allocation in wireless communication networks is also … Read more

Performance Analysis of Content-Centric and Content-Delivery Networks with Evolving Object Popularity

The Internet is currently mostly exploited as a means to perform massive digital content distribution. Such a usage profile was not specifically taken into account while initially designing the architecture of the network: as a matter of fact, the Internet was instead conceived around the concept of host-to-host communications between two remote machines. To solve … Read more

Survivable Network Coding

Given a telecommunication network, modeled by a graph with capacities, we are interested in comparing the behavior and usefulness of two information propagation schemes, namely multicast and network coding, when the aforementioned network is subject to single arc failure. We consider the case with a single source node and a set of terminal nodes. The … Read more

On Solving a Hard Quadratic 3-Dimensional Assignment Problem

We address the exact solution of a very challenging (and previously unsolved) instance of the quadratic 3-dimensional assignment problem, arising in digital wireless communications. The paper describes the techniques developed to solve this instance to proven optimality, from the choice of an appropriate mixed-integer programming formulation, to cutting planes and symmetry handling. Using these techniques … Read more