| Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) is an evolving switching technology that is being integrated into Internet Protocol (IP) networks to overcome IP-routing deficiencies. MPLS facilitates traffic engineering (TE) by providing the mechanisms needed to control traffic flows in IP networks. Combined with differentiated services (Diffserv) capabilities, MPLS enables the implementation and support of multiple classes-of-service (CoS) types, each with specific quality-of-service (QoS) guarantees. Thus, MPLS facilitates network optimization to maximize resource utilization and enables the convergence of data, voice, and video applications over a common network infrastructure.; This praxis addresses multiple fundamental problems related to MBLS-based TE in IP networks including: the basic TE problem of constraint-based routing and admission control with single CoS type, the problem of load balancing, the problem of TE with multiple CoS types, and the problem of capacity planning. These problems are formulated as origin-destination integer multi-commodity network-flow models. The models focus on revenue maximization, which is one of the primary goals of MPLS deployment by service providers.; To explore the effectiveness of these models in addressing practical problems from the telecommunications industry, a series of computational experiments are performed. A suite of network instances, with varying topologies that mirror realistic MPLS design problems, are constructed and tested on a wide range of parameter values. The results are evaluated to test a series of research hypotheses and develop insight into effectively engineered MPLS networks.; The models have practical applications and can be used by network administrators and managers in the TE design process. One of the main results of this research is the conclusion that partitioning a demand into multiple smaller demands for different classes, and routing them separately, indirectly realizes the benefits associated with load balancing and results in increasing the traffic delivery ratio. This result is of major significance since it suggests that service providers may exploit a revenue-generating service feature as a vehicle to increase network efficiency and promotes the adoption of Diffserv-aware traffic engineering. |
