Establishing a multicast tree in a point-to-point network of switch nodes, such as a wide-area ATM network, can be modeled as the NP-complete Steiner problem in networks. In this paper, we introduce and evaluate two distributed algorithms for finding multicast trees in point-to-point data networks. These algorithms are based on the centralized Steiner heuristics, the shortest path heuristic (SPH) and the Kruskalbased shortest path heuristic (K-SPH), and have the advantage that only the multicast members and nodes in the neighborhood of the multicast tree need to participate in the execution of the algorithm. We compare our algorithms by simulation against a baseline algorithm, the pruned minimum spanning-tree heuristic, which is the basis of many previously published algorithms for finding multicast trees. Our results show that the competitiveness (the ratio of the sum of the heuristic tree's edge weights to that of the best solution found) of both of our algorithms was on the average ...

In multicasting routing, the main objective is to send data from one or more source to multiple destinations, while at the same time minimizing the usage of resources. Examples of resources which can be minimized include bandwidth, time and connection costs. In this paper we survey applications of combinatorial optimization to multicast routing. We discuss the most important problems considered in this area, as well as their models. Algorithms for each of the main problems are also presented.

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ABSTRACT. Multicasting is a technique for data routing in networks that allows multiple destinations to be addressed simultaneously. The implementation of multicasting requires, however, the solution of difficult combinatorial optimization problems. In this chapter, we discuss combinatorial issues occurring in the implementation of multicast routing, including multicast tree construction, minimization of the total message delay, center-based routing, and multicast message packing. Optimization methods for these problems are discussed and the corresponding literature reviewed. Mathematical programming as well as graph models for these problems are discussed. 1.