Efficient algorithms for demand-aware networks and a connection to virtual network embedding

Figiel, Aleksander, Korhonen, Janne H., Olver, Neil ORCID: 0000-0001-8897-5459 and Schmid, Stefan (2025) Efficient algorithms for demand-aware networks and a connection to virtual network embedding. In: Bonomi, Silvia, Galletta, Letterio, Riviere, Etienne and Schiavoni, Valerio, (eds.) 28th International Conference on Principles of Distributed Systems, OPODIS 2024. Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics, LIPIcs,324. Schloss Dagstuhl- Leibniz-Zentrum fur Informatik GmbH, Dagstuhl Publishing. ISBN 9783959773607

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Abstract

Emerging optical switching technologies enable demand-aware datacenter networks, whose topology can be flexibly optimized toward the traffic they serve. This paper revisits the bounded-degree network design problem underlying such demand-aware networks. Namely, given a distribution over communicating node pairs (represented has a demand graph), we want to design a network with bounded maximum degree (called host graph) that minimizes the expected communication distance. We improve the understanding of this problem domain by filling several gaps in prior work. First, we present the first practical algorithm for solving this problem on arbitrary instances without violating the degree bound. Our algorithm is based on novel insights obtained from studying a new Steiner node version of the problem, and we report on an extensive empirical evaluation, using several real-world traffic traces from datacenters, finding that our approach results in improved demand-aware network designs. Second, we shed light on the complexity and hardness of the bounded-degree network design problem by formally establishing its NP-completeness for any degree. We use our techniques to improve prior upper bounds for sparse instances. Finally, we study an intriguing connection between demand-aware network design and the virtual networking embedding problem, and show that the latter cannot be used to approximate the former: there is no universal host graph which can provide a constant approximation for our problem.

Item Type:	Book Section
Additional Information:	© 2025 The Author(s)
Divisions:	Mathematics
Subjects:	Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA75 Electronic computers. Computer science Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA76 Computer software
Date Deposited:	06 Feb 2025 16:39
Last Modified:	13 Feb 2025 17:43
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/127203

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