An open shop approach in approximating optimal data transmission duration in WDM networks

Abstract: In the past decade Optical WDM Networks (Wavelength Division Multiplexing) are being used quite often and especially as far as broadband applications are concerned. Message packets transmitted through such networks can be interrupted using time slots in order to maximize network usage and minimize the time required for all messages to reach their destination. However, preempting a packet will result in time cost. The problem of scheduling message packets through such a network is referred to as PBS and is known to be NP-Hard. In this paper we have reduced PBS to Open Shop Scheduling and designed variations of polynomially solvable instances of Open Shop to approximate PBS. We have combined these variations and called the induced algorithm HSA (Hybridic Scheduling Algorithm). We ran experiments to establish the efficiency of HSA and found that in all datasets used it produces schedules very close to the optimal. To further establish HSAs efficiency we ran tests to compare it to SGA, another algorithm which when tested in the past has yielded excellent results.