Hybrid routing in next generation IP networks

This paper presents a hybrid approach for routing flows in IP networks to achieve an optimal network configuration maximising bandwidth usage (optimality), minimising re-routing upon failure (reliability) and reducing the signalling overheads resulting from a full IP tunnelling (scalability). We formulate the routing of flows in IP networks as a service differentiated model where the IP flows are classified into high bandwidth demanding (HBD) and low bandwidth demanding (LBD) flows at the ingress of the network and handled differently into the core using a hybrid IGP+MPLS approach where the LBD flows are routed over the existing IGP paths while the HBD flows are carried over MPLS bandwidth-guaranteed tunnels. This model can be deployed in heterogenous network environments where HBD flows carrying real-time traffic and LBD flows transporting best-effort traffic are handled differently over a common transport network implementing traffic prioritization in response to natural or man-made emergencies. We consider the routing of flows within an IP domain's boundaries and evaluate the efficiency of the new routing approach under uniform and bursty traffic profiles. We apply the routing approach to compute paths for the traffic offered to a 20- and 50-node test networks. Simulation reveals that the hybrid routing approach outperforms both IGP and MPLS routing under the network conditions and test network models considered.