Patent ID: 9078193
Filing Date: 2015-07-07
Classification: H04L,H04W,Y02D

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for determining, for a network including a number of nodes connected via links, a route through which a request flow between two of the nodes passes, each of the links having a characteristic of fluctuating link power consumption depending on an amount of link traffic, the apparatus comprising: a processor; the processor processing: collecting a current amount of link traffic and current link power consumption of each of the links included in the network; setting, for each of the links, virtual links including a first virtual link that is capable of carrying a prospective amount of link traffic when the request flow is added and a second virtual link having a power consumption characteristic different from that of the first virtual link; estimating an increase in the link power consumption of each of the virtual links when the request flow is added based on the current amount of link traffic, the current link power consumption, the request flow, and the power consumption characteristic, and calculates a link cost of each of the virtual links based on the estimated increase in the link power consumption; creating a constraint condition having requirements of satisfying a requirement of end-to-end quality of the request flow based on change in quality of each of the virtual links, the change being caused by allocating the request flow to the virtual link, and satisfying a requirement of end-to-end quality of an existing flow based on the change in quality of the existing flow on the virtual link, the change being caused by allocating the request flow to the virtual link; calculating, when two or more candidate routes having a smallest sum of the link costs satisfying the constraint condition exist, a power reducing index representing a possibility of reduction in power consumption due to reduction in traffic of each of the candidate routes having the smallest sum of the link costs; and determining a route having a smallest power reducing index among a plurality of routes, including a plurality of the virtual links satisfying the created constraint condition, to be the route of the request flow.