Patent ID: 8531978

Claim:
A computer-implemented method executable by at least one processor for calculating incremental network costs between node pairs in a network, the method comprising: generating, by the at least one processor, a traffic demand matrix based on traffic statistics acquired from nodes in the network; for each of a plurality of links in the network: generating a total steady state traffic flow associated with a traffic demand for each node pair in the network in accordance with the traffic demand matrix; generating a total restoration traffic flow associated with a traffic demand for each node pair in the network in accordance with the traffic demand matrix; and generating a total network flow cost associated with a traffic demand for each node pair in the network in accordance with the traffic demand matrix; determining, by the at least one processor, a capacity allocation for each link in the network based on the traffic demand matrix, wherein the determining step comprises: determining a steady state capacity allocation associated with a traffic demand for each node pair in the network in accordance with the traffic demand matrix, wherein the steady state capacity allocation is indicative of a relative proportion of the total steady state traffic flow that a given link has for each node pair; determining a restoration capacity allocation associated with a traffic demand for each node pair in the network in accordance with the traffic demand matrix, wherein the restoration capacity allocation is indicative of a relative proportion of the total restoration traffic flow that a given link has for each node pair; and calculating, by the at least one processor, a cost per unit of traffic transceived between a given node pair based on the capacity allocation for each link in the network, wherein the calculating step comprises: for each link, multiplying the total network flow cost with the sum of the steady state capacity allocation and the restoration capacity allocation.