Shortest Path in Networks

This paper presents a genetic algorithmic approach to the shortest path (SP) routing problem. Variable-length chromosomes (strings) and their genes (parameters) have been used for encoding the problem. The crossover operation exchanges partial chromosomes (partial routes) at positionally independent crossing sites and the mutation operation maintains the genetic diversity of the population. With the growth of the Internet, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) try to meet the increasing traffic demand with new technology and improved utilization of existing resources. Routing of data packets can affect network utilization. Packets are sent along network paths from source to destination following a protocol. Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) is the most commonly used intra-domain Internet routing protocol (IRP). Traffic flow is routed along shortest paths, splitting flow at nodes with several outgoing links on a shortest path to the destination IP address. Link weights are assigned by the network operator. A path length is the sum of the weights of the links in the path