The delay-constrained minimum spanning tree problem

We formulate the problem of constructing broadcast trees for real-time traffic with delay constraints in networks with asymmetric link loads as a delay-constrained minimum spanning tree (DCMST) problem in directed networks. Then, we prove that this problem is NP-complete, and we propose an efficient heuristic to solve the problem based on Prim's algorithm for the unconstrained minimum spanning tree problem. Simulation results under realistic networking conditions show that our heuristic's performance is close to optimal. Delay-constrained minimum Steiner tree heuristics can be used to solve the DCMST problem. Simulation results indicate that the fastest delay-constrained minimum Steiner tree heuristic, DMCT is not as efficient as the heuristic we propose, while the most efficient delay-constrained minimum Steiner tree heuristic, BSMA, is much slower than our proposed heuristic and does not construct delay-constrained broadcast trees of lower cost.