Utility max-min fair resource allocation for communication networks with multipath routing

This paper considers the flow control and resource allocation problem as applied to the generic multipath communication networks with heterogeneous applications. We propose a novel distributed algorithm, show and prove that among all the sources with positive increasing and bounded utilities (no need to be concave) in steady state, the utility max-min fairness is achieved, which is essential for balancing Quality of Service (QoS) for different applications. By combining the first order Lagrangian method and filtering mechanism, the adopted approach eliminates typical oscillation behavior in multipath networks and possesses a rapid convergence property. In addition, the algorithm is capable of deciding the optimal routing strategy and distributing the total traffic evenly out of the available paths. The performance of our utility max-min fair flow control algorithm is evaluated through simulations under two representative case studies, as well as the real implementation issues are addressed deliberately for the practical purpose. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.