Optimal Location of Concentrators in a Centralized Teleprocessing Network

Centralized networks with a tree structure generally arise in the context of the design of local access networks, which are linked to a large distributed network at gateway backbone nodes. In some cases, however, even large-scale networks are centralized systems. The terminals are linked together in groups sharing a multidrop line and connected to the host computer or to the backbone switch through a concentrator. By assuming that the terminals are identical in terms of the amount of data flow they may generate, line and concentrator capacities may then be expressed as the maximum number of terminals they can accommodate. The problem to solve consists of determining the optimal number and location of the concentrators and of linking the facilities in tree hierarchical structure at minimum cost, without exceeding line and concentrator capacities.