A maximum flow algorithm for buffer-limited delay tolerant networks

Deep space networks,satellite networks,ad hoc networks,and the Internet can be modeled as DTNs(Delay Tolerant Networks).As a fundamental problem,the maximum flow problem is of vital importance for routing and service scheduling in networks.However,there exists no permanent end-to-end path since the topology and the characteristics of links are time-variant,resulting in a crucial maximum flow problem in DTNs.In this paper,we focus on the single-source-single-sink maximum flow problem of buffer-limited DTNs,followed by a valid algorithm to solve it.First,the BTAG(Buffer-limited Time Aggregated Graph)is constructed for modeling the buffer-limited DTN.Then,on the basis of BTAG,the two-way cache transfer series and the relevant transfer rules are designed,and thus a BTAG-based maximum flow algorithm is proposed to solve the maximum flow problem in buffer-limited DTNs.Finally,a numerical example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.