Fault tolerant network design inspired by Physarum polycephalum

TY - JOUR

T1 - Fault tolerant network design inspired by Physarum polycephalum

AU - Houbraken, J.

AU - Demeyer, S.

AU - Staessens, D.

AU - Audenaert, P.

AU - Colle, D.

AU - Pickavet, M.

N1 - Reporting year: 2013

PY - 2012

Y1 - 2012

N2 - Physarum polycephalum, a true slime mould, is a primitive, unicellular organism that creates networks to transport nutrients while foraging. The design of these natural networks proved to be advanced, e.g. the slime mould was able to find the shortest path through a maze. The underlying principles of this design have been mathematically modelled in literature. As in real life the slime mould can design fault tolerant networks, its principles can be applied to the design of man-made networks. In this paper, an existing model and algorithm are adapted and extended with stimulation and migration mechanisms which encourage formation of alternative paths, optimize edge positioning and allow for automated design. The extended model can then be used to better design fault tolerant networks. The extended algorithm is applied to several national and international network configurations. Results show that the extensions allow the model to capture the fault tolerance requirements more accurately. The resulting extended algorithm overcomes weaknesses in geometric graph design and can be used to design fault tolerant networks such as telecommunication networks with varying fault tolerance requirements.

AB - Physarum polycephalum, a true slime mould, is a primitive, unicellular organism that creates networks to transport nutrients while foraging. The design of these natural networks proved to be advanced, e.g. the slime mould was able to find the shortest path through a maze. The underlying principles of this design have been mathematically modelled in literature. As in real life the slime mould can design fault tolerant networks, its principles can be applied to the design of man-made networks. In this paper, an existing model and algorithm are adapted and extended with stimulation and migration mechanisms which encourage formation of alternative paths, optimize edge positioning and allow for automated design. The extended model can then be used to better design fault tolerant networks. The extended algorithm is applied to several national and international network configurations. Results show that the extensions allow the model to capture the fault tolerance requirements more accurately. The resulting extended algorithm overcomes weaknesses in geometric graph design and can be used to design fault tolerant networks such as telecommunication networks with varying fault tolerance requirements.

U2 - 10.1007/s11047-012-9344-7

DO - 10.1007/s11047-012-9344-7

M3 - Article

SN - 1567-7818

VL - 12

SP - 277

EP - 289

JO - Natural Computing

JF - Natural Computing

IS - 2

ER -