Source-based delay-bounded multicasting in multimedia networks

In multimedia communication networks, the problem of multicasting assumes a new dimension. Apart from minimizing the cost of multicast communication, it is also necessary to ensure that each of the destination nodes receives the message within a bounded delay. Such delay-bounded multicast applications typically arise in multimedia conferencing. In this paper, we present a genetic algorithm for solving the delay-bounded multicast problem. We assume source-based routing, i.e. each source node completely determines the Steiner tree along which multicasting is performed. The genetic algorithm is a powerful optimization tool, and our experimental results reveal that a genetic algorithm provides fast and superior quality solutions to the delay-bounded multicast problem. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.