A Genetic Algorithm for Minimizing Delay in Dynamic Overlay Networks

Overlay multicast is an emerging technology for next generation Internet service to various groups of multicast members. It will take the place of traditional IP multicast which is not widely deployed due to the complex nature of its technology. The overlay multicast which effectively reduces processing at IP routers can be easily deployed on top of a densely connected IP network. An end-to-end delay problem is considered which is serious in the multicast service. To periodically optimize the route in the overlay network and to minimize the maximum end-to-end delay, overlay multicast tree is investigated with genetic Algorithm. Outstanding experimental results are obtained which is comparable to the optimal solution and the tabu search.