Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation

Murata Kikai Kabushiki Kaisha

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West Corporate

Masayuki Tsujino

Takao Hayashi

Yoshinori Yamada

Hiroki Sone

Toyokazu Kobayashi

Akiya Inoue

Hiromichi Kawano

A network design apparatus for designing a network includes a processor; and a memory storing program instructions that cause the processor to receive input of a configuration condition for a network having a communication layer and at least one computing layer, a cost condition for the network, and a demand condition representing uncertain demand for the network, perform an operation for solving an adjustable robust optimization problem in which an objective function is to minimize a sum of a fixed cost and a variable cost for a resource placed at each base in the communication layer and the computing layer, and determine a configuration of the network based on placement and capacity of a resource obtained by the performing of the operation. The demand condition includes a set of one or more bases from which the resource is assignable in response to the demand.

Network design apparatus, network design method and program

A network design device executes the following steps: inputting a configuration condition of a network, a cost condition of the network, and a demand condition of the network; computing to solve an optimization problem with, at each base in the communication layer and computing layer, an objective function for minimizing a sum of a fixed cost and a variable cost at a communication link to be placed and a computer to be placed, a demand satisfaction condition that a demand for each computer is satisfied, a flow conservation condition that a traffic flow rate for a demand for each computer is conserved, and a capacity constraint that is a constraint due to a capacity of the communication link and computer at each base; and outputting a placement and a capacity of each of the communication link and computer obtained by the computing.

In response to a transfer request, for which a loading time at a transfer source and a loading time at a transfer target are designated by a production controller, there is created a transfer scenario, which contains a basic transfer (From) from the transfer source to a buffer near the transfer target, for example, and a basic transfer (To) from the buffer to the transfer target. In order that the basic transfers (From, To) may be able to be executed, the buffer is reserved, and a transfer vehicle is allocated. The time period for the transfer vehicle to run to the transfer source or the buffer and the time period for the transfer vehicle to run from the transfer source or the buffer are estimated to assign a transfer command to the transfer vehicle. The possibility that the loading and the loading time may deviate from a designated period is evaluated. In case this possibility is high, a production controller is informed that a just-in-time transfer is difficult.

Transfer system, and transfer method

A transport scenario composed of a basic transport (From) from a transport starting point to, e.g., a buffer near the transport destination point and a basic transport (To) from the buffer to the transport destination point is created in response to a transport request of a production controller for transport whose loading times at the transport starting point and at the transport destination point are specified. The buffer is reserved so as to perform the basic transport (From) and the basic transport (To), transport vehicles are allocated, the travel time to the transport starting point or the buffer and the travel time from the transport starting point or the buffer are estimated, and transport instructions are given to the transport vehicles. The possibility that the loading times are out of the specified period is evaluated. If the possibility is larger, the impossibility of a just-in-time transport is notified to the production controller.

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Tokyo, Japan

Masayuki Tsujino