AnyTraf c routing algorithm for label-based forwarding

—The high capacity provided by packet-switched networks is supporting the proliferation of bandwidth intensive multimedia applications which require multicasting capability. As a consequence a mixed traf c scenario where both unicast and multicast demands compete for the same shared resources, is the one more likely to be found within the current transport networks. On today's traf c-engineered networks such traf c travels through logical data paths setting up by constrainedbased routing schemes provided by a control plane. In this paper we have devised a novel constraint-based routing scheme to forward unicast and multicast traf c envisioning a system resource consumption outstanding performance. We introduce the concept of AnyTraf c data group which consists of a group of egress nodes receiving unicast and multicast traf c over the same single minimum-cost tree. A novel Steiner tree-based heuristic algorithm is speci cally de ned to accommodate such data group and has been compared with the standard shortest path (SP) algorithm the optimal case for unicast routing and a classical Steiner tree (ST) heuristic algorithm the optimal case for multicast routing. Exhaustive experiments have been done to validate the results.