A Deep Reinforcement Learning Approach for Adaptive Traffic Routing in Next-gen Networks

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Abrol, Akshita, Mohan, Purnima Murali, Truong-Huu, Tram
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Abrol, Akshita
Mohan, Purnima Murali
Truong-Huu, Tram
author_facet Abrol, Akshita
Mohan, Purnima Murali
Truong-Huu, Tram
contents Next-gen networks require significant evolution of management to enable automation and adaptively adjust network configuration based on traffic dynamics. The advent of software-defined networking (SDN) and programmable switches enables flexibility and programmability. However, traditional techniques that decide traffic policies are usually based on hand-crafted programming optimization and heuristic algorithms. These techniques make non-realistic assumptions, e.g., considering static network load and topology, to obtain tractable solutions, which are inadequate for next-gen networks. In this paper, we design and develop a deep reinforcement learning (DRL) approach for adaptive traffic routing. We design a deep graph convolutional neural network (DGCNN) integrated into the DRL framework to learn the traffic behavior from not only the network topology but also link and node attributes. We adopt the Deep Q-Learning technique to train the DGCNN model in the DRL framework without the need for a labeled training dataset, enabling the framework to quickly adapt to traffic dynamics. The model leverages q-value estimates to select the routing path for every traffic flow request, balancing exploration and exploitation. We perform extensive experiments with various traffic patterns and compare the performance of the proposed approach with the Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) protocol. The experimental results show the effectiveness and adaptiveness of the proposed framework by increasing the network throughput by up to 7.8% and reducing the traffic delay by up to 16.1% compared to OSPF.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2402_04515
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Deep Reinforcement Learning Approach for Adaptive Traffic Routing in Next-gen Networks
Abrol, Akshita
Mohan, Purnima Murali
Truong-Huu, Tram
Networking and Internet Architecture
Artificial Intelligence
Next-gen networks require significant evolution of management to enable automation and adaptively adjust network configuration based on traffic dynamics. The advent of software-defined networking (SDN) and programmable switches enables flexibility and programmability. However, traditional techniques that decide traffic policies are usually based on hand-crafted programming optimization and heuristic algorithms. These techniques make non-realistic assumptions, e.g., considering static network load and topology, to obtain tractable solutions, which are inadequate for next-gen networks. In this paper, we design and develop a deep reinforcement learning (DRL) approach for adaptive traffic routing. We design a deep graph convolutional neural network (DGCNN) integrated into the DRL framework to learn the traffic behavior from not only the network topology but also link and node attributes. We adopt the Deep Q-Learning technique to train the DGCNN model in the DRL framework without the need for a labeled training dataset, enabling the framework to quickly adapt to traffic dynamics. The model leverages q-value estimates to select the routing path for every traffic flow request, balancing exploration and exploitation. We perform extensive experiments with various traffic patterns and compare the performance of the proposed approach with the Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) protocol. The experimental results show the effectiveness and adaptiveness of the proposed framework by increasing the network throughput by up to 7.8% and reducing the traffic delay by up to 16.1% compared to OSPF.
title A Deep Reinforcement Learning Approach for Adaptive Traffic Routing in Next-gen Networks
topic Networking and Internet Architecture
Artificial Intelligence
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.04515