An Efficient Fast Algorithm to Select the Best Spanning Tree in
Metro Ethernet Networks
Foroogh Torki*, Ghasem Mirjalily**, Reza Saadat***
Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran
*f_torki@stu.yazduni.ac.ir, **mirjalily@yazduni.ac.ir, ***rsaadat@yazduni.ac.ir
Abstract: Ethernet networks rely on Spanning Tree Protocol
(STP) that guarantees a loop-free tree topology in the network.
STP does this task by pruning the redundant links. This protocol
doesn’t have any traffic engineering mechanism for load
balancing since the tree construction in this protocol is only
based on the shortest path criterion. In this paper, we propose
an efficient fast algorithm to find the best spanning tree by
modeling and solving objective functions based on load
balancing criterions. By using this objective we can balance the
traffic load on links and switches. Finally through some
simulations on a typical network, we show the effectiveness of
our approach.
Keywords: metro Ethernet network, load balancing,
optimization, best spanning tree.
1. Introduction
Ethernet has been the indisputable technology of
choice for the local area networks (LANs) for more than
30 years. So a large ratio of basic hardware of local
networks is stand on Ethernet instruments. The
significant advancement of Ethernet technology is
pushing Ethernet from the local area network
environment to metropolitan and wide area network
environments [1]. For moving from LAN to MAN (Metro
Area Network), this technology needs to be enhanced.
Among the requirements, Ethernet needs to provide good
Quality of Service (QoS) as well as traffic engineering
functionalities. One of the main tasks of traffic
engineering is load balancing, the idea of which is
uniform resource utilization by moving traffic from
congested links to other parts of the network in a well-
controlled way [2].
For an Ethernet network to function properly, only one
active path can exist between two nodes. Multiple active
paths between nodes cause loops in the network. If a loop
exists in the network topology, it confuses the forwarding
algorithm and allows duplicate frames to be forwarded. In
Ethernet, the basic protocol that creates a loop free
topology is IEEE standard STP. It is a link management
protocol that provides path redundancy while preventing
undesirable loops in the network. To provide path
redundancy, STP defines a tree that spans all switches in
an extended network.
Spanning Tree Protocol prunes redundant links of
network to make a minimum spanning tree. It selects the
links based on their costs that is usually inverse
proportional to link bandwidth [3].
In STP, all customers need to use the same spanning
tree and there isn’t any traffic engineering mechanism for
load balancing. This results in uneven load distribution
and bottlenecks, especially close to the root, and leads to
inefficient utilization of expensive links in metropolitan
area networks [2].
In this paper we propose an efficient algorithm to find
the best spanning tree not only based on shortest path
criterion but also based on load balancing on links and
switches. In this method, we find the best spanning tree
by modelling the network and solving the defined
objective function by using an optimization problem
solving software. This approach decreases the time
complexity in comparison to our previous solution named
BST algorithm proposed in [4]. Actually, BST algorithm
is an exhaustive search algorithm that finds the Best
(Optimal) spanning tree. This is done by finding all
spanning trees of the given network graph, evaluating
them based on the defined criteria and then selecting one
with greatest score. Although, BST algorithm can find the
best answer for small networks, but its complexity is too
large in large-scale networks [4].
This paper is organized as follows: Section 2 gives a
brief review of previous related works. Section 3
introduces the problem modelling. In Section 4, some
numerical simulation results are presented and some
conclusions are drawn in section 5.
2. Related Work
Deploying the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) to
manage the topology autonomously is inadequate and do
not meet the requirement for MANs because STP blocks
redundant links leaving traffic on a single path, running
the risk of congestion. As a result, STP provides poor
support for load balancing [5].
 Traffic engineering of Ethernet using spanning tree is a connection matrix A that is N-by-N. Nonzero entries in
widely researched topic because of performance issues. matrix A indicate the presence of arcs. Furthermore,
Several enhancements have been proposed in the matrix CA denotes the bandwidth of arcs and vector CSW
literature in order to solve this problem by mitigating denotes the switching capacity of switches.
congestion near the root. Some previous related works are The network supports a set of flows (F) between
reviewed in [6]. nodes, where each flow f F is characterized by its origin
In our previous works, we have considered the Orig(f) V, its destination Dest(f) V and its demand
problem of traffic engineering in Metro Ethernet volume D(f) R+. The set of variables that used in the
networks and we have proposed some solutions. In [4], problem formulation is:
we introduced a novel algorithm to select the best
spanning trees (BST) for a given network topology not , binary variable that indicates if arc (i,j)
only based on shortest path selection but also based on belongs to the best spanning tree
load balancing on links and switches. In BST algorithm,
we find all possible spanning trees of the network, then binary variable that indicates if arc (i,j)
,
we evaluate them based on the load balancing criterions belongs to the path of flow f F
and we select the best one. Finding all possible spanning
trees of a network is a complex process. To reduce the , real variable (between 0 and CA(i,j)) that
computational complexity of the BST algorithm, we used indicates the traffic load on arc (i, j)
the genetic algorithm (GA) in [7].
András Kern in his thesis [8], suggested an Integer real variables (between 0 and CSW(i)) that
Linear Programming (ILP) approach to solve the problem indicates the traffic load crosses ith switch
of Quality of Service in metro Ethernet networks as an
optimization problem. His model is based on QoS factors
to improve the utilization of resources. In Ethernet networks, usually the links and flows are
Dorabella Santos in her research papers [9-11] bidirectional and symmetric. This means that the matrixes
considered link load balancing in telecommunication A, CA and F are symmetric. By considering these
networks based on multiple spanning tree routing. This is assumptions in the rest of this paper, the set of constraints
the case in switched Ethernet networks where the will be:
operator configures different routing spanning trees and
assigns each demand VLAN to one of the spanning trees.
Santos used modelling and solving three load balancing , , , (1)
objectives: minimization of the average link load with a
β , β , , , (2)
guaranteed optimal worst case link load, minimization of
the worst case link load with a guaranteed optimal
average link load and the min-max optimization of link , 1
loads. These objectives are Mixed Integer Problems and , (3)
based on user priority could be solved respectively (using
results of each one as input conditions for another). In , 2 1
this approach the root of the spanning trees is assumed , , (4)
predefined. This assumption is a constraint in finding the
optimal solution. 1
In this paper we propose a new fast approach to find β β 1 ,
, , (5)
the best spanning tree in metro Ethernet networks. This 0
approach is based on optimization theory and finds the
best tree not only based on link load balancing but also
β , , ,
by considering the load balancing on switches. (6)

3. Problem Formulation
In this section, we present the set of variables and
constraints that are used in our modelling. Then, we
define an optimization function based on Mixed Integer
Quadratic Problem (MIQP).
First, we model a metro Ethernet network with N
nodes and L links by a directed graph G (V; E) where V
is the set of nodes representing switches and E is the set
of arcs (directed edges) connecting nodes. In this model,
each physical link can be bidirectional or unidirectional.
For simplicity, we show the network graph by a
, ,
(7)
, , , (8)
Constrains (1), (2) guarantee that the links of best
spanning tree are the arcs of the network and the paths of
flows are on the best spanning tree. Constrains (3), (4)
guarantee that the selected tree spans all nodes and has
exactly 2(N-1) arcs. Constraint (5) guarantees that there is
a unique path for each flow from its origin to its
destination. Constraints (6), (7) guarantee that the load of
links and switches don't exceed the capacity of links and
switches respectively. Constraint (8) guarantees that the
links of spanning tree are bidirectional and symmetric.
Now following our previous approach (BST) [4], we
define three criterions to find the optimal solution. These
criterions are defined in following subsections.
3.1. Link Load Balancing (LLB) Criterion
Here the goal is to minimize the variance of link
utilization. This results in finding the best spanning tree
that balances the load distribution on links. Therefore, by
considering the Link Load Balancing (LLB) Criterion,
the objective function is:
,
min 9 node 2 and 100 Mbps from node 5 to all other nodes.
, The default spanning tree created by standard IEEE
,
where:
1 ,
10
2 ,
,
is the average of loads on links. The optimization
problem must be solved by considering the objective
function (9) and constraints (1)-(8).
3.2. Switch Load Balancing (SLB) Criterion
Here the goal is to minimize the variance of switch
utilization. This results in finding the best spanning tree
that balances the load distribution on switches. Therefore,
by considering the Switch Load Balancing (SLB)
Criterion, the objective function is:
This guarantees each traffic demand travels on shortest
path with maximum bandwidth and minimum hop count
[4]. The optimization problem must be solved by
considering the objective function (14) and constraints
(1)-(8).
The type of objective functions defined in previous
subsections is Mixed Integer Quadrate Problem that can
be solved by using CPLEX software.
4. Simulation Results
In this section, we consider a typical network with 5
switches and 8 links as shown in Fig. 1. In first scenario,
assume the same links with bandwidth equal to 1Gbps
and the same switches with switching capacity equal to
4Gbps. There is 50 Mbps traffic demands from node 5 to
STP and the spanning trees selected by BST approach
based on different criterions are shown in Figures 2 and
3, respectively [4].
Now we consider our new approach introduced in
previous section. Here, the optimization problems were
solved using CPLEX 12.2 on a 2.4 GHz IBM PC
machine with 4GB of RAM. The spanning trees that are
selected by our approach are the same as the trees
selected by BST approach (shown in Fig. 3).
Now, we can see the effectiveness of our approaches
in terms of load balancing by drawing traffic distribution
charts as shown in Figures 4 and 5. In STP, one link is
over-utilized and the other is under-utilized, whereas our
algorithm based on LLB criterion distributes traffic
uniformly.

11

where:

, 12
Fig. 1: A simple network
and:
1
13

is the average of loads crosses switches. The

optimization problem must be solved by considering the
objective function (11) and constraints (1)-(8).
Fig. 2: Spanning tree created by IEEE STP
3.3. Shortest Path Selection (SPS) Criterion
Here the goal is to find a spanning tree with maximum
bandwidth links and minimum hop count paths. This is
equal to select a tree by considering the following
objective function:
, Based on LLB Based on SLB
14
,
,
Fig. 3: Best spanning trees selected by BST and our new approach in
first scenario
 400 TABLE I: Variances of Link Utilization and Switch Utilization in First
350 Scenario
300 STP
Link Load (Mbps)

LLB STP LLB SLB

250
0.005 0.0018 -
200
0.0135 - 0.006
150
100
50
TABLE II: Set of Symmetric Flows in Second Scenario

0 Origin/ Destination/ Demand volume

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Destination Origin (Mbps)
Links No.
1 2 100
Fig. 4: Traffic distribution on links in first scenario 1 3 80
1 4 50
1 5 10
2 3 90
700
2 4 60
600 2 5 20
500
STP 3 4 70
Switch Load (Gbps)

SLB 3 5 30
400 4 5 40
300

200 TABLE III: Variances of Link Utilization and Switch Utilization in

Second Scenario
100
STP LLB SLB
0
0.019 0.017 -
1 2 3 4 5
Switch No. 0.022 - 0.0015
Fig. 5: Traffic distribution on switches in first scenario

400
350
300 STP
Link Load (Mbps)

250
LLB
200
150
Based on LLB Based on SLB Based on SPS
100

Fig. 6: Best spanning trees created by BST and our new approach in 50

second scenario 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Link No.
As defined in [4], the variances of link utilization ( )
and switch utilization ( ) are good metrics for Fig. 7: Traffic distribution on links in second scenario
comparison of the load balancing capabilities of the
algorithms. TABLE I shows these metrics for STP and 1000
our approach. 900
In second scenario, consider a different set of 800 STP
Switch Load (Gbps)

symmetric flows as shown in TABLE II. The best 700

SLB
spanning trees selected by BST and our new approach are 600
500
the same as shown in Fig. 6. The load distribution on
400
links and switches are shown in Figures 7 and 8 300
respectively. 200
As you can see, in standard STP there is unbalanced 100
traffic distribution on links and switches. For LLB, link 0
load balancing is better than STP and for SLB, switch 1 2 3 4 5
Switch No.
load balancing is the best possible because our algorithm
is optimal. TABLE III shows the variances of link Fig. 8: Traffic distribution on switches in second scenario
utilization and switch utilization for comparison.
 5. Conclusion and Discussions
In this paper, we introduced a new efficient and fast
approach that finds the best spanning tree of a metro
Ethernet network based on optimization theory. The
simulation results presented in section 4 showed that the
results obtained by our new method are exactly the same
as the results obtained by BST algorithm (is presented in
[4]). This conclusion is expected because both algorithms
are optimal. However, although both find the optimal
solution, but their methods to solve the defined problem
is different.
BST algorithm is an exhaustive search algorithm that
finds the Best (Optimal) spanning tree by finding all
spanning trees of the given network graph, evaluating
them based on the defined criteria and then selecting one
with greatest score. While in the algorithm presented in
this paper, we find the best spanning tree by modelling
the objective function and constraints and then solving
the defined model by using an optimization problem
solving software. This approach obviously decreases the
time complexity in comparison to BST algorithm.
As a roughly comparison, the typically run time of
BST algorithm for a network with tens switches and tens
links on a new high speed laptop is several hours, while
the run time of our new approach is only several seconds!
6. Acknowledgement
This work is supported by Iran Telecommunication
Research Centre (ITRC).
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