Optimization Approach For The Design

Khalifa University
MASTER'S THESIS
Optimization Approach For The Design of Large Scale FTTH Networks
Alkhajeh, Sara
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2022
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Optimization Approach For The Design
of Large Scale FTTH Networks
Sara Alkhajeh
MSc. Thesis
July 2022
A thesis submitted to Khalifa University of Science and Technology in accordance
with the requirements of the degree of Master of Science in Electrical and Computer
Engineering in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Optimization approach for the design of
large scale FTTH networks
by
Sara Alkhajeh
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering
at
Khalifa University
Thesis Committee
Dr. Khaled Elbassioni (Advisor), Dr. Adriana Gabor (Co-Advisor),

Khalifa University Khalifa University
Dr. Anis Ouali (Co-Advisor), Dr. Kin Poon (Co-Advisor), EBTIC

EBTIC
Dr. Andrei Sleptchenko (RSC Dr. Majid Khonji (RSC Member),

Member), Khalifa University Khalifa University
July 2022
Abstract
Sara Alkhajeh , ”Optimization Approach For The Design Of Large Scale

FTTH Networks”, M.Sc. Thesis, M. Sc. in Electrical and Computer Engineer-
ing, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Khalifa University
of Science and Technology, United Arab Emirates, July 2022.
The continuous rapid development in technology has led telecom services companies
to constantly strive to enhance their networks in order to provide better service for
their customers. It is due to the fact that the Internet infrastructure has become an
important aspect to the world since it is believed to be an enabler to economical growth
in the regions where it is provided. With the constant demand of higher bandwidth
for the use of online applications such as gaming, video streaming, and data sharing,
the legacy copper network and coaxial cables have been replaced with the fiber-optic
line access networks.
Fiber-optic cables o↵er high signal security due to its immunity towards electromag-
netic interference and its low sensitivity to environmentally caused attenuation. On
the other hand, in coaxial cables, natural attenuation has a huge e↵ect on the copper
wires resulting in a significant decrease in the signal bandwidth. Nonetheless, deploy-
ing the fiber-based network can be very costly, especially with the need of replacing the
existing copper networks. Therefore, telecom companies are considering many di↵erent
aspect of the Fiber-based network, before deploying. This is because poorly designed
networks can be very expensive and result in high maintenance cost in the long run.
A solution to that is to provide a cost e↵ective solution for the network deployment.
Initially the design process of the fiber-based networks was done manually, where the
network planner tries to design the network by taking all constraints under considera-
tion, without exceeding the budget allowed. However, this approach does not provide
an optimal solution, and it is mainly e↵ected by the planner’s experience, and knowl-
edge in network design. Thus, a more advanced method and techniques should be
considered to provide an optimal solution to the network design, in such a way that it
is easy to deploy and maintain the network. The design developed by the built tools
in comparison to the quality of the manual design is considered far more efficient in
terms of the number of equipment and cables installed in the network, and the time it
takes to create the design.
iii
The network planner takes days to produce the design for one area. However, our
optimization approach can provide the design of the network in minutes. This approach
is focused on one type of fiber-based network, which is the Fiber-to-The-Home (FTTH)
networks. The target of this work is greenfield areas where Gigabit Passive Optical
Network technology is used to provide the fiber for each customer in the area. Two main
contributions were successfully achieved for this research work. An efficient integer
linear programming (ILP) approach is proposed to design a Fiber-to-the-Home network
based on Gigabit Passive Optical (GPON) Network (FTTH/GPON) technology. The
model decides simultaneously the location of the equipment and the routes for installing
the cables. Several greenfield networks have been considered in this work to investigate
the e↵ect of handling real scenarios.
The second phase of this research is related to branching techniques of cables for FTTH
networks, where it is a continuation of the first phase with the added feature of the
cable branching. The extension of the work is done to further reduce the total costs
of the network, which is done by decreasing the number of cables used. Nonetheless,
for some networks, it was difficult to obtain the optimal solution in adequate runtime.
Therefore, a two-phase optimization technique is developed, for large area problems.
In the first phase, the locations of equipment and number of fibers needed was obtained
from the first proposed model. Afterwards, the cable branching technique was decided
for the network in phase two.
Indexing Terms: FTTH, Optimization, Network planning, Integer linear

programming, Tree topology, GPON.
Acknowledgements
During the past two years, I have learned, grown, and accomplished professionally and
personally, through the motivation and incentives of the people around me. Therefore,
I would like to thank each and every person who supported and guided me throughout
my masters period.
First, I would like to thank my advisors Dr. Adriana Gabor, Dr. Anis Ouali, Dr.
Kin Poon (Danny), and Dr. Khaled Elbassioni, for their continuous support and
encouragement. I would like to express my deepest appreciation to Dr. Adriana
Gabor for guiding me through the first steps of the project and being the spark of
positivity throughout my masters. Special thanks goes to Dr. Anis Ouali for his
technical assistance and guidance in the learning process.
I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to my family for their patience and
support. I am most thankful for my great friends, Muhra AlMulla, Azza AlJuwaied,
and Hamda AlHosani for believing in me, encouraging me, and accompanying me
through challenging times. I owe a special thanks to Ahmed Alagha for his many great
and countless help and support throughout the whole period of my masters.
Last but not least, I would like to thank Dr. Nawaf AlMoosa, director of EBTIC, for
giving me the chance to be part of the EBTIC family, supporting me, and for being a
great leader.
Blessed in abundance.
iv
Declaration and Copyright
Declaration
I declare that the work in this thesis was carried out in accordance with the regulations
of Khalifa University of Science and Technology. The work is entirely my own except
where indicated by special reference in the text. Any views expressed in the thesis are
those of the author and in no way represent those of Khalifa University of Science and
Technology. No part of the thesis has been presented to any other university for any
degree.
Author Name: Sara Alkhajeh
Author Signature:
Date: 18-7-2022
Copyright ©
No part of this thesis may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,

in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning
or otherwise, without prior written permission of the author. The thesis may be made
available for consultation in Khalifa University of Science and Technology Library and
for inter-library lending for use in another library and may be copied in full or in part
for any bona fide library or research worker, on the understanding that users are made
aware of their obligations under copyright, i.e. that no quotation and no information
derived from it may be published without the author’s prior consent.
v
Contents
Abstract ii
Acknowledgements iv
Declaration and Copyright v
List of Figures viii
List of Tables ix
List of Abbreviations x
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Problem statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.1.1 Network Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2 Research challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.2.1 Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.3 Research objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.4 Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.4.1 An Efficient Integer Programming Model for FTTH Networks
Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.4.2 Branching Techniques of Cables for FTTH Networks . . . . . . . 12
1.5 Thesis organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2 Technical Background and Related Work 14

2.1 Technical Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.1.1 Fiber-based Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.1.2 Gigabit Passive Optical Networks (GPON) . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.1.3 Cable Branching Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.1.4 Optimization Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.2 Related Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2.3 Research contribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
vi
Table of Contents vii
2.4 Publication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3 An Efficient Integer Programming Model for FTTH Networks Design 30

3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.2 Problem Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.3 Model Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3.4 Formulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3.4.1 Mathematical model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
3.4.2 Model Enhancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.4.3 Valid Inequalities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.4.4 Fibers Equal Multiple of M axCDC (Proof) . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
3.4.5 Network Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.5 Recursive Algorithms for Tree Extraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.5.1 DC to JC Assignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.5.2 JC to (JC and FH) Assignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3.5.3 Active Fibers per Node Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
3.6 Numerical Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
3.7 Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
4 Branching Techniques of Cables for FTTH Networks 61

4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
4.2 Problem Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
4.3 Model Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
4.4 Formulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
4.4.1 Mathematical Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
4.4.2 Model Enhancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
4.4.3 Network Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
4.5 Numerical Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
4.6 Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
5 Concluding Remarks 88
5.1 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
5.2 Future Research Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Bibliography 91
List of Figures
1.1 A 4 cable capacity Joint Closure (JC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

1.2 FTTH network tree structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3 Duct network in the civil layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.4 Real network civil layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.5 Real FTTH network structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.1 Di↵erent fiber-based (FTTx) networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

2.2 Typical GPON architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.3 Cable branching techniques [1] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.4 Cable tapping technique [2] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.1 Linear regression of the cable costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

3.2 Examples of the Symmetry Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.3 Examples of tree 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.4 Example of tree 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.5 Di↵erent tree examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.6 Net1 (Network solution from the model) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
3.7 Network solution after extracting the tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
3.8 Tree extraction example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
3.9 Net1 (optimal solution obtained in 14.53 seconds) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.10 Net2 (optimal solution obtained in 1.62 minutes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.11 Optimal solution of di↵erent real networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.12 Examples of cable routes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
3.13 Percentage of cost saved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
4.1 Net1 network solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

4.2 Net2 network solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
4.3 Optimal solution of di↵erent real networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
4.4 Branching techniques comparison graph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
4.5 Group 1 Synthetic networks runtime comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
4.6 Group 2 Synthetic networks runtime comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
4.7 Synthetic networks objective value comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
viii
List of Tables
2.1 Summary of Related work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3.1 Model parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

3.2 IP running time for di↵erent input networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
3.3 Comparison of two optimization approaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
4.1 Model parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

4.2 Network sizes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
4.3 Cable branching techniques results at 15% gap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
4.4 Cable branching techniques results at 1 hour time limit . . . . . . . . . 77
4.5 Cable branching vs. Two-phase optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
4.6 Setting the locations of DCs in Two-phase optimization . . . . . . . . . 79
4.7 Full splicing table at 1% using two-phase optimization . . . . . . . . . . 80
4.8 Full tapping table at 1% using two-phase optimization . . . . . . . . . . 80
4.9 Branching Comparison table at 1% using two-phase optimization . . . . 81
4.10 Synthetic networks results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
4.11 Synthetic networks results using Full MIP (15% gap) . . . . . . . . . . . 83
4.12 Synthetic networks results using Two-Phase MIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
4.13 Synthetic networks results Percentage Improvement . . . . . . . . . . . 84
ix
List of Abbreviations
FTTH Fiber-To-The-Home
ILP Integer Linear Programming
GPON Gigabit Passive Optical
ICT Information Communication Technology
JB JRC Boxes
QoS Quality of Service
P2P Point To Point
ONU Optical Network Unit
OLT Optical Line Terminal
FH Fiber Hub
JC Joint Closure
DC Drop Closure
FTTP Fiber-To-The-Premise
FTTC Fiber-To-The-Curb
FTTN Fiber-To-The-Node
MILP Mixed Integer Linear Programming
PON Passive Optical
CO CentralOffice
MuSo MultiState optimization
x
Chapter 1
Introduction
In the modern world, most technologies rely on the internet services to provide and
exchange real-time data through the network. The use of these technologies has become
an essential aspect of the day-to-day activities, as it is used in performing daily task,
communicating, and most recently transportation [3][4]. These services require high-
performance data networking, that include secure communication, fast data receiving,
reliable configuration, and transmission over long distances [5][6]. Unfortunately, such
services were difficult to acquire with the existing coaxial cables due to its limited
bandwidth, and the high e↵ect of di↵erent sources of attenuation. This emergence of
the high-bandwidth-requiring services have led to considering the replacement of the
existing coaxial cables with the fiber-based networks [7][8][9].
One of the major benefits of the fiber-based cables is its resistance against severe
weather conditions compared to other types of cables, and immunity against electro-
magnetic interference [10] [11]. This provides a huge advantage, as it reduces the
chances of outages, ensures a continuous service providing, and guarantees a stable
1
Introduction 2
high-bandwidth level. Additionally, fiber network signals are not a↵ected by the num-
ber of users connected to the service at once, where it provides high steady perfor-
mance regardless of the number of users connected [12]. This ensures quick upload
and download rate, uninterrupted video calls and online gaming, and cheaper service
in comparison with the copper cables [13][14].
Nonetheless, the telecom service providers are constantly facing problems in designing
the fiber-based networks due to its high cost of deployment, which usually require re-
moving the existing copper cables [15]. The design of the network should also consider
the future maintenance and expansion of the network. Additionally, di↵erent design
factors and requirements must be satisfied and put within the design constraints. How-
ever, network planners face difficulties in creating a good network design due to the
many complex factors, such as the distance and capacity constraints of the di↵erent
network equipment, the civil layer design of the network, and the detailed cable layer
design [16][17].
Therefore, studying di↵erent algorithms and techniques for designing the fiber-based
networks has become one of the major attractions for researchers in the Information
Communication Technology (ICT) field. The interest in this area is to provide a
cost e↵ective solution of the network design for the telecom companies [18]. In this
project, the proposed algorithms and approaches are aimed to provide the telecom
service company Etisalat with an automated design solution for the Fiber to The Home
(FTTH) networks. The project is designed in regards of the requirements provided by
Etisalat, where their planning scenarios will be considered to test and evaluate the
e↵ectiveness of the model.
In this research work, the approach chosen to tackle the high cost problem in deploying
the FTTH networks is using Integer Linear Programming techniques (ILP). Designing
Introduction 3
the FTTH network is considered a complex problem. This is because the network
consists of a multilayer structure, as it has a civil layer which contains the duct and JRC
boxes (JB), and the cable layer which contains the cables and the network equipment.
To design the network, the location of each equipment in the network must be decided
along with the number and sizes of cables used, depending on the layout of the civil
layer. Due to the complexity of the design, the problem is considered an NP-hard
problem as it is a combination of facility location and network flow problems.
The recent works in literature were considered before deciding the approach of this
research, where a study was made on the di↵erent optimization techniques that can be
used. Exact methods were the main focus, as it guarantees global optimal solutions
for the network in comparison with the heuristic methods. Taking all requirements
and constraints into consideration, the ILP method was the most suitable approach
for solving this problem.
1.1 Problem statement
Fiber-based networks are one of the major solutions that are currently being used
to provide efficient broadband Internet, television, and telephone services [19][20]. A
fiber-based network o↵ers an efficient telecom service thanks to its high bandwidth
and immunity against electromagnetic interference [21]. Fiber To The Home (FTTH)
network that is based on Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) technology, which is
a point-to-point (P2P) access mechanism, is the most used for last-mile access networks
[22]. It is considered to be the best solution for providing the service as it satisfies the
minimum cost deployment scheme, rules, and the required architecture of the network
[23]. The major and common issue of implementing fiber-based networks is the cost
which includes:
Introduction 4
• The design cost (e↵ort and time required by planners to create a network design
and all required documentations/approvals)
• The materials cost (cables, equipment, etc) and the labor cost (network installa-
tion in the field)
In this thesis, an ILP model is proposed to design an optimal and cost e↵ective FT-
TH/GPON network with a tree structure for a given area. The model will determine
the number and locations of the network equipment, the network routes and sizes
of the cables, and the branching techniques used for the cables. The cost function
being minimized may be viewed as the combined materials/installation cost. Design
cost is not captured explicitly by the model but is a↵ected as the obtained solution
will speed up the design time and facilitate the automatic generation of the required
diagrams/documents.
1.1.1 Network Description
In a GPON network, a customer Optical Network Unit (ONU) is connected to the
Optical Line Terminal (OLT) at the telco provider’s exchange, using a set of passive
optical splitters. In the presented work, the network is based on GPON technology
with a structure set based on the requirements of the client. The network consists of
a Fiber Hub (FH) which acts as an entry point, and provides all the fibers needed in
the area. The FH houses all the optical splitters. From the FH, fibers are distributed
using fiber cables and through distribution equipment called splice closures. Splicing
consists in joining fibers together which allows the fibers in a given cable to branch into
smaller separate cables that follow di↵erent distribution routes. Figure (1.1) shows an
example of a splicing equipment that is used in an FTTH network.

Introduction 5
Figure 1.1: A 4 cable capacity Joint Closure (JC)
These network equipment have a specific capacity that are either based on the number
of cables, or the number of fibers that are exiting the equipment. Based on the specified
requirements by Etisalat, two types of closures are considered for the design: the Joint
Closure (JC), shown in (1.1), and the Drop closure (DC). The number of JCs placed
in the network is determined based on the number of cable splicing needed for the
network. A JC can be connected to other JCs in the network or a drop closure (DC).
The DCs, however, are network equipment placed in the last cable splicing location
needed in the network and are directly connected to customer ONUs. Figure (1.2)
shows the tree network structure of our problem.
In practice, an underground FTTH network can be seen as having two layers: the civils
layer and the cable layer. The civils layer is made up of ducts (PVC pipes with di↵erent
diameters) and JBs used to connect ducts together. Ducts are the possible location for
fiber cables while JRC boxes are the possible locations of network equipment such as
the DCs and JCs. Figure (1.3) shows the duct network which contains the fibers and
a DC placed at a JB location.
The design of the civils layer is out of the scope of this work and is assumed to be
Introduction 6
Figure 1.2: FTTH network tree structure
Figure 1.3: Duct network in the civil layer

Introduction 7
already available. Along with the civil layer, the location of the fiber hub (FH) and
customers’ premises are given as an input to the model. The network in Figure (1.4)
is an example of a real civil’s layer network. The black lines represent the existing
duct network, green boxes are the JRC boxes (JBs), and the black and blue squares
are the entry boxes for each customer. The gray box represents the fiber hub location
which is considered as an entry point of the network, and acts as the fiber provider for
the given area. DCs and JCs are placed inside JRC boxes where fiber splicing is needed.
Figure 1.4: Real network civil layer
In reality, the network equipment (FH, JC, and DC) are not directly connected, but
are linked through several JBs in the network. These JBs are not considered part of
the tree structure of the network, as they are the possible locations for the network
Introduction 8
JCs and DCs. Figure (1.5) shows an example of how these equipment are linked in a
real network.
Figure 1.5: Real FTTH network structure
Given the civils network (a network made of ducts and JBs), the locations of the
customers, and the location of the FH, the model will make the following decisions:
• The locations of the JCs and DCs.
• The allocation of customers to DCs, DCs to JCs, and JCs to JCs or FH.
• The layout of the cables i.e., the duct routes that would be used by the cables
1.2 Research challenges
Deploying an FTTH network is very challenging for telecom companies due to the
significant capital expenditure required to design and implement the network [21][24].
Introduction 9
Moreover, poorly designed networks can be very expensive and result in high mainte-
nance costs in the long run. Therefore, an optimized network design is required.
In real-life network design problems, the greatest challenge is to achieve the desired
outcome of an optimal/near optimal solution that considers all the constraints and
requirements, in a reasonable amount of time. In order to accomplish that, a deep
understanding of the problem, and di↵erent optimization techniques are needed. In
this research, there are many variables and constraints considered in the model, such
as the branching techniques of the cables, all the possible locations to place equipment,
and deciding the route of the network cables. These constraints introduce many com-
plexities to the problem, which makes it difficult to solve. Therefore, one of the main
challenges in this project is to be able to strengthen the IP model, in order to handle
size of the large problems.
1.2.1 Limitations
Several approaches were proposed to optimize the design of the FTTH networks since
manually designing the network can be very time consuming and costly [25]. The
manual design is based on the planner’s experience, and it is often difficult to handle
big areas. It is also difficult to experiment with di↵erent design choices as evaluating
the cost of the design and verifying its conformity to planning guidelines can take a long
time [19]. In addition, due to the complexity of network and the tight time deadlines
to produce the design with all the related documentations, manual solutions are likely
to be far from the optimal solution and incurring unnecessary high costs. As a result,
mathematical models, that can find an optimal solution quickly with di↵erent set of
constraint, are of high interest.

Introduction 10
However, due to the large size of the problem, which consist of many variables and
constraints, two difficulties may occur. First, the designed IP may not provide the
optimal solution in a reasonable time. This will result in the second difficulty which is
to find a suitable heuristic or decomposition algorithm that can handle the size of the
problem, and take all constraints into consideration. Nonetheless, the solution will not
be optimal when these methods are considered.
1.3 Research objective
The main objective of this research is to tackle the problem of designing a cost efficient
FTTH network for a large area, using an ILP approach. The work focuses on the design
of a GPON/FTTH network for residential customers. The network topology is a tree
rooted at the FH, where the ONUs (customers) are the leaves, and the intermediate
nodes are the closures.
This will be done by:
• Formulating a mathematical model that can be used to optimize the FTTH
network.
• Provide a second approach to the FTTH design problem that can further reduce
the cost by including more features of the design.
• Compare the results of the first and the second approaches.
• Introduce the required enhancements to strengthen the model.
• Submit publications to high reputable conferences or journals.

Introduction 11
1.4 Methodology
To optimize the FTTH network, many aspects should be taken into consideration, such
as the size of the fiber cables, the number and locations of the network equipment, the
routes of the network, and the branching techniques used for the cables [26] [27]. It is
also important to consider the future growth of the network, as more customers can
be added to the same network, or more fibers are required to deliver the service.
While planning the optical-cable layer, di↵erent planning rules that a↵ect the design of
the network must also be satisfied, such as the distance from customers to equipment,
equipment to other equipment, and the capacity of the di↵erent equipment used in the
network, e.g., the JC shown in figure (1.1). These rules stem from a power budget
restriction due to the passive nature of the GPON network. The optical signal is
attenuated during transmission in the splicing equipment, as well as when passing
through an optical cable or a fiber splice (jointing point of two fibers). It is important
to ensure that the signal that would reach the customer has sufficient strength in order
to provide a good Quality of Service (QoS). After considering all the di↵erent aspects
and constraints of the network, a cost optimal/near-optimal network can be created.
The problem is handled by designing an ILP model that minimizes the deployment cost
of the FTTH network. The problem is a combination of facility location and network
flow problems. Therefore, a set of constraints are defined to take into account the
costs of equipment and cables, by considering the distance and capacity constraints to
achieve the desired outcome.

Introduction 12
1.4.1 An Efficient Integer Programming Model for FTTH Networks
Design
A model that is a combination of facility location problem and network flow problem
is proposed to tackle the problem of designing an efficient cost e↵ective FTTH network
design for a large area. The model takes into consideration all the network restrictions
and constraints and provides a solution in minutes. The main contributions of this
work consist of:
• Construct a mathematical model that considers all the requirements and con-
straints.
• Provide techniques and methods to strengthen and enhance the model perfor-
mance.
• Design algorithms to extract the tree structure design from the model solutions.
• Test the model on real scenarios to validate its efficiency.
1.4.2 Branching Techniques of Cables for FTTH Networks
The branching techniques model is an extension to the first proposed model, which
includes an extra feature of the cable branching techniques. This feature is believed to
further reduce the cost of the FTTH design, since less cables will be used. The main
contributions of this work consist of:
• Design a mathematical model that includes all the aspects of the branching tech-
nique feature.
• Provide methods to strengthen the IP model.

Introduction 13
• Construct a two-phase optimization technique to enhance the model performance.
• Test the proposed model on real scenarios.
1.5 Thesis organization
The chapters of this thesis are organized as follows:
Chapter 1 provides a general overview of the area of the research and the main
problem being tackled. It presents the concept of the proposed approaches and the
motivation behind it. It provides a description of the real scenario networks that are
used for testing the models. It also highlights the research challenges and limitations,
along with the objective of this research.
Chapter 2 provides a brief summery and explanation about the topics of the re-
search. These topics include Fiber-based networks, Gigabit Passive Optical Networks
(GPON), Cable Branching Technique, and Optimization Techniques. It also provides
an overview of the work done in the literature and the current existing work. Finally,
the contribution of this research work is presented.
Chapter 3 presents the first and main approach of this research work. It describes the
algorithms designed to obtain the optimal solutions of di↵erent real scenario FTTH
networks. A detailed explanation of the steps taken in the approach is described.
Chapter 4 provides a continuation of the first model. A detailed explanation of the
extra feature of the model is presented. A heuristic approach is proposed to enhance
the performance of the system.
Chapter 5 concludes the work done for this research and proposes possible future
work that can be done to enhance the models.

Chapter 2
Technical Background and
Related Work
2.1 Technical Background
This section briefly describes the main topics of this research. These topics include the
fiber-based networks, GPON technology, cable branching techniques, and finally the
di↵erent optimization methods that can be used for the given problem.
2.1.1 Fiber-based Networks
Fiber optic networks are internet-providing cabling connections which consists of thin
glass or plastic fiber wires. The thickness of the fiber wires is about the same thickness
as a single human hair. Data in the fiber cables travel at a very high speed compared
to normal cables [28]. To transmit the data over the fiber cable, it is split into smaller
packets of zero and ones signals in the form of light. These Morse code-type signals
14
Technical Background and Related Work 15
are then sent into one of the ends of the wire. A special material cover called cladding
holds the light beam inside the wire. The light beam then reaches the end point, which
is the optical network device, where the data is decoded into an electrical form that is
recognizable by the computer or other devices used.
There are three di↵erent categories of fiber-based networks. Each category is based on
the type of end-user the service is provided for, and the method used to deliver the
service. The internet speed of each category di↵ers, due to the distance of the end
point of the fibers to the location of the user’s modem.
The Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) or Fiber-To-The-Premises (FTTP) type is consid-
ered the best, and most reliable method of providing the service, as the fibers reach
up to each customer’s premises. This guarantees the delivery of the internet in high
speed. In the second type of fiber network, the Fiber-To-The-Curb (FTTC), the fibers
reach up until the customer’s house, however, coaxial cables are then used at that
point to deliver the signals to the modem. Although the coaxial cables are only used
at a short distance, it is considered as a bottleneck. The last type of networks is the
Fiber-To-The-Node (FTTN), which is also called fiber to the neighborhood, as the
fibers reaches about one mile from the user’s house only. The coaxial cables are then
used over a long distance to reach the customer, which results in a slower internet
connection [29][30][31]. Figure (2.1) shows the di↵erent types of FTTx networks.
There are many advantages and disadvantages of the fiber-based networks. One essen-
tial advantage, for this modern age, is the speed in delivering the service. Nonetheless,
the reliability of the service is also important since most online applications nowadays
are very time sensitive, therefore it requires the assurance of the continuous uninter-
rupted internet. Fiber networks are also reliable which means it is not a↵ected by the
number of users connected to the service, as it continues with the same bandwidth
Figure 2.1: Di↵erent fiber-based (FTTx) networks
regardless of the traffic rate.
Furthermore, fiber optic cables do not require energized lines. This feature reduces
the chances of outages in comparison with the legacy coaxial cables [12]. Yet, the
growth rate of the installation of the fiber-based networks are very slow. One of the
reasons is the high costs of installing the new infrastructure, where it is difficult in
some countries to replace the permanent existing networks with the new modernized
network. Another reason is the evolution of the 5G wireless internet, which provides
10 times faster internet than the fiber optics without the need of wires.
2.1.2 Gigabit Passive Optical Networks (GPON)
GPON is a network technology used to deliver the service to the customer through
optical fiber cables. GPON nowadays is the most used technology for the fiber-based
networks as it is 95% energy efficient, and it provides a low cost solution for the
structure of the fiber-based networks [32]. This feature makes the GPON technology
more desirable in the populated areas [33].
The main di↵erence between GPON and other PON technologies is that it is built to
handle higher bit rate in the downstream. GPON network structure consists of three
main things, the Optical Line Terminal (OLT), the Optical Network Unit (ONU), and
the splitters. The OLT converts the beams of lights to electrical signals. The ONUs
are connected to the end-users and is linked to the OLT, where signals are transmitted
from and to the OLT and the ONU. Splitters are network equipment that are used to
divide the signal when it is required [30].
Using GPON technology is considered an advantage since passive optical splitters can
serve many users, which consequently reduce the number of equipment used in the
network. Due to that, GPON is beneficial for supporting triple play services in density
areas. The figure (2.2) shows the GPON network architecture.
Figure 2.2: Typical GPON architecture

2.1.3 Cable Branching Techniques
In an FTTH network, each fiber in the cable is used to serve one customer. These
fibers are distributed in the network in such a way that each customer would receive
the number of required fibers, based on the demand specified. In order for the fibers to
be split in the directions of the customers to serve the demand, branching techniques
are used. The branching happens at the location where a JC is placed, where one
cable enters the JC and a number of cables that are within the cable capacity of the
JC exists. The branching technique describes the form of the cables when exiting the
JC.
There are three cable branching techniques considered in this work; splicing, tapping,
and continuing. The splicing branching technique is the concept of terminating the
entering cable to the JC, and placing new smaller cables at the following edges in the
network. Inside the JC, all the fibers are spliced, by cutting the fibers from the original
cable and welding them to the new smaller cables.
The cable tapping technique, however, is the process of using the same cable to serve
more equipment and customers, on the same route, instead of splicing all the fibers.
When a cable is tapped, some of the fibers inside the cable are spliced and welded
to smaller cable(s), while the remaining fibers will continue to serve other equipment
and customers. The tapping cable connection technique benefits the cable design by
reducing the cost of splicing and welding new smaller cables, and reducing the risk of
signal loss, which is caused by the multiple splicing of fibers.
Finally the continuing cables are the ones that continue in the same original form when
exiting a node. This technique does not require a JC to be placed at the location, since
no splicing of fibers is required. These three techniques are shown in figure (2.3).
Figure 2.3: Cable branching techniques [1]
When a cable is tapped, not all the fibers inside the cable are spliced, some remain and
continue in the original cable, while others are attached to a new cable. The spliced
fibers in the original cable also remain in the cable but in the form of dead (or inactive)
fibers. These fibers are no longer active, and cannot be used to serve the demand. The
cable continue with the inactive (dead) fibers because it is more costly to install a new
cable than to continue with the original cable. Figure (2.4) illustrates the idea of cable
tapping.
Figure 2.4: Cable tapping technique [2]
The branching techniques only occur at the JC location. The technique is determined
based on the cost of either placing new cables or using the original exiting cable and
tapping few fibers. These techniques help in reducing the total number of cables used
in the network, and consequently it will reduce the cost [34].
2.1.4 Optimization Techniques
Optimization is the process of determining the best design while making the most e↵ec-
tive use of a resource or situation [35]. The methodology and process of optimization
is to create a design, system, or a decision as efficient and functional as possible. Some
optimization techniques are based on mathematical methods and principals such as
linear programming. Optimization is used for solving quantitative problems in many
disciplines and in di↵erent fields, such as business, economics, engineering, and math-
ematics.
Di↵erent optimization techniques have been used in literature to solve an FTTH net-
work design problem. Many research work considers exact methods as an approach to
tackling the problem, such as Mixed Integer Programming, Column Generation, and
Lagrangian Relaxation. While others use approximation algorithms, or heuristic and
meta-heuristic such as Genetic Algorithms, Ant Colony Optimization, Simulated An-
nealing. The di↵erence between these two approaches is that it is possible to guarantee
optimality in the exact methods. However, solution provided by the meta-heuristics
are near optimal or local optimal solutions [36] [37].
The purpose of optimizing is to find the best solution to a given problem defined by a
utility function to optimize (minimize or maximize) subject to a set of listed constraints.
This includes maximizing certain factors, such as profit or productivity, or minimizing
other factors, such as cost or workforce. To optimize a problem, an objective (or utility)
function must be defined where the elements that should be optimized are included.
The objective is expressed as an equation in the mathematical model which determines

whether the model will be maximized or minimized without violating the constraints of
the mathematical model. In mathematics and computer science, optimizing a problem
is performed by finding the best solution within the set of all feasible solutions [38].
One standard approach in solving an optimization problem is to formulate the problem
using a mathematical model and obtaining the numerical data. Depending on the type
of problem and the formulated model, the methodology to solve the problem should be
determined in advance. When the mathematical model is created and the optimization
approach is defined, the problem can then be solved using special methods such as
linear programming, branch-and-bound techniques, etc. Various ways and optimization
techniques can also be used to find the optimum solution of a given problem [38] [39].
Linear programming is a special mathematical programming technique, which deals
with models that involve requirements represented linearly. The variables of such
models must be continuous (not integer). For a model to be linear, the objective
function as well as the constraints must be formulated linearly. In general, a linear
model is easy to solve compared to nonlinear models. When all or some of the model
variables must take integer values, then model becomes an Integer Liner Programming
(ILP) model, or a Mixed-Integer Linear programming model (MILP), respectively [39].
Di↵erent linear programing techniques can be applied to find the optimum solution of
a problem, one of which is the simplex method, which is the most wildly applied linear
programming method, as it is extremely e↵ective in finding the best suitable solution
to a given problem [40]. Moreover, the most common techniques to solve ILP and
MILP are branch-and-bound and branch and-cut methods. For some large problems,
it is sometimes not possible or difficult to find the optimal solution.
Many ILP and MILP problems are solved with exact methods which finds the absolute
global optimal solution of the problem. However, for many other cases, approximation
algorithms are used instead to solve complex problems although the optimal solution
is not guaranteed. This is because it is sometimes difficult to obtain the optimal
solution to an IP/MIP in reasonable time. Therefore, in cases where fast solutions
are required, one can apply heuristics or metaheuristics since good solutions which
satisfies all constraints of the problem can still be obtained. The heuristic approaches
can provide a good solution in reasonable time when the resources can be limited, and
the best way to find a solution is by using di↵erent heuristic algorithms [39].
2.2 Related Work
Several research works have been proposed to tackle the problem of deploying and
designing a cost efficient FTTH network. For example, some of them are related
to the minimization of cabling and equipment costs, di↵erent technologies for the
network deployment and the future growth of the network [41]. Di↵erent optimization
techniques, such as Mixed Integer Linear programming (MILP) and heuristics methods
have been considered, where a specific technique is determined based on the target and
structure of the problem.
The authors in [24] focus on the cable fiber network design while considering the cable
separation (cable branching) techniques to reduce the cost of using multiple cables
to serve di↵erent demands. A linear integer programming model was proposed for
an existing civil engineering infrastructure to design the network. In their model,
the map of usable ducts is considered along with the client database and some cable
manufactures catalogs that list out the types of cables and their costs. In the given
problem, the network design consists of one network equipment, which is the splitter.
The model assumes that the locations of the splitters are already known as it was
obtained from previous work. Along with the locations and number of customers to
be served. The civil engineering structure of the network has a tree topology, which
was chosen to ease the network administration and maintenance.
The cost of installing the FTTH network is also a↵ected by the technology used to
provide the service. For instance, the authors in [42] studied the use of di↵erent
technologies to deploy FTTH networks, such as GPON, and point-to-point Ethernet
(P2P). The study was made for the deployment of a large-scale residential area with
multi-dwelling units. The authors concluded that, for cases where the infrastructure is
not shared by operators, it is much cheaper to deploy an optimized GPON technology
than an optimized P2P Ethernet.
In addition, it appeared that for a shared network using GPON technology, it is cost-
e↵ective to share the network at the last-mile (i.e. customer to a network component),
instead of sharing it at the central office (CO). That is due to many reasons, one
of which is that the advantages of sharing the network at the CO is reduced by the
additional costs of the outside plant manpower and fiber material. However, for the
P2P Ethernet, additional investments are not needed if the network was shared at the
CO .
The work in [2] presented various approaches for an optimal cost design of di↵erent
optical access networks (FTTx). The paper proposed alternative models using Integer
Programming. The use of copper cable networks is then compared to the FTTx net-
works, along with the di↵erent methods that reduce the cost of replacing the existing
copper cable with the FTTH networks. The problem was modeled by considering the
facility location, node, and link equipment installation, while taking into account the
length restrictions and operational costs.
In the formulation, a graph containing the deployment area is given. Both the modeling
of trenching and deployment of the fiber network were achieved. The model presented
in this work is theoretical and cannot be applied to a real practical scenario. However,
simplified computational studies are provided that can assist planning and designing
FTTx networks.
The authors in [43] focused on the problem of back-feed fiber cables designs which are
related to the operations and costs of cable separations. Their problem is a real-life
example that is solved using Integer programming methods. The technology used for
the FTTH network design is the Passive Optical Network (PON) technology. Di↵erent
factors of the network were considered before designing, such as the optical architecture,
splitter locations, and fiber cables routing. In their problem, locations of the CO and
optical splitters are already known along with the number of splitters in the network.
A civil engineering infrastructure including the duct layer is also given. The cables of
the network are placed in the existing ducts. The structure of the network is a tree
topology where the CO is linked to each splitter, and the splitters are then connected
to the customers. In their IP model, the locations of the CO and the splitters are
considered nodes of the civil engineering infrastructure, which are used to determine
the paths of cables.
In cases where the problem is taking too long to be solved in acceptable time, other
techniques and algorithms are used in order to enhance the performance of the model.
In [44], an IP model is designed to minimize the capital expenditure of network de-
ployment by optimizing the locations of optical equipment, signal splitters, and cable
cabinets. The routes and types of cable are also considered in their IP model. After de-
signing the model, two decomposition methods were used to reduce the computational
time.
The first approach was to decompose the problem into a number of smaller sub-
problems, where each sub-problem is solved independently, and the resulting solutions
are then combined to a full solution for the original problem. In each sub-problem the
area that each CO is covering will be considered independently. The second approach
is decomposing the optimization process into phases, where the whole process is di-
vided into di↵erent phases, such as choosing the locations for the network equipment
first and finding the routes afterwards. The second approach is preferable as some
equipment of the network cannot be divided and must serve the entire area.
Some research works [45] focused on the problem of deploying the network equipment,
such as the splitters and Optical Line Terminal (OLT) cards, using multi-state opti-
mization (MuSo) techniques. Other factors are also considered in their model, e.g., the
time needed for the company to provide the service to new customers. The time limits
are then used as a constraint in the deployment of the network. The objective of the
proposed model is to minimize the total expected cost of equipment deployment using
a stochastic model, since it is based on the estimated arrival process of the customers’
service access.
In this approach, the deployment time is divided into periods of equal lengths. The
installation state of each equipment being deployed in the network, in each period of
time, is decided depending on the future behavior of the arrival process. Eventually,
when all customers are served, the total cost of equipment installed is minimized.
The MuSo approach used in this research was then compared with other methods, to
determine its efficiency, and appeared to have better results, in a short period of time,
than the given benchmark.
In [46], machine learning is used to solve optimization problems, by integrating combi-
natorial solvers and optimization methods into the machine learning architecture. The
goal behind the work is to build a hybrid machine learning and optimization methods
which can predict fast, approximate, and find solutions to combinatorial problems.
According to the paper machine learning is the best choice for constrained optimiza-
tion problems, as it is often used with problems that share similar patterns. The
outcomes of using the end-to-end method constrained optimization learning method
showed promising results when preformed on challenging tasks.
However, there yet exist challenges that need to be addressed in order for the integra-
tion to ensue. As for examples, the predicted solutions for the given problems does not
necessarily satisfy all the constraints. Since the approaches of this study are still at its
early stages, it has only been used for academic purposes. Nonetheless, based on the
current results it seems to have a promising path for the development of optimization
and learning tools.
In [47], a two-stage optimization design is proposed using exact methods that are
based on column and constraint generation algorithms. The approach considers uncer-
tain demands, where in the first stage the decisions of the variables are taken before
discovering the real values of the uncertain data. However, in the second stage, when
the uncertain values are revealed, the variables are determined. The work shows that
the idea of uncertainty models for designing FTTH networks has various advantages
and weaknesses [48]. Real-life instances are considered in this work, where optimal
robust solutions were obtained.
The research work in [49], focused on the designing the FTTH network while consider-
ing di↵erent aspects of the network; such as the component administration, mapping
tools, and design application. The technology being used for the network is also deter-
mined based on the requirements set. Either P2P or GPON is chosen for the targeted
area. The tree topology is used for the network structure.
Table (2.1) shows a summary of the related work compared with the objectives of this
project.
2.3 Research contribution
An efficient Integer Linear Programming formulation proposed for this research is able
to find the network design for large areas within short computational time. In the
di↵erent presented approaches, the optimization process is usually done in multiple
stages to obtain the design of a network.More than one aspect, as studied in the
literature, is considered and incorporated in one model. This includes the installation
of di↵erent network equipment and deciding the connectivity among them, determining
the number and route of the cables in the network, assignment of customers to network
equipment. Moreover, the model produces a tree solution without explicitly enforcing
it.
The contribution of this research project, when compared to the other approaches that
were presented in the related work section, is mainly the requirement of the real-life
network example that is set by the client (Etisalat). Most of the research work was
either based on theoretical analysis, consider few factors of the network design, or more
aspects beside the network design.
In this work, the input of the model is a linked graph representing the duct of the
civil engineering infrastructure. The obtained solution consists of a tree representing
the connections between the di↵erent equipment in the network. Valid inequalities
have also been considered to enhance the performance of the model. In the results
section, examples of the performance of the network on realistic size networks are
shown, where the model showed good performance as optimal solutions were obtained
in a fast/acceptable times.
In the second part of the work, a model is built that incorporates all aspects of the cable
layer design of the FTTH network; equipment location, equipment assignment, cable
routing, and cable branching. Most works in literature focus on one or two aspects of
the network design. However, the model presented in chapter 4 forms an optimal cable
design solution that takes all aspects into account. Moreover, a two-phase heuristic
approach is proposed and used to enhance the performance of the model, and solve
the problem in a very reasonable time.
2.4 Publication
The first part of the work of this thesis was presented in a conference with the following
publication:
• S. Alkhajeh, A. Gabor, A. Ouali, K. Poon, K. Elbassioni, ”An Efficient Inte-
ger Programming Model for FTTH Networks Design” 2022 7th International
Congress on Information and Communication Technology (ICICT), 2022.

Table 2.1: Summary of Related work
Objective Tree Number Equipment Equipment Distance Branching Exact

topology of equip- Locations capacity con- technique method
ment straints
[45] Minimize final state cost of de- X
ployment
[21] Minimize equipment and cable X X X X
costs
[19] Minimize equipment and cable X X X X
costs
[26] Minimizing the cost of dif- X X X X
ferent network equipment and
Technical Background and Related Work
cables
[1] Minimizing the cost of cables, X X X
weld, and welding boxes
[2] Minimizing the cost of realiz- X X X X
ing tree trenches, placing Cos,
and fibers
[23] Minimize cost of equipment X X
and cables
[24] Minimizing cables cost, weld- X X
ing boxes, and weld cost
[42] Minimizing deployment cost X X
depending on technology used
[43] Minimizing the cost of cable X X X X X
deployment, welds, and pro-
tective boxes
29
Chapter 3
An Efficient Integer
Programming Model for FTTH
Networks Design
3.1 Introduction
In this section, an integer linear programming model is proposed for designing an
FTTH network for large areas based on real scenario. In the presented work an FTTH
network consists of two layers, the civil layer and the cable layer. The civil layer which
contains the duct and JRC boxes is out of the scope of this work and considered given.
The cable layer is the main focus of this research. It consists of network equipment
which are the Drop closure and Joint closure and the cables. In the proposed model
the aim is to design the cable layer by taking the civil layer of the network as an
input. The cable layer is designed by placing the required equipment of the network
in their optimal locations, deciding the path of the cables to connect the equipment,
30
An Efficient Integer Programming Model for FTTH Networks Design 31
and determining the number of fibers needed in the cables, based on the demand of
the given area.
3.2 Problem Description
The network cable design model is a combination of facility location and network
flow problems, with a set of additional constraints specific to the telecommunication
setting. These constraints include capacity constraint for the equipment used in the
network, distance constraints between di↵erent equipment and between the customer
and equipment, and assignment constraints for the connection between the customers
and the drop closures.
Based on the specified constraints, the mathematical model will take into account the
following restrictions and make the decisions of the network design accordingly:
• Each customer is connected to only one DC.
• A customer should only be connected to a DC located within a specified maxi-
mum distance.
• At a location only one equipment can be placed, either a DC or a JC.
• Each DC should be connected to a JC (possibly through several JBs).
• Each JC is served by one JC or to the FH.
• Only one cable can exit the fiber hub with a maximum number of fibers as
specified in the requirements of the network design.
• The number of cables exiting a JC does not exceed its maximum cable capacity.
• The number of fibers required by the customers connected to a DC does not
exceed the maximum fiber capacity of a DC.
• The number of fibers coming out of the FH is equal to the total capacity of the
DCs.
• The number of fibers going in a JC either from the FH or other JCs is equal to
the number of fibers out.
• The fiber flow into a DC should be equal to the DC’s full capacity.
• If a JC is placed only one cable can enter the location l.
3.3 Model Description
The mathematical model is an arc-based model which is formulated by considering
only the neighbors of each node. Therefore, all the variables are either indexed by
one location, or by a pair of neighboring locations. This formulation reduces the size
of the IP considerably compared to a path formulation and leads to lower running
times. In the formulation of the model, variables that fall outside the radius of a
specified distance are not considered in order to improve the running time and obtain
the solution in less iterations. An example to that is to avoid placing a DC at a JB
that is 300m away from customers.
The model does not have assignment constraint between nodes which explicitly avoids
cycles. However, the solution obtained can still be changed into a solution that returns
a tree. After finding the ILP solution, an algorithm is designed to extract the tree
solution from the arc-based solution, which contains the required elements in the tree
as shown in figure (1.2). Designed algorithms for the tree extraction are discussed in
section (3.5).
The cable costs that are used in the model are the real fiber cable cost that are currently
being used by the client. These costs were found to be linear with the number of fibers
in the cables. Shown in figure (3.1) a graph of the linear regression of the costs and
cables sizes. In order to incorporate these costs in the model, the equation of the line
was used in the objective to calculate the cost of cables in the edges of the network.
Figure 3.1: Linear regression of the cable costs
3.4 Formulation
The mathematical model built to design the FTTH network consist of a list of sets,
parameters, and variables which are used to define the constraints of the model. In the
following subsection the mathematical model is presented, along with the description
of the constraints.
3.4.1 Mathematical model
Sets:
⇤ H: set of customers’ premises.
⇤ V : set of JB locations (possible locations of DCs and JCs).
⇤ DCh : set of possible locations for DC within a certain distance from customer
h 2 H. s.t. Dist(h, l) <= M axDDC
⇤ N (l): set of JB locations adjacent to location l 2 V .
⇤ N (F H): set of JB locations adjacent to the location of FH.
Parameters:
⇤ m: slope of the cable cost linear equation
⇤ b: y-intercept of the cable cost linear equation
⇤ CDC : cost of DC.
⇤ CJC : cost of JC.
⇤ Ch : unit cost of the cable connecting a customer to a DC. All customers are
assumed to have the same fiber demand and therefore Ch is the same for all
customers.
⇤ M axCDC :capacity of DC; maximum number of fibers that can exit a DC.
⇤ M axCJC : capacity of JC; maximum number of cables that can exit a JC.
⇤ M axDDC :maximum allowed distance from a customer to a DC.
⇤ dl1 l2 : distance between 2 JBs.
⇤ dlh : distance between JB l and customer h.
⇤ Dh : number of fibers required by each customer.
⇤ M axF : maximum number of fibers that can be accommodated in the network.
This is a network design parameter that should be set by the telco operator based
on the given area and available equipment.
⇤ M axC: maximum number of cables that can go through a given link and is
calculated as:|M axF/M axDDC |.
Decision Variables:
⇤ ul = 1, if a DC is placed at location l, 0 otherwise.
⇤ sl = 1, if a JC is placed at location l, 0 otherwise.
⇤ al1 l2 : number of cables between JB locations l1 and l2 2 N (l1 ).
⇤ aF H,l : number of cables from F H to location l.
⇤ xlh = 1, if a cable is placed between customer h and JB at location l 2 DCh .
⇤ wl1 l2 : number of fibers between locations l1 and l2 2 N (l1 ).
⇤ wlF H l : number of fibers between the Fiber hub and location l, where l 2 N (F H)
Objective Function:
X X X X
(P ) M in m ⇤ w l1 l 2 d l 1 l2 + b ⇤ a l1 l 2 d l 1 l2 +
l1 2V l2 2V l1 2V l2 2V
(3.1)
XX X X
Ch xlh dlh + CDC ul + CJC sl
l2V h2H l2V l2V
Constraints:
X
s.t. xlh = 1 8h 2 H (3.2)
l2DCh
xlh  ul 8l 2 DCh (3.3)
s l + ul  1 8l 2 V (3.4)
w l1 l 2  M a l1 l 2 8l1 2 V [ {F H}, l2 2 N (l1 ) (3.5)
w l 1 l2 a l 1 l2 8l1 2 V [ {F H}, l2 2 N (l1 ) (3.6)
X
aF H,l = 1 (3.7)
l2N (F H)
X
al1 l2  M axCJC sl1 + M (1 s l1 ) 8l1 2 V (3.8)
l2 2N (l1 )
X
Dh xlh  M axCDC ul 8l 2 DCh (3.9)
h2H
X X
wF H,l = M axCDC ul (3.10)
l2N (F H) l2V
X X
(l2 )wF H,l2 + w l 1 l2 = wl2 l1 + M axCDC ul2 8l2 2 V (3.11)
l1 2N (l2 ) l1 2N (l2 )
X X
a l2 l1 a l1 l2  M s l2 8l2 2 V (3.12)
l1 2N (l2 ) l1 2N (l2 )
X X
a l2 l1 a l 1 l2 1 M (1 u l1 ) 8l1 2 V (3.13)
l2 2N (l1 ) l2 2N (l1 )
X
alk l1  s11 + M (1 s 11 ) 8l1 2 V. (3.14)
lk 2N (l1 )
xlh , sl , ul 2 {0, 1}
wF H,l , wl1 l2 2 [0, M axF ]
al1 l2 2 [0, M axC]
Objective & Constraints Definitions:
The objective function (3.1) minimizes the deployment cost by optimizing the number
of the DCs and JCs installed and the length and number of cables used. The cable has
a linear cost which depends on the size of the cable. Thus, the objective is formed based
on the linear equation of the number of fibers in a cable, where m is the slope of the
line and b is the y-intercept. Since the constant b should be added based on the number
of cables in the edge, it is multiplied by al1 l2 in order to take into account all the cables
in an edge. The linear equation represents the unit cost of the cable. Therefore, it is
multiplied by the distance in order to consider the whole edge. Including the linear
equation resulted in improving the performance of the model in finding the solution,
compared with a former objective which only included the cable variable al1 l2 .
Constraints (3.2-3.6) are assignment constraints. Constraints (3.2) and (3.3) ensure
that each customer h is connected to only one DC in DCh , and that it is assigned to a
location l where a DC can be installed (i.e, ul = 1). Constraint (3.4) imposes that at
location l, at most one DC or one JC is placed. Constraint (3.5) enforces that if fibers
are installed between locations l1 and l2 , then cables are also installed. Constraint
(3.6) ensures that if a cable is installed between l1 and l2 , then fibers are also installed.
Constraints (3.5) and (3.6) are important to ensure that cables only exist where fibers
exists, to avoid placing cables in unwanted locations in the network.

Constraints (3.7)-(3.9) are capacity constraints, where constraint (3.7) ensures that
only one cable can exit the (F H). Constraint (3.8) ensures that the number of outgoing
cables does not exceed the maximum capacity of the JC; if a JC is installed at l1 , i.e.
sl1 = 1, the number of cables going out of location l1 is limited by the capacity of the
JC; if no JC is installed at l1 , i.e. sl1 = 0, then the number of outgoing cables can be
as large as M . Here, M is chosen to be equal to the maximum number of cables in any
edge in the network. Constraint (3.9) ensures that if a DC is installed at location l,
the number of fibers required by the customers connected to this DC does not exceed
the maximum fiber capacity of a DC.
Constraints (3.10)-(3.11) are flow constraints. Constraint (3.10) ensures that the num-
ber of fibers exiting the FH is equal to the total capacity of the DCs, while (3.11)
enforces that the number of fibers entering a JB location either from the FH or neigh-
boring JBs is equal to the number of fibers leaving that location. More precisely, note
that the parameter (l2 ) takes value 1 if l2 2 N (F H) and 0 otherwise. If no DC is
installed at l2 , i.e. ul2 = 0, the number of fibers entering l2 is equal to the number of
fibers exiting l2 . If l2 2 N (F H), the fibers from the FH to l2 are taken into account,
otherwise, only the fibers from the neighbors of l2 . If a DC is placed at l2 , i.e. ul2 = 1,
M axCDC fibers will terminate at location l2 .
Constraints (3.12) and (3.13) are associated with the number of cables entering and
exiting a JB location, where constraint (3.12) enforces placing a JC (i.e, sl = 1)
whenever the number of outgoing cables of a JB is greater than the number of cables
entering. Finally, constraint (3.13) states that for a DC location (i.e, ul = 1), a
dedicated cable must enter and be terminated at that DC. It will neither continue
nor branch. There may be other cables entering the location, but they will continue
through the JB and will not terminate at the DC. Finally, Constraint (3.14) ensure
that if a JC is placed at a location, only one cable can enter that location.
3.4.2 Model Enhancements
The presented model in the previous section (3.4.1) was tested on several networks
with di↵erent sizes and structures. The results were obtained on various runtimes,
where on some networks it performed weakly as the optimal solutions would be found
in hours. This was due to the symmetry caused by the structure of the networks,
where it was in some cases difficult to decide between di↵erent paths if the distances
are equal, which results in the same cost.
Figure (3.2) shows an example of how the symmetry can cause a problem in finding
the optimal solution. The red line coming out of the fiber hub reaching JB0 through
JC0 can either take the path to JB1 (yellow line) to reach JC1 or choose the path
from JB2 (red line) to reach JC1 , where in both cases the cost will be equal. Having
multiple paths in the network that results in the same cost can cause a problem in
obtaining the solution in short running time. This is because the model has to decide
which solution is the optimal among many similar solutions which contains equal costs
in some edges.
Consequently, di↵erent ideas were tested in order to enhance the performance of the
model and improve the running time. In the following subsection, the valid inequalities
added to the model discussed.
3.4.3 Valid Inequalities
One of the strategies proposed to improve the computational time and narrow the
search area enclosed by the constraints in finding the solution is introducing valid
Figure 3.2: Examples of the Symmetry Problem
inequalities to the model. These inequalities proved to enhance the quality of the
linear programming bounds formulation, where the new running time were considerably
reduced.
The first constraint added to the model is related to the cable installation in the
network, where it ensures that if there are no cable entering a node (JB) there will be no
cable exiting. This constraint avoids having feasible solution satisfying all constraints
and placing cables at locations that are not needed resulting in solution with higher
costs. The equation below (3.15) shows the formulation of the new constraint added.
X X
al1 lk  M (alF H l1 + a lk l 1 ) 8l1 2 V. (3.15)
lk 2N (l1 ) lk 2N (l1 )
After obtaining di↵erent solution designs for several networks, it was concluded that in
an optimal solution the number of fibers is always a multiple of the maximum capacity
of DC. This can be observed from the flow conservation constraints, where the demand
at a DC is always constant regardless of the number of customers associated with it.
Accordingly, a proof was formulated as shown in the following subsection.
3.4.4 Fibers Equal Multiple of M axCDC (Proof )
Let (P ) be the optimization program (P).
Consider an optimal solution (w⇤ , s⇤ , u⇤ , x⇤ , a⇤ ) to (P ).
Proposition 1 In an optimal solution (w⇤ , s⇤ , u⇤ , x⇤ , a⇤ ), each wl⇤1 l2 is a multiple of
M axCDC .
Proof Consider an optimal solution (w⇤ , s⇤ , u⇤ , x⇤ , a⇤ ) to (P ). Let DC ⇤ be the set
of locations where DCs have been installed in this optimal solution. That is, DC ⇤ =
{l 2 V |u⇤l = 1}. Recall that by constraint (3.13) there is at least one cable entering a
location l⇤ where ul⇤ = 1 with fibers equal to M axCDC and which will be terminated
at that location. Let P red(l⇤ ) be the location where this cable originates. Since each
⇤
DC has a demand of M axCDC fibers, wpred(l ⇤ )l⇤ = M axCDC .
Let L0 be the set of paths (l1 , l2 , ..., lk 1 , lk ) with the following properties:
• A DC is installed at location lk , that is lk 2 DC ⇤
• There is only 1 cable exiting each location li , 1  i  k
• There are fibers installed on each link, that is, wl⇤i ,li+1 > 0, for i = 1, ..., k
Consider a path (l1 , l2 , ..., lk 1 , lk ) in L0 . As the demand of a DC is a multiple of
M axCDC , and there is only 1 cable entering lk , we conclude that the number of fibers
exiting lk 1 is a multiple of M axCDC . By (3.11), the number of fibers entering lk 1 is
also a multiple of M axCDC . By induction, it can be shown that the number of fibers
entering each location {l2 , ..., lk } is a multiple of M axCDC . In particular, the number
of fibers on the link (l1 , l2 ) is a multiple of M axCDC .
Let L1 be the set of nodes l with the property that for every neighbor l0 2 N (l) with
wll⇤ 0 > 0, there exists a DC j 0 and a path p = (l0 ..., j 0 ) 2 L0 . Note that more cables can
exit node l (see figure 3.5). Since p 2 L0 , the number of fibers exiting l0 is a multiple of
M axCDC . By the network flow conservation constraints (3.11), the number of fibers
entering each l0 2 N (l) is also a multiple of M axCDC . This implies that the number
of fibers exiting and entering l is a multiple of M axCDC .
Next, consider the set L2 of nodes l whose neighbors l2 2 N (l) are either in L1 , DC ⇤
or have no fibers installed on (l, l2 ) (see figure 3.5). As the number of fibers entering a
location in L1 or DC ⇤ is a multiple of M axCDC , it follows that the number of fibers
exiting (and entering a location in L2 is a multiple of M axCDC .
Let Lk be the set of nodes l whose neighbors are in DC ⇤ [ L1 [ ...Lk 1, k 2 or there
is no fiber between them and l. Assume that the number of fibers entering locations
in DC ⇤ [ L1 [ ...Lk 1 is a multiple of M axCDC . By (3.11), it follows that the number
of fibers exiting/entering a location in Lk is a multiple of M axCDC .
By induction, this argument holds also for level p with F H 2 Lp .
Corollary Every optimal solution (w⇤ , s⇤ , u⇤ , x⇤ , a⇤ ) satisfies wl⇤1 l2 M axCDC a⇤l1 l2 .
Proof: The result follows from the fact that wl⇤1 l2 a⇤l1 l2 (constraint (3.6)) and Propo-
sition 1.
Figure 3.3: Examples of tree 1
Figure 3.4: Example of tree 2
Figure 3.5: Di↵erent tree examples
In further parts, we enhance the IP-formulation (P) with the following constraints:
w l 1 l2 M axCDC al1 l2 8l1 2 V [ {F H}, l2 2 N (l1 ) (3.16)

3.4.5 Network Properties
The designed network has two main important properties. In all edges of the network,
the number of fibers is equal to a multiple of M axCDC , as in the proof defined in
the previous section (3.4.4). Second, since there is only one cable exiting the fiber
hub entering one JC in the network, each equipment in the network (JC and DC) has
one entering cable, and customers in the network are linked to only one DC, the final
formulated solution of the network is a tree.
Consequently, after finding the solutions of the networks, an algorithm is designed
to extract the tree structure from the arc-based solution found from the built model.
That is because the provided solution by the model does not explicitly define the design
tree, which shows the path from the Fiber hub to the customers similar to figure (1.2).
The extracted tree structure is then presented and displayed on the inputted civil
network. The following section (3.5) discuses the three di↵erent algorithms designed
to extract the tree from the solution, where examples of the results are then shown in
the numerical experiments section (3.6).
3.5 Recursive Algorithms for Tree Extraction
The goal of the algorithms is to assign the equipment to their parent in the network,
the JC to the parent JC or FH, and the DC to the parent JC. For the assignment of
the customers to their parent DC, recall that it is decided by the variables xlh in the
IP, which represents the connection between each DC location to the customer.
The first pseudo-code below represents the DC to JCs assignment, where it is achieved
by traversing over the path where cables and fibers are installed reaching the parent
JC, based on few conditions. The second pseudo-code is to assign the JC to their
parent JC or the FH if it was the first JC placed in the network. Part of extracting
the tree structure is computing the number of fibers used in the tree, depending on the
demand. Since the number of fibers assigned in the model is based on the number of
DCs placed, it is important to know the number of fibers used by the customers at each
DC and the number of spare fibers available. An algorithm is designed to calculate the
number of fibers used in the network, and display the number of active fibers at each
node (DC, JC, and FH). Examples of the numbers displayed on the nodes are shown
in the figures in the Numerical Results section (3.6).
In order to ensure the accuracy of the algorithms and their compatibility with any
network design, it was first tested on di↵erent networks, where it was possible to
extract the tree structure in all network solutions. Second, the accuracy was tested by
changing the default order of the nodes in the model, which is obtained from the civil
layer input, and comparing the resulted tree and cost after changing the order.
After solving for the model in (3.4.1) and finding the solution, a hashmap is created
which takes the link between two nodes as a string and the number of fibers this link
contains. This hashmap helps in assuring that each link, which is the connection be-
tween two nodes, is used only once to create the tree. The algorithms are called in
the same order they are presented, first the DCs are assigned, then the JCs, finally
the number of active fibers are calculated. That is because in the JC assignment algo-
rithm (3.5.2) the children of JCs must be known before assigning the parent. In each
subsection below, a description of the pseudo-code is given to clarify the mechanism
of the algorithm.
3.5.1 DC to JC Assignment
Algorithm 1
Algorithm 1 creatTreeDC(z,j,n)
Input: z & j are current node index, n the is number of JBs
Output: parent (JC) of node z
1: For l n
2: if w[l][j] 0 then
3: k=l
4: F ibers[counter] = w[l][j]
5: Cables[counter] = a[l][j]
6: index[counter] = l
7: counter + +
8: end if
9: if counter = 1 then
10: if s[k] = 1 then
11: T ree.addChild(k, z)
12: if w[k][j] = M axCDC then
13: Remove(link[k][l])
14: else
15: Replace(link[k][j] M axCDC )
16: end if
17: else
18: creatT reeDC(z, k, n)
19: end if
20: end if
21: if counter > 1 then
22: For q counter
23: if M axCDC ⇤ Cables[index[q]] = f ibers[index[q]] then
24: if s[index[q]] = 1 then
25: T ree.addChild(index[q], z)
26: if w[index[q]][j] = M axCDC then
27: Remove(link[index[q]][lj])
28: else
29: Replace(link[index[q]][j] M axCDC )
30: end if
31: else
32: creatT reeDC(z, index[q], n)
33: end if
34: end if
35: if Cables[index[q]] > 1&F ibers[index[q]] > M axCDC then
36: if s[index[q]] = 1 then
37: Tree.addChild(index[q],z)
38: if w[index[q]][j] = M axCDC then
39: Remove(link[index[q]][j])
40: else
41: Replace(link[index[q]][j] M axCDC )
42: end if
43: else
44: creatT reeDC(z, index[q], n)
45: end if
46: end if
47: end if
This algorithm is used to assign the DCs to their parent JC to formulate the tree.
After the solution of the network design is found the function is called for each DC in
the solution.
• The creatTreeDC function is called when a DC is found, and passed with three
integer arguments, where z and j are equal to the current node index, and n is
equal to the total number of JBs in the network.
• Three empty arrays (Fibers, Cables, and index) and Two integer variables are
created to store the values of the edges that are in the path leading to the DC.
• In line 1, l is looping over the number of nodes, and whenever it encounters a
node that has fibers with node j (line 2) it enters to line 3.
• Lines 3-6 take the information of the link between l, j and adds them to the
arrays starting from index 0.
• Next the counter that has an initial value of 0 is incremented.
• When the loop terminates the if-statements in line 9 and 21 are checked, where
it checks if the counter is equal to 1 which means that there is only one link with
j or if counter is greater than one, where there is more than one cable entering
j.
• If there is only one cable entering j, then line 10 checks if a JC is placed at k,
which is the previous node to j.
• if k is a JC then it node z is added to the tree as child of k
• After adding the DC to the tree, the link used is removed from the hashset if it
contains only M axCDC number of fibers, otherwise M axCDC is deducted from
the value of the that link (lines 12-16)

• However, if node k is not a JC, then the function is called again with k as the
current node.
• Line 21 is entered if more than one path to j exists.
• In line 22, q goes over the values of the counter, which is the number of links to
j.
• Then two conditions are checked, line 23; if all cables in the link contain M axCDC
number of fibers, or line 35; if cables with di↵erent sizes exists in the edge.
• Lines 24-33 repeats the same process, where first the function checks if the node
is a JC, add the child which is the current node to the parent and puts it in the
tree, then removes or updates the link in the hashset, or calls the function with
the current node if it a JC was not found.
• For the second case (lines 36-41), the cable with number of fibers equal to
M axCDC will be assigned for the connection between the JC and the current
child DC and removed from the hashmap.
• If neither conditions are satisfied the function will be called again with the
index[q] (Line 44)
3.5.2 JC to (JC and FH) Assignment
Algorithm 2
This algorithm is built to assign the JC in the network to their parent JC or to the FH
and added to the tree. The function is called after the solution of the network design
is found and for every JC placed.

Algorithm 2 creatTreeJC(z,j,k,n)
Input: z, j & k are current node index, n is number of JBs
Output: parent (JC or FH) of node z
1: if w[z][z] = 1 then
2: T ree.addChild(F H, z)
3: P arentF ound = T rue
4: Remove(link[z][z])
5: end if
6: For JCchildren child
7: if child = DC then
8: numOf F ibersN eeded+ = M axCDC
9: end if
10: if child = JC then
11: JC2children N umOf Children
12: numOf F ibersN eeded+ = JC2children ⇤ M axCDC
13: end if
14: For l n
15: if P arentF ound = f alse then
16: if l 6= z||l 6= j||l 6= k then
17: if w[l][j] = 1 then
18: if s[l] = 1 then
19: T ree.addChild(l, j)
20: Replace(link[l][j] numOf F ibersN eeded
22: end if
23: end if
24: if w[l][l] = 1 then
25: T ree.addChild(F H, j)
26: Replace(link[l][j] numOf F ibersN eeded
28: else
29: creatT reeJC(z, l, j, n)
30: end if
31: end if
32: end if
• The function is called when a JC is found after obtaining the design result of the
network, and passed with four integer arguments, z, j, and k as the current node
index, and n as the number of JBs. More than one variable is needed to carry
the value of the current node, because two of them will be changing whenever the
function is called again, since it is a recursive function. Therefore, one variable
must remain with the index of the actual index of the JC.
• The first step is to check whether the current node is the JC linked to the FH.
• If the node is the first JC, lines 1-4 assigns z to the FH and removes the link
from the hashset.
• In line 6, we loop over the number of children of the JC, where for each child we
calculate the number of fibers needed.
• The children of a JC can either be a DC or a JC. In lines 7-9, the number of fibers
is calculated for the case where the child is a DC. Since a DC always requires
M axCDC number of fibers, the amount is added for each child DC.
• Lines 10-13, if the child is a JC, its children are found, and the number of fibers
is being updated.
• In line 14, l loops over the number of JBs to find the parent JC, by checking
first that the parent is not yet found, and that the JC is not the first JC in the
network.
• Line 16 is added to avoid cycles and going backwards in the algorithm.
• Lines 15-23 find a link between l and j, and then checks if l is a JC. If a JC is
found it is then added as the parent to the tree and the link in the hashset is
updated with the remaining number of fibers in the link.

• The second condition checks whether there is no other JC on the path from the
FH to the current node. In this case the current node JC is assigned to the FH.
• If either of these conditions are not satisfied, then the function is called with the
current index l in the loop.
3.5.3 Active Fibers per Node Calculation
Algorithm 3 NodeConnection(node)
Input: Network node(DC or JC)
Output: number of connections needed for each node
1: if node = DC then
2: numOf Connections numOf Children ⇤ Dh
3: T reeCableDesign(node, numOf Connections, numOf Children)
4: return numOf Connections
5: end if
6: For node children
7: numOf Connections+ = N odeConnection(node)
8: if node = JC then
9: T reeCableDesign(node, numOf Connections, numOf Children)
10: return numOf Connections
11: else
12: return 0
13: end if
Algorithm 3
This algorithm is used to calculate the number of active fibers in the network which are
assigned to the customers. Since all DCs require M axCDC number of fibers regardless
of the number of customers assigned to the DC, the exact amount of fibers that is
being used must be known. This function is called after constructing the tree, as the
children of the JC must be known.
• The function is called when a DC or a JC is found in the designed solution, and
passed with node.

• In the first condition (line 1); if the node is a DC, the number of children is found
and then multiplied by the demand of each customer Dh to calculate the number
of connections needed.
• The number of connections is then assigned to that node in the Cable Tree Design
(line 3).
• In the second case (line 8); where if the node is a JC, the function is called
for each child of the JC to calculate the number of connections needed for the
children (DCs and JCs), then assigned to the current JC.
• In line 9, the number of connections is assigned to the current JC in the Cable
Tree Design.
The main idea of the tree extraction algorithm is to remove the JBs from the network
solution, where each link would be from an equipment to another, then to the customer.
An example that shows how the tree solution looks before and after the tree extraction
is shown in figure (3.8).

Figure 3.6: Net1 (Network solution from the model)
Figure 3.7: Network solution after extracting the tree
Figure 3.8: Tree extraction example

3.6 Numerical Results
In this section, the results of the mathematical model proposed in section 3.4.1 are
presented. The integer program was solved using CPLEX [50] on a 3.1 GHz Dell Intel
Xeon E3-1535M workstation equipped with 32 GB RAM and 300 GB Hard Disk. To
validate the efficiency of the proposed model, di↵erent sizes and network structures
were tested. For each network, the customers locations, location of the FH, and the
civils network are provided. The network in figure 1.4 is an example of an input
network with 134 customers and 70 JB locations. The optimal solution for a network
is obtained in a maximum of 5 minutes, which is considered a reasonable time for a
network design model.
Solutions for 2 of the input networks are presented in Figure 3.11. The purple boxes
represent the location of DCs, the blue boxes are the JCs of the network and the gray
box is the fiber hub. Customer plots with the same color represents those that are
assigned to a same DC.
The numbers on the boxes indicate the number of fibers that are required at that
location, and is being used by the customers as calculated in Algorithm 3 (3.5.3).
These numbers only represent the active fibers that are assigned to the customers, as
the demand at each DC remains constant regardless of whether all the fibers are being
used. Any remaining fibers are set for spare use to handle future demand. The real
planning parameters and costs are shown in the table (3.1).

Figure 3.9: Net1 (optimal solution obtained in 14.53 seconds)
Figure 3.10: Net2 (optimal solution obtained in 1.62 minutes)
Figure 3.11: Optimal solution of di↵erent real networks

Table 3.1: Model parameters
Planning parameters Costs and capacities
Maximum network fiber count, M axF 600 fibers
Capacity of DC 48 fibers
Capacity of JC 4 cables
Maximum distance to a DC 300m
Number of fibers required by each customer 4 fibers
Cost of DC 783
Cost of JC 3000
Figure (3.12) shows the routes of the cables of the JC highlighted in yellow. It can be
seen from the red lines that the JC has 4 outgoing cables connected to 4 DCs. The
blue line shows the route of the incoming cable from the parent of the JC in the design
tree. It is possible to view the designed tree due to the construction of the tree done
in Algorithms 1 & 2 (3.5.1,3.5.2).
The goal of the model is to assign each customer to a DC, each DC to a JC, and JC to
other JCs or to the FH, as it is shown in figure (1.2). Although the model only checks
the neighbor of each JB and does not have assignment constraints or variables for the
equipment, it was still possible to deduce the tree structure of the network solution
implicitly without losing optimality.
Table (3.2) shows the time it takes to obtain the optimal solutions for four di↵erent
networks before and after introducing the valid inequalities to the model and the
percentage of time saved. As it can be seen, the model had a much better performance
after adding the valid inequalities since the percentage of time saved was between 58%
to 91%.
Figure 3.12: Examples of cable routes
Table 3.2: IP running time for di↵erent input networks
Net1 Net2 Net3 Net4

Number of customers 90 105 134 128
Number of JBs 48 66 70 79
Number of links 58 97 93 104
IP runtime without
valid inequalities 34.3 sec 17.44 16.33 51.27
mins mins mins
IP runtime 14.53 sec 1.62 mins 5.16 mins 4.61 mins
Percentage of time saved 58% 91% 68% 91%
Objective value 95838.03 99767.94 151570.14 124946.88
Number of JC 4 4 4 4
Number of DC 12 12 12 12
Compared to the existing works to optimize the FTTH network, this model optimizes
the locations of the network equipment and determines the number and sizes of cables
in the network in one step. To further validate the efficacy of the model, it was
compared to an existing method used by the telco provider which solves the problem
in a two-step optimization process, where the number and locations of the equipment
is decided in the first step, and the cable routing design is decided in the second. This
approach does not provide an optimal solution for two reasons; it does not optimize
the locations of the equipment with the routes and the number of cables, and uses
the shortest distance for the cables assignment in the network. On the other hand, in
the one-step optimization approach the routes of the cables are decided by considering
each edge of the network, to determine the path with the least cost. Table (3.3) shows
the comparison between the one-step and two-step optimization.
As can be seen from table (3.3) that the objective values using the one-step optimiza-
tion for all the networks are always less. This is to be expected, as the model obtains
the optimal solution, whereas the two-step optimization is not guaranteed to find one.
In figure (3.13), the graph shows the di↵erence in cost between the two approaches
and the percentage of cost saved for all networks.
Figure 3.13: Percentage of cost saved

Table 3.3: Comparison of two optimization approaches

3.7 Chapter Summary
In this chapter, we considered a large FTTH network design problem, which takes the
civil engineering structure of an area and the location of the customers as an input,
and has as objective to determine the number and locations of the equipment of the
network (DCs and JCs), the route of the cables, and the number of fibers needed to
provide the service at minimal costs.
The problem is solved by formulating an efficient ILP model that minimizes the de-
ployment cost of the FTTH network. Unlike most other approaches, the model decides
simultaneously the number and locations of the equipment of the network, determines
the routes of the cables and the number of fibers needed to serve the demand. We
show that the solution of the model can be easily transformed into a solution in which
the routes where cables/fibers are installed form a tree. Valid inequalities were used
to enhance the performance of the model. The results of the model showed good
performance on networks with realistic sizes, as the optimal solution is obtained in
minutes.
Chapter 4
Branching Techniques of Cables
for FTTH Networks
4.1 Introduction
In this section, a generalization of the ILP model presented in section (3) is proposed,
where cable branching techniques is added as extra feature to the model. The idea of
the branching technique is to choose at which location the cables terminate and new
cables are welded, and the type of cables that are used at each branching location. This
extension to the model will further reduce the number of cables used in the network,
which will consequently reduce the total costs of the network. Similar constraints pro-
posed in section (3) for the placement of equipment and capacity constraints are used.
However, for the constraints associated with the cables, some constraints were either
modified to suit the branching feature, or removed to avoid conflicts and infeasibility
in the solution.
61
Branching Techniques of Cables for FTTH Networks 62
4.2 Problem Description
At a location where a JC is placed, one cable enters and exists in multiple paths,
where the fibers in the cables are split in the directions where it is needed. This
concept introduces the idea of branching, which is to either use the same entering
cable, tap few fibers and weld them to a new smaller cable, or splice all the fibers in
the cable and weld them to new smaller cables. At each JC location the model must
determine which cable branching technique to choose in a way that the cost will be
minimized. This can either be decided by having smaller cables at a larger distance, or
less cables at a short distance. In both cases the cost of splicing and tapping is based
on the number of fibers used.
The additional constraints in the model are mainly to decide which branching technique
to use, and to keep track of the di↵erent categories of fibers in the edges of the network.
This is because using either branching technique, di↵erent set of fibers will be produced.
In reality they all have the same type, however, when the cables are spliced or tapped,
new fibers will be welded to the original fibers, as shown in figure (2.3), and the IP
model must di↵erentiate between these fibers in order to decide on the branching
technique.
In the case of tapping, there will be the tapped fibers and the continuing fibers that
are from the original cable. Also, since the same type of cable will continue, some
of the tapped fibers in the original cable will be dead fibers, while the remaining will
be active. However, if the cable is spliced, all the fibers in the following edge will be
spliced fibers, where they will all be considered active fibers.
Furthermore, di↵erent from the mathematical model in section (3.4.1), adding the
branching feature to the model enforces knowing the sizes of cables in the edges, instead
of the number of cables only. The reason behind that is to ensure that the cable is
continuing when it is tapped, and that smaller cables are added when it is spliced.
Taking all these concepts and ideas into consideration, a mathematical model was built
accordingly in addition to the requirement of model (3.4.1):
• The DCs must be served by active fibers, and the dead fibers in the edges are
not considered.
• The size of the cable is the total number of fibers it contains, which is the active
and dead fibers.
• All the fibers coming out of the FH are active fibers.
• At a JC location only one cable branching technique is used, tapping or splicing.
• Minimum number of fibers to be spliced or tapped is equal to M axCDC .
• Tapping can be done on one or more edges.
• When fibers are tapped, the original cable must continue on one of the neighbor-
ing edges.
• The number of dead fibers in a cable is equal to the number of tapped fibers from
that cable.
• If fibers are spliced then there will be no continuing, tapped, or dead fibers on
that edge.
4.3 Model Description
Similar to the IP-model in section (3.4.1), this model is also an arc-based model which
is formulated by considering the neighbors of each node only. However, for this model,
the large number of variables and constraints it contains result in longer running time
for large networks. In order to avoid that, more valid inequalities can be added to the
model or heuristic methods can be used to tackle large size problems.
One idea to solve the problem is to have a two-phase optimization technique, where
in the first phase the first model gives the location of the equipment in the network
and number of fibers needed. Then, in the second phase the second model is used to
determine the best branching techniques that should be used at the JC locations. This
approach could reduce the running time, however, the solution will not be optimal.
4.4 Formulation
In this section, the list of sets, parameters, and variables used to build the model is
presented, along with the objective and constraints of the model. In the following
subsection, a description of the objective and constraints is given.
4.4.1 Mathematical Model
Sets:
⇤ H: set of customers’ premises.
⇤ V : set of JB locations (possible locations of DCs and JCs).
⇤ DCh : set of possible locations for DC within a certain distance from customer
h 2 H. s.t. Dist(h, l) <= M axDDC
⇤ N (l): set of JB locations adjacent to location l 2 V .
⇤ N (F H): set of JB locations adjacent to the location of FH.

⇤ m: set of types of cable types depending on number of fibers.
Parameters:
⇤ CDC : cost of DC.
⇤ CJC : cost of JC.
⇤ Ch : unit cost of the cable connecting a customer to a DC. All customers are
assumed to have the same fiber demand and therefore Ch is the same for every
one.
⇤ M axCDC : capacity of DC; maximum number of fibers connected to a DC.
⇤ M axCJC : capacity of JC; maximum number of cables connected to a JC.
⇤ M axDDC : maximum allowed distance from a customer to a DC.
⇤ dl1 l2 : distance between 2 JBs.
⇤ dlh : distance between JB l and customer h.
⇤ Dh : number of fibers required by each customer.
⇤ M axF : maximum number of fibers that can be accommodated in the network.
This is a network design parameter that should be set by the telco operator based
on the given area and available equipment.
⇤ M axC: maximum number of cables that can go through a given link and is
calculated as:|M axF/M axDDC |.
⇤ Cm : Cost of cable based on type m
⇤ Cs : Cost of splicing cable of type m

⇤ Ct : Cost of tapping cable of type m
Decision Variables:
⇤ ul = 1, if a DC is placed at location l, 0 otherwise.
⇤ sl = 1, if a JC is placed at location l, 0 otherwise.
⇤ aF H,lm : number of cables of type(size m) from F H to location l.
⇤ xlh = 1, if a cable is placed between customer h and JB at location l 2 DCh .
⇤ al1 l2 m - the number of cables of type(size m) between l1 and l2
⇤ wla1 l2 - the number of active fibers between l1 and l2
⇤ qlspl = 1, if splicing is used at location l, 0 otherwise.
⇤ qltap = 1, if tapping is used at location l, 0 otherwise.
⇤ wld1 l2 - the number of inactive fibers between l1 and l2
⇤ wlca
1 l2
active but not being tapped or branched at l1
⇤ wltap
1 l2
tapped at l1
⇤ wlspl
1 l2
spliced at l1
⇤ qltap
1 l2
- indicates whether there are tapped fibers on (l1 , l2 )
⇤ qlca
1 l2
- indicates whether there are continuing fibers on (l1 , l2 ) when there is tapping
at l1
Objective Function:
X X X X X X X
M in a l1 l 2 m d l 1 l 2 C m + Cs wlspl
1 l2
+ Ct wltap
1 l2
l1 2V l2 2N (l1 ) m2M l1 2V l2 2N (l1 ) l1 2V l2 2N (l1 )
(4.1)
XX X X
Ch xlh dlh + CDC ul + CJC sl
l2V h2H l2V l2V
Constraints:
X
s.t. xlh = 1 8h 2 H (4.2)
l2DCh
xlh  ul 8l 2 DCh (4.3)
X
Dh xlh  M axCDC ul 8l 2 DCh (4.4)
h2H
s l + ul  1 8l 2 V (4.5)
X X
aF H,lm = 1 (4.6)
l2N (F H) m2M
X X
al1 l2 m  M axCJC sl1 + M (1 s l1 ) 8l1 2 V (4.7)
l2 2N (l1 ) m2M
X X X X
a l2 l1 m a l 1 l2 m 1 M (1 u l1 ) 8l1 2 V (4.8)
l2 2N (l1 ) m2M l2 2N (l1 ) m2M
X X X X
a l 1 l2 m al2 l1 m  M axCJC sl1 8l1 2 V (4.9)
l2 2N (l1 ) m2M l2 2N (l1 ) m2M
X X
al2 l1 m  1 + M (1 s 11 ) 8l1 2 V. (4.10)
l2 2N (l1 ) m2M
wla1 l2 = wlca
1 l2
+ wltap
1 l2
+ wlspl
1 l2
8l1 2 V, l2 2 N (l1 ) (4.11)
wl1 l2 = wla1 l2 + wld1 l2 8l1 2 V, l2 2 N (l1 ) (4.12)

X
w l 1 l2 = m ⇤ a l1 l 2 m 8l2 2 N (l1 ) (4.13)
m2M
X X
(l2 )wFa H,l2 + wla1 l2 = wla2 l1 + M axCDC ul2 8l2 2 V (4.14)
l1 2N (l2 ) l1 2N (l2 )
X X
wFa H,l = M axCDC ul (4.15)
l2N (F H) l2V
X
wla1 l2 M axCDC al1 l2 m 8l1 2 V [ {F H}, l2 2 V. (4.16)
m2M
qlspl + qltap = sl 8l 2 V (4.17)
X
wlspl
1 l2
 M qlspl
1
8l1 2 V (4.18)
l2 2N (l1 )
X
qltap
1
 qltap
1 l2
8l1 2 V (4.19)
l2 2N (l1 )
X
qlca
1 l2
= qltap
1
, 8l1 2 V (4.20)
l2 2N (l1 )
X
al3 l1 m  al1 l2 m + M (1 qlca
1 ,l2
) 8l1 2 V, l2 2 N (l1 ), m 2 M (4.21)
l3 2N (l1 )
X
a l1 l2 m  al3 l1 m + M (1 qlca
1 ,l2
) 8l1 2 V, l2 2 N (l1 ), m 2 M (4.22)
l3 2N (l1 )
qlca
1 l2
+ qltap
1 l2
 qltap
1
. 8l1 2 V, l2 2 N (l1 ) (4.23)
M axCDC qltap
1 l2
 wltap
1 l2
8l1 2 V, l2 2 N (l1 ) (4.24)
M axCDC qlca
1 l2
 wlca
1 l2
8l1 2 V, l2 2 N (l1 ) (4.25)
wltap
1 l2
 M qltap
1
8l2 2 N (l1 ), l1 2 V (4.26)
X X X
wld1 l2 + M (qlspl
1
+ u l1 ) wltap
1 l2
+ wld2 l1 8l1 2 V (4.27)
l2 2N (l1 ) l2 2N (l1 ) l2 2N (l1 )
wld1 l2  M (1 qlspl
1
) 8l1 2 V, l2 2 N (l1 ) (4.28)
wlca
1 l2
+ wld1 l2  M (1 qltap
1 l2
) (4.29)
X X
wla1 l2  wlspl
1 l2
+ M (1 qlspl
1
) 8l1 2 V (4.30)
l2 2N (l1 ) l2 2N (l1 )
X
al1 l2 m  qlca
1 l2
+ M (1 qlca
1 l2
) (4.31)
m
wlca
1 l2
 M (1 qltap
1
qlca
1 l2
) (4.32)
sl , ul , qlspl , qltap , xlh , qltap

1 ,l2
, qlca
1 ,l2
2 {0, 1}
wF H,l , wla1 l2 , wld1 l2 2 [0, M axF ]
0  al1 l2 m  M axC
a l1 l 2 m 2 Z
Objective & Constraints Definitions:
The objective function (4.4.1) minimizes the deployment cost by optimizing the number
and size of cables placed in the network, reducing the branching technique used based
on the cost of the number of fibers being spliced and the size of cable, the length of
the cables in the network, and the number of the DCs and JCs installed.
Constraints (4.2) and (4.3) ensure that each customer h is connected to only one DC
in DCh , and a customer h is assigned to a location l where a DC can be installed (i.e,
ul = 1). Constraint (4.4) ensures that if a DC is installed at location l, the number of
fibers required by the customers connected to this DC does not exceed the maximum
fiber capacity of a DC. Constraint (4.5) imposes that at location l, at most one DC or
one JC is placed.
Constraint (4.6) ensures that only one cable can exit the FH (F H). Constraint (4.7)
ensures that the number of outgoing cables does not exceed the maximum capacity of
the JC. Constraint (4.8) states that for a DC location (i.e, ul = 1), a dedicated cable
must enter and be terminated at that DC. Constraint (4.9) enforces placing a JC (i.e,
sl = 1) whenever the number of outgoing cables of a JB is greater than the number
of cables entering. Constraint (4.10) ensures that if a JC is placed at a location, only
one cable can enter that location.
Constraint (4.11) states that active fibers are equal to number of continuing fibers,
tapped active fibers, and spliced active fibers. In constraint (4.12) the total number
of fibers in the edge l1 and l2 is equal to the dead fibers and the active fibers on an
edge. Constraint (4.13) states that total number of all fibers in an edge is equal to the
total size of cables between l1 and l2 . Constraint (4.14) enforces that the number of
active fibers entering a JB location either from the FH or neighboring JBs is equal to
the number of fibers leaving that location. Constraint (4.15) ensures that the number
of fibers exiting the FH is equal to the total capacity of the DCs. Constraint (4.16)
ensures that if a cable is installed between l1 and l2 , then fibers are also installed.
In constraint (4.17), One technology can be used at a JC location, either tapping or
splicing. Constraint (4.18) ensures that if there are spliced fibers on an edge, then
qlspl
1
= 1. Constraint (4.19) ensures that if we tap at l1 , we should tap on at least one
edge exiting l1 . Constraints (4.20) ensure that qlca

1 l2
can take value 1 only if there is
tapping at l1 and that there is at most one cable on which fibers are continuing.
Constraints (4.21)-(4.22) are active only for qlca

1 ,l2
= 1, hence if there is tapping at l1
and the continuing cable is on the link (l1 , l2 ). In this case,
X
a l 1 l2 m = a l3 l 1 m .
l3 2N (l1 )
Note also, that by constraint (4.10) , if there is a JC at l1 , only one cable enters l1 . This
P P
implies that for every m, m l3 2N (l1 ) al3 l1 m  1. Hence, constraints (4.21)-(4.22)
ensure that if the entering cable in l1 is of size m, the cable on link (l1 , l2 ) also has size
m.
Constraints (4.23) ensure that qlca

1 l2
= qltap
1 l2
= 0 if there is no tapping at l1 . Constraint
(4.24) ensures that if we tap on (l1 , l2 ) that we tap at least M axCD C fibers. It also
ensures that if wltap

1 l2
= 0, then qltap
1 l2
= 0. Constraint (4.25) ensures that if fibers
continue on (l1 , l2 ) than there should be at least M axCD C fibers. It also ensures that
tap
if wlca
1 l2
= 0, then qca = 0.
Constraint (4.26) ensures that if there are tapped fibers on (l1 , l2 ), then qltap
1
= 1.
Constraint (4.27) ensures that if there is no splicing, the number of dead fibers exiting
l1 is greater than the number of tapped fibers and the number of entering dead fibers.
Constraints (4.28) ensure that if we splice at l1 , there can’t be dead fibers on the same
edge. Since in the case of splicing, there are no dead fibers. This means that dead
fibers are restricted to edges where the fibers continue.
Constraint (4.29) ensures that there are no continuing fibers or dead fibers when there
is tapped fibers on the edge. Constraint (4.30) ensures that the spliced fibers are
equal to the entering active fibers. If there is tapping at l1 , on every edge exiting l1
either fibers are tapped, continued or there are no fibers. Constraint (4.30) is ensured
by having constraint (4.13). Constraint (4.31) ensures that at least one cable will be
continuing. Constraint (4.32) ensures that after tapping, if qlca

1 l2
= 0, then qltap
1 l2
= 0.
4.4.2 Model Enhancements
The model showed weak performance due to the size of the model and the number of
variables and constraints. For some networks more than 24 hrs were needed to obtain
the optimal solution due to the e↵ect of symmetry on some networks, as discussed in
3.4.2. Therefore, a heuristic approach was proposed to obtain a near optimal solution
of the network.
4.4.2.1 Two-phase Optimization
To enhance the performance of the network, the first model in chapter 3 was used
to obtain the number and locations of the JCs in the network, and the number of
fibers needed. These findings were then fed to the second cable branching model, to
test the performance and obtain the optimal/near optimal solution in a suitable time.
The results of this approach are presented in the numerical results section, where
the objective values were compared to the initial branching approach to validate the
optimality.
4.4.3 Network Properties
Since the model is an extension of the model proposed in chapter 3, similar properties
are applied. The number of fibers in this model is also a multiple of M axCDC , where
it was proven in section (3.4.4). The cable branching model is also following similar
network structure as in chapter 3, where only one cable enters the JC location, a cable
of size M axCDC is terminated at the DC location, and each customer is connected to
only one Dc, a tree structure solution is formulated.
4.5 Numerical Results
In this section, the results of the mathematical model proposed in section 4.4 are
presented in table (4.3). After introducing the branching techniques to the model, the
running time and performance of the model was tested using the CPLEX [50] solver.
The device used is a 3.1 GHz Dell Intel Xeon E3-1535M workstation equipped with 32
GB RAM and 300 GB Hard Disk. Networks with di↵erent structures and sizes were
used to validate the efficiency of the proposed model. Table (4.2) shows the sizes of
the networks used. Examples of the input network is shown in figure (1.4).
The real planning parameters and costs are shown in table (4.1)
Table 4.1: Model parameters
Planning parameters Costs and capacities
Maximum network fiber count, M axF 600 fibers
Capacity of DC 48 fibers
Capacity of JC 4 cables
Maximum distance to a DC 300m
Number of fibers required by each customer 4 fibers
Cost of DC 783
Cost of JC 3000
Cost of splicing/tapping fibers 10
Cost of 48F cable 5.95
A second approach was proposed for the branching technique for a better performance
Table 4.2: Network sizes
Net1 Net2 Net3 Net4 Net5

Number of customers 90 105 134 128 119
Number of JBs 48 66 70 79 101
Number of links 58 97 93 104 135
of the model after the modifications and addition of the new feature. The results
of the two-phase optimization were considered, as heuristic methods were needed for
larger networks. In table (4.3), the results of the cable branching model at a 15% gap
are shown. The 15% gap was chosen to obtain feasible solutions of the networks in
reasonable time to test the efficiency of the branching constraints by measuring the
number of times it chooses to splice or tap and the locations it prefers to choose either
technique.
The performance of the branching model was also tested on a time limit of 1 hour to
compare di↵erent feasible solutions of the model, and test the accuracy of the choice of
branching technique and the chosen locations of branching. It can be seen in the tables
(4.3) and (4.4) that the number of splices and taps for some networks are di↵erent.
However, the number of equipment in the network remain the same. This confirms
that the branching technique and the location of the equipment plays a role in finding
better solutions reaching to the optimal solution.
Figure (4.3) shows the optimal solution of the branching model obtained for Net1
and Net2, where the blue squares represent the locations of the JCs and the purple
boxes represent the DCs. Compared to the figures in (3.11) some of the DCs and JCs
are placed in di↵erent location although both solutions are optimal. This shows that
branching technique has an impact on the locations of the equipment and the overall
network design, which results in an optimized cost efficient network.

Figure 4.1: Net1 network solution
Figure 4.2: Net2 network solution
Figure 4.3: Optimal solution of di↵erent real networks

Table (4.5) shows the comparison between the cable branching approach and the two-
phase optimization approach. The runtime of the cable branching approach was set
to a time limit of 6 hours for all networks to obtain good feasible solutions for the
comparison. For the two-phase optimization however, no time limit was needed and
the optimal solutions were found in minutes.
Table 4.3: Cable branching techniques results at 15% gap
Table 4.4: Cable branching techniques results at 1 hour time limit
Since it is difficult to obtain the optimal solution for most of the networks using the
branching model, the solution at a time limit of 6 hours were used for the comparison.
As can be seen in table (4.5), the two-phase optimization has a better performance
compared to the branching model. In addition, the two-phase optimization approach

Table 4.5: Cable branching vs. Two-phase optimization
resulted in almost equal objective values to the branching model, where the cost per-
centage di↵erence is about 3%. This is because in the two-phase optimization, the
process is starting with a near optimal solution, as the first model gave an optimal
solution design of the network. Due to that, the two-phase optimization heuristic ap-
proach is considered efficient. One important factor that e↵ected the choice of branch-
ing technique in the solution was the cost set for the fiber splicing. The higher the
cost of tapping and splicing the longer it takes to find better solutions. The cost set
for the results in table (4.5) is 5, which is half the actual cost as shown in table (4.1).
However, the remaining test were done using the actual cost.
In the Two-phase optimization method, the locations of the JCs were set and the total
number of fibers in the network was given. Although these values obtained from the
first model in chapter 3 were sufficient to enhance the runtime considerably, it was also
possible to further enhance the performance by setting the locations of the DCs in the
network as well. Table (4.6) shows the number of DCs that were placed in di↵erent
locations before being fixed in the Two-phase method and the e↵ect of setting the DC
locations on the runtime and objective value. All the objective values obtained in (4.6)
are at 1% gap.
Table 4.6: Setting the locations of DCs in Two-phase optimization
After setting the locations of the DC in the second phase for the branching model, the
di↵erence in the objective values were very low, varying from 0% to 0.58%, while the
runtime is reduced by 75% to 95%. Due to that, it was decided to fix all the location
in the two-phase optimization. Another advantage is that there could be a polynomial
time algorithm that can decide the branching techniques in the model if the locations
are given. However, this study will be done in future research.
To further test the importance of the di↵erent branching techniques in designing the
cable network and reducing the total cost of the design, the e↵ect of choosing one
technique for the network was tested, and compared with the cost of the branching
model. The two-phase optimization approach was used for this test in order to obtain
the results in suitable time. In table (4.7), the solution of forcing the splicing technique
for 5 di↵erent networks is shown.

Table (4.8) however shows the e↵ect of forcing the tapping branching technique in all
the JC locations in the network. As shown in the table forcing the tapping technique
results in much longer running time compared to forcing the splicing branching tech-
nique as shown in (4.7). This is caused by the multiple variables and constraints in
the model that are associated with the tapping technique, whereas for the splicing
technique less constraints and variables are used.
After obtaining the results of forcing both the tapping and splicing techniques in the
model, it was compared to the results of the original model. The expected outcome
is that using both techniques in the model optimizes the cost of the cables, resulting
in a lower objective value. Shown in table (4.9) the objective values obtained in the
original model in comparison to the objective values obtained in table (4.7) and (4.8).
Table 4.7: Full splicing table at 1% using two-phase optimization
Table 4.8: Full tapping table at 1% using two-phase optimization

Table 4.9: Branching Comparison table at 1% using two-phase optimization
Figure 4.4: Branching techniques comparison graph
It can be seen in figure (4.4) that the cost of using both techniques, where the original
model is free to choose either branching technique based on the location and the size
of cable needed results in a lower cost for all networks. This outcome confirms the
efficiency and importance of the branching model for having an optimal design of an
FTTH network.
The branching model constraint has a number of constraints in O(V ), if the network
degree is assumed to be less than a certain constant ↵. For this work, ↵ = 4 as per
the observation of real networks. In case of a larger network degree, the number of
constraint will be in O(V 2 ). Therefore, based on that, to further test the performance
of the branching model, the IP was tested on synthetic networks of di↵erent sizes with
varying number of JBs, links, and customers.
Table (4.10) shows the results obtained for the networks after running it on the full
MIP at a 15% gap, and using two-phase optimization method. The 15% gap was chosen
to find the solutions in suitable time as the performance is slow for lower percentages.
The names of the networks indicate their sizes, as for example “net 50 55 96” means
that the network has 50 JBs, 55 links, and 96 customers. In table (4.10) the objective
value and running time of both methods are shown, along with the percentage of
improvements between the two methods.
Table 4.10: Synthetic networks results

In table (4.11), the average, minimum, and maximum runtime is found for the di↵er-
ent categories of networks using the full MIP method at 15% gap. The networks of
sizes between (80-90) showed the worst performance at a maximum runtime of 2638.3
seconds and average of 1549.6 seconds. Table (4.12) shows the average, minimum,
and maximum runtime found for the Two-phase optimization method where the same
category of networks (80-90) showed low performance at an average of 5138.31 sec-
onds runtime. However, the maximum runtime obtained was for a network in (90-100)
category.
Table 4.11: Synthetic networks results using Full MIP (15% gap)
Table 4.12: Synthetic networks results using Two-Phase MIP
Table (4.13) shows the average, minimum, and maximum percentage improvement of
cost for all the network categories. To calculate the percentage of improvement, the
equation below was used:
✓ ◆
cost at 15% T woP hase cost
%Improvement = ⇤ 100
cost at 15%
The minimum time improvement percentage found was at 2.64% in the (50-60) net-
works category while the maximum of 5.02% was obtained in (80-90) category. The
total average improvement was found to be 3.6%, which indicates that the two-phase
heuristic method is promising as it showed much better performance.

Table 4.13: Synthetic networks results Percentage Improvement
To understand the performance of the networks and the reason for the increase in
runtime for some networks, the following figures (figure 4.5 & 4.6) are based on the
number of links in the network. Figure (4.5) shows the performance of the network
in group 1 (networks with number of links below 100) and figure (4.6) shows the
performance of the networks in group 2 (networks with number of links above 100). In
figure (4.5) most of the networks had better runtime in the Two-phase approach than
the full MIP where other showed almost similar performance. In figure (4.6) however,
some networks showed slow performance in the Two-phase method which was caused
by the first phase as shown in table (4.10).
In further research, the reason behind the slow performance of these networks in figure
(4.6) will be studied. The current assumption is that in the first phase finding the
solution for some networks is easier due to the process of finding suitable locations for
the DCs as the structure of the network can play a role in minimizing the possible
locations.
Figure 4.5: Group 1 Synthetic networks runtime comparison
Figure 4.6: Group 2 Synthetic networks runtime comparison

Figure 4.7: Synthetic networks objective value comparison
Figure (4.7) shows a comparison between the objective values of the two methods. As
shown, for all networks, the objective value using the Two-phase optimization method
is lower compared to the full MIP at 15%.
The branching model has an O(V ) Nr of constraints, which makes it faster than other
formulations. Although for large networks convergence is slow, the model is still very
useful to benchmark the quality of heuristics. In the majority of the networks, the
Two-phase obtains better solutions in faster times with an improvement up to 6.54%
and average of 3.6%. In 4 out of 25 networks, the Two-phase is slower, and this is
due to the first phase. Therefore, in future research, one should try to understand the
structure of the hard instances and speed up the first phase.
4.6 Chapter Summary
In this chapter, an ILP is developed to determine the branching technique needed at
each JC location, in such a way that the cost is minimized and less cables are used in
the network. The mathematical model is a continuation of the model in section (3.4.1).
Due to the large size of the network, the performance was weak, and therefore other
approaches were considered.
A two-phase optimization technique was used to enhance the performance of the model
and obtain the solution design of the networks in a suitable time. The heuristic two-
phase approach showed good performance and reduced the runtime considerably. Due
to that, further tests on the branching model were possible to be made.
To validate the importance and efficiency of the branching model branching technique
tests were made, where the model was forced to choose one technique for the network
design. The results of the tests when compared to the results of the original branching
model ensured the e↵ect of choosing the right branching technique on the cost, where
the original model had lower objective values for all networks.
Finally, the model was tested on synthetic networks using the full branching model and
the Two-phase method to test the performance of the model on network with di↵erent
sizes. The obtained results confirmed that the approaches are promising and can be
used as a benchmark. Future work can be done to further understand the performance
on some networks.
Chapter 5
Concluding Remarks
The fiber-based networks are considered to be the best solution for providing an efficient
triple-play services, which include the Internet, television, and telephone services [51].
These services require high-bandwidth for the use of di↵erent online applications, such
as video calling, gaming, and data sharing. Nonetheless, deploying the fiber-based
networks is very costly. Therefore, telecom service companies are looking into di↵erent
techniques and optimization methods that can be used to reduce the cost of designing
and implementing the network, while considering the future costs of maintenance. This
thesis proposes two models to optimize the FTTH network deigns for greenfield areas,
where the design requirements set by the client (Etisalat) are considered in the models.
Several real scenario networks were used to test and evaluate the performance of the
designed algorithms.
88
Concluding Remarks 89
5.1 Conclusions
In summary, in the first approach, an ILP model has been formulated which includes
two main features of the objective of the project. The first one is to decide the number
and locations of the equipment of the network. The second feature is determining the
route of the cables and the path which creates the tree structure, and the number
of fibers needed to serve the demand. That is done by taking into account the civil
engineering structure of an area and the location of the customers, to design the FTTH
network by determining the number and locations of the equipment of the network
(DCs and JCs), the route of the cables, and the number of fibers needed to provide
the service.
Based on the designed model, one cable exits the FH and goes into a JC. Only one
cable can enter each JC, and a maximum number of cables equal to the capacity of
the JC can exit. From each JC, the cables will be entering either other JCs or DCs,
depending on the path of the cable. In the DC, only one cable of size equal to the fiber
capacity of a DC can enter, and a number of cables equal to the maximum number of
customers that a DC can serve will exit. Each customer must be served by one DC,
and DCs must be linked to one JC. A JC however, can be either linked to another JC
or the FH. After finding the solution from the built model, a recursive algorithm is
used to extract the tree solution.
To test the performance of the proposed model it was tested on networks with di↵erent
sizes and structures. The obtained solution led to an optimal cost of the design, while
satisfying the requirements set by the client. The model has a good and acceptable
performance, where the optimal solution of the networks is obtained in about 5 minutes.
Examples of the designed network solution are shown the numerical results section of
chapter 3 and chapter 4.

Concluding Remarks 90
In the second approach, we further generalized the model to include the cable branching
technique feature. Introducing the branching feature to the model provides a lower cost
of the network. This is because the branching techniques, which happen at the JCs
location, is determined in a way where less cables are spliced and cost is minimized. The
model was tested on di↵erent real scenario networks provided by the client. However,
due to the size of the model, it was difficult to obtain the optimal solution in suitable
time. Therefore, a two-phase optimization method was considered, and implemented
for the cable branching results.
The two-phase optimization method resulted in a major decrease in the model runtime,
where the optimal solution was obtained in minutes. Di↵erent tests were done for the
branching model to ensure its efficacy and importance in producing an optimal cost
efficient FTTH network.
5.2 Future Research Directions
As future research directions, we recommend to focus on the following aspects:
• Strengthen the cable branching techniques model by adding valid inequalities
• Design an algorithm that extracts the tree structure solution from the cable
branching model
• Develop heuristics that find a fast solution
• Consider di↵erent decomposition methods, such as Dantzig-Wolfe, to divide the
problem and solve it in suitable time.

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Optimization Approach For The Design

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Khalifa University

Optimization Approach For The Design of Large Scale FTTH Networks

Download date: 25. oct.. 2023

A thesis submitted to Khalifa University of Science and Technology in accordance

Engineering in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering

Dr. Khaled Elbassioni (Advisor), Dr. Adriana Gabor (Co-Advisor),

Dr. Anis Ouali (Co-Advisor), Dr. Kin Poon (Co-Advisor), EBTIC

Dr. Andrei Sleptchenko (RSC Dr. Majid Khonji (RSC Member),

Sara Alkhajeh , ”Optimization Approach For The Design Of Large Scale

Indexing Terms: FTTH, Optimization, Network planning, Integer linear

Author Name: Sara Alkhajeh

No part of this thesis may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,

Declaration and Copyright v

List of Figures viii

2 Technical Background and Related Work 14

3 An Efficient Integer Programming Model for FTTH Networks Design 30

4 Branching Techniques of Cables for FTTH Networks 61

1.1 A 4 cable capacity Joint Closure (JC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2.1 Di↵erent fiber-based (FTTx) networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

3.1 Linear regression of the cable costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

4.1 Net1 network solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

2.1 Summary of Related work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

3.1 Model parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

4.1 Model parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

ILP Integer Linear Programming

GPON Gigabit Passive Optical

ICT Information Communication Technology

QoS Quality of Service

P2P Point To Point

ONU Optical Network Unit

OLT Optical Line Terminal

MILP Mixed Integer Linear Programming

PON Passive Optical

MuSo MultiState optimization

an essential aspect of the day-to-day activities, as it is used in performing daily task,

the high-bandwidth-requiring services have led to considering the replacement of the

existing coaxial cables with the fiber-based networks [7][8][9].

chances of outages, ensures a continuous service providing, and guarantees a stable

in comparison with the copper cables [13][14].

Communication Technology (ICT) field. The interest in this area is to provide a

(FTTH) networks. The project is designed in regards of the requirements provided by

e↵ectiveness of the model.

problem as it is a combination of facility location and network flow problems.

for solving this problem.

1.1 Problem statement

to provide efficient broadband Internet, television, and telephone services [19][20]. A

and all required documentations/approvals)

tion in the field)

being minimized may be viewed as the combined materials/installation cost. Design

1.1.1 Network Description

In a GPON network, a customer Optical Network Unit (ONU) is connected to the

example of a splicing equipment that is used in an FTTH network.

Figure 1.1: A 4 cable capacity Joint Closure (JC)

shows the tree network structure of our problem.

Figure 1.2: FTTH network tree structure

Figure 1.3: Duct network in the civil layer

Figure 1.4: Real network civil layer

Figure 1.5: Real FTTH network structure

• The locations of the JCs and DCs.

1.2 Research challenges

requirements, in a reasonable amount of time. In order to accomplish that, a deep