Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 March 2014
In this article we study the realistic network topology of Synchronous Digital Hierarchy(SDH) networks. We describe how providers fulfill customer connectivity requirements. Weshow that SDH Network design reduces to the Non-Disjoint m-Ring-Star Problem (NDRSP). Wefirst show that there is no two-index integer formulation for this problem. We thenpresent a natural 3-index formulation for the NDRSP together with some classes of validinequalities that are used as cutting planes in a Branch-and-Cut approach. We propose apolyhedral study of a polytope associated with this formulation. Finally, we present ourBranch-and-Cut algorithm and give some experimental results on both random and realinstances.