Scheduling time-constrained multicast messages in circuit-switched tree networks. (Q1853110)

In this paper, we consider a kind of multicast scheduling problem in a tree network. Each multicast message is transmitted through a directed subtree within the tree network. The transmission time of each multicast message is assumed to be one unit. Two messages can be transmitted at the same time if their subtrees are edge-disjoint. Each message is constrained by a ready time and a deadline, and has a weight we can gain if it is scheduled within its deadline. The optimality criterion is the total weight we gain. We assume that the degree of each subtree is bounded by a constant \(d\) and present an approximation algorithm of which the approximation ratio is at most \(4d+15\).