Solving No-wait Scheduling for Time-Sensitive Networks with Daisy-Chain Topology

2026-02-27

AI Summary

This work addresses the challenge of zero-wait scheduling for time-sensitive networking (TSN) in daisy-chain topologies by modeling it as a constrained interval graph coloring problem. We establish, for the first time, that this restricted coloring problem is solvable in polynomial time on interval graphs, thereby circumventing the NP-hardness inherent in general graphs. Building upon this theoretical insight, we propose an efficient scheduling algorithm that exhibits strong scalability with respect to both the number of traffic flows and network size. Experimental evaluations demonstrate that our approach can optimally schedule tens of thousands of data streams in real-world TSN systems, significantly enhancing scheduling efficiency and feasibility in large-scale deployments.

Technology Category

• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Scheduling
• Constraint Satisfaction and Optimization: Distributed CSP/Optimization
• Search and Optimization: Combinatorial Optimization

Application Category

• Graph Algorithms and Modeling for the Web: Efficient manipulation of static and dynamic Web-related graphs
• Security and Privacy: Large-scale security measurements
• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Data management and stream processing for Web, mobile and wireless applications

Abstract

Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) is a set of standards aiming to enable deterministic and predictable communication over Ethernet networks. However, as the standards of TSN do not specify how to schedule the data streams, the main open problem around TSN is how to compute schedules efficiently and effectively. In this paper, we solve this open problem for no-wait schedules on the daisy-chain topology, one of the most commonly used topologies. Precisely, we develop an efficient algorithm that optimally computes no-wait schedules for the daisy-chain topology, with a time complexity that scales polynomially in both the number of streams and the network size. The basic idea is to recast the no-wait scheduling problem as a variant of a graph coloring problem where some restrictions are imposed on the colors available for every vertex, and where the underlying graph is an interval graph. Our main technical part is to show that this variant of graph coloring problem can be solved in polynomial time for interval graphs, though it is NP-hard for general graphs. Evaluations based on real-life TSN systems demonstrate its optimality and its ability to scale with up to tens of thousands of streams.

Problem

• Time-Sensitive Networking
• No-wait Scheduling
• Daisy-Chain Topology
• Deterministic Communication
• Stream Scheduling

Innovation

• no-wait scheduling
• time-sensitive networking
• interval graph coloring
• polynomial-time algorithm
• daisy-chain topology