An Efficient Algorithm for the Quickest Path Reliability Problem

Abstract

The quickest path reliability problem is to compute the probability that a given flow is transmitted along a single source-destination path within a given time limit. When a budget is imposed, path feasibility is jointly dependent on lead time, transmission cost, and capacity. Existing exact methods may require enumeration of all minimal paths a priori or examination of many partial paths that cannot be completed feasibly. In this paper, we propose an exact algorithm that generates the corresponding lower boundary state vectors without first enumerating minimal paths. Shortest-lead-time, least-cost, and widest-capacity information yield admissible destination-based bounds. Stronger capacity-aware bounds are derived from capacity-filtered subnetworks. These bounds allow early pruning of infeasible branches while keeping all solutions. The algorithm generates the exact complete set of lower bounds without any duplicates, and its correctness and computational complexity are proven.