Testing of a large-scale network optimization program

This paper describes the experimental results of testing a large-scale program for solving minimum-cost network flow problems. With this program, general structure transshipment problems with over ten thousand nodes and thirty thousand arcs have been easily solved without resorting to auxiliary storage. The algorithm is a variant of the primal revised simplex method; the computer code is called LPNET illustrating the close connection between linear programming and network graphs. This approach substantially improves computer processing timeand core storage, especially for relatively large network problems. The results of these experiments are provided. It is emphasized that an organized experimental design and a detailed series of empirical tests are crucial for an efficient implementation.Research supported in part by TRW Systems Group and Harvard Business School.