Some Integer Programs Arising in the Design of Main Frame Computers

In this paper we describe and discuss a problem that arises in the (global) design of a main frame computer. The task is to assign certain functional units to a given number of so called multi chip modules or printed circuit boards taking into account many technical constraints and minimizing a complex objective function. We describe the real world problem. A thorough mathematical modelling of all aspects of this problem results in a rather complicated integer program that seems to be hopelessly difficult -- at least for the present state of integer programming technology. We introduce several relaxations of the general model, which are also NP-hard, but seem to be more easily accessible. The mathematical relations between the relaxations and the exact formulation of the problem are discussed as well