Abstract: A method comprising defining a model that represents a communication network, wherein defining the model comprises: formulating a directed graph comprising nodes that represent communication data sources, communication data sinks, and communication data routers of at least a portion of the communication network and arcs connecting nodes that represent communication links between the communication data sources, communication data sinks, and communication data routers, defining a plurality of layers, each layer associated with a different set of communication priorities and comprising a replication of the directed graph, and assigning data communication attributes to the nodes and arcs of each layer, at least a portion of the data communication attributes being associated with different communication priorities; and determining an optimized set of communication flows through the model based on a minimization of communication cost.