A Hybridly Optimized LSTM-Based Data Flow Prediction Model for Dependable Online Ticketing

Fifth-generation (5G) communication technologies and artificial intelligence enable the design and deployment of sophisticated solutions for enhanced user experience and superior network-based service delivery. However, the performance of the systems offering 5G-based services depends on various factors. In this paper, we consider the case of the online railway ticketing system in China that serves the needs of hundreds of millions of people daily. This system’s online access rates vary over time, and fluctuations are experienced, affecting its overall dependability and service quality. We use long short-term memory network, particle swarm optimization, and differential evolution to construct DP-LSTM—a hybridly optimized model to predict network flow for dependable and quality-enhanced service delivery. We evaluate the proposed model using real data collected over six months from the “12306 online ticketing” system. We compare the performance of the proposed model with mainstream network traffic prediction models. We use mean absolute percentage error, mean absolute error, and root mean square error for performance evaluation. Experimental results show the superiority of the proposed model.