In this paper we study the network planning problem of bi-directional self-healing ring (BSHR), which is a network structure providing higher survivability when there is a failure on link or node. Given a network with nodes, links, and demand pairs, our target is to design an optimal network comprising rings, which use only the existing links to satisfy all demands. The objective is to minimize the total amount of equipment (add/drop multiplexer) on nodes, thus reducing the major cost of SHR structure. We propose two integer programming models. For larger networks, we have developed an efficient solution procedure based on its hierarchical network structure. Computational results are given to show that the solution procedure is effective in obtaining an optimal or near-optimal solution.Scope and purposeThe merging of information networking and telecommunication services has created an increasing demand for telecommunication networks of high bandwidth, aiming to exchange ever larger volumes of data in a very short time interval. The self-healing ring (SHR) is a ring network that provides redundant bandwidth in which disrupted services can be automatically restored following network failures. In this paper, we study the network planning problem of bi-directional SHR aiming to minimize the amount of equipment.