Abstract

A frame relay network planning tool is provided for analyzing the status of an existing network, for evaluating the condition of any user defined configuration, and for optimizing the expansion of the network based on demand and costs. The tool recommends the optimal locations of new switches, the configurations of existing switches and the placement of new trunks, and backhaul locations where desirable. The tool attempts to optimize the network configuration for the given demand by a sequence of network configuration changes. After each change, an attempt is made to route the demand, with minimal cost, until all demand is routed. The network changes made by the program include in order of priority, upgrading a link, adding a link, upgrading a switch, and adding a switch. When this process is completed a survivability test is run to insure that the network configured by the tool is survivable.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Description

PTO

Inventor(s)

S. Raghu Raghavan, Steve Chiu, Ronald Hansen, Jiyang Xu

Date Issued

08/17/1999

Patent No.

5,940,373

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