Traffic Engineering Techniques in Telecommunications
by Richard Parkinson,
Infotel Systems Corp.
Abstract:
The use of mathematical modeling to predict line, equipment, and staff
capacities for telephone systems is an accepted technique for fine-tuning
existing systems, as well as designing new ones. Through sensitivity analysis,
such predictions can also provide a comprehensive overview of a particular
design.
Most available literature on traffic engineering either concentrates on
obscure and complicated calculations, or alludes to formulas, but does not
include them. This paper defines relevant terms, and discusses the most commonly
used formulas and their applications. A knowledge of secondary school
mathematics is sufficient to do the calculations in this paper.
Traffic engineering techniques are used most often to determine:
 |
Line
and trunk quantities required for a PBX or computer |
|
|
Number
of DTMF (Dual Tone Multi-frequency) registers, conference trunks, RAN
(Recorded Announcement Route) trunks, etc. required |
|
|
Traffic
capacity of a PBX, given the number of speech paths (simultaneous
conversations) available |
|
|
Quantities,
service levels, and usage of such special service trunks as foreign
exchange (FX), discounted toll trunks, and tie trunks (leased lines
between PBXs |
|
|
Operator
staffing levels and performance predictions as well as the impact of
system change on staff quantities |
|
|
Automatic
call distributor (ACD) staffing and service levels |
