Method and tool for calculating impact of voice traffic on fast packet networks

• US 6,532,235 B1
• Filed: 12/29/1998
• Issued: 03/11/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Qwest Communications International Incorporated (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Qwest Communications International Incorporated (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Benson, Harvey J., Shortle, John F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kizou, Hassan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tsegaye, Saba
• Application Number:
  US09/222,064
• Time in Patent Office: 1,533 Days
• Field of Search: 370/233, 370/60, 370/232, 370/230, 370/395, 370/234, 370/352, 370/386, 370/395.1, 370/395.4, 370/395.6, 370/395.64, 370/465, 370/466, 370/468, 370/470, 370/477
• US Class Current: 370/395.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 3/1682 Allocation of channels according to the instantaneous demands of the users, e.g. concentrated multiplexers, statistical multiplexers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/5602 Bandwidth control in ATM Networks, e.g. leaky bucket
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5671 Support of voice
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0896 Bandwidth or capacity management, i.e. automatically increasing or decreasing capacities flow or congestion control using dynamic resource allocation, e.g. in-call renegotiation, H04L47/76
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/15 in relation to multipoint traffic arrangements for broadcast or multicast in data networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2416 Real-time traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 Admission control; Resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/801 Real time traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/822 Collecting or measuring resource availability data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/826 Involving periods of time
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/36 Statistical metering, e.g. recording occasions when traffic exceeds capacity of trunks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0006 where voice calls cross both networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/009 in systems involving PBX or KTS networks

Abstract

An analysis method provides a bandwidth calculation for employing voice communications over fast packet (FP) networks such as frame relay or ATM. Many companies currently have internal phone systems such as private branch exchange (PBX), which provide for the transmission of voice communication within an enterprise, but also a connection to the public switch telephone network (PSTN). In addition, PBX systems may be interconnected via a system of inter-PBX tie trunks, generally used for internal PBX-PBX communication. If a PBX system employs a private data network utilizing FP technology such as frame relay, it is now possible to route this inter-PBX voice traffic over the data network. In situations where the data network is a FP network such as frame relay or ATM, an analysis is performed to determine whether there is sufficient bandwidth to handle the voice traffic. A software tool uses historical data on the telephone network to calculate an equivalent number of trunks necessary in order to handle the voice traffic. Once this equivalent number of trunks is known, it is combined with other factors in order to calculate a bandwidth.

Claims

1. A method for calculating bandwidth needed on a fast packet network for receiving and transmitting voice communications, comprising the steps of:

identifying a selected criteria which is indicative of an amount of voice communication to be transmitted over the fast packet network;

converting said selected criteria into an equivalent number of communications trunks through application of a known communications standard; and

calculating the bandwidth needed for receiving and transmitting the voice communication through a mathematical combination of the equivalent number of communications trunk, a conversion factor, and at least one constant.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein selected criteria is usage criteria determined over a predetermined period of time.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the usage criteria includes:

minutes of usage month (Y), hours of usage month (X), days per month (D), and percentage of traffic which occurs in busy time (P).

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the usage criteria (C) is determined by an equation:

C=(0.6YP/D)+(36XP/D).

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the selected criteria relates to usage per station.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein station criteria includes the number of stations (N) and busy hour CCS per station (L).

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the station criteria (R) is determined by a equation:

R=NL.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the known communications standard is at least one of:

Poisson, Erlang, and a historical table.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one constant is a compression factor (K).

10. The method of claim 9 wherein bandwidth (B) is determined by the equation:

B=(E)(64000bps)/K, E is the equivalent number of communications trunks.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the voice communications originate from a PBX phone system.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the fast packet network is a frame relay (FR) network.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the fast packet network is an asynchronous mode (ATM) network.