An integrated methodology for supporting packet network engineering

The integrated network planning system (INPLANS) is being implemented to be an integrated software system to support all the related planning and engineering capabilities. Integrated network servicing (INS) is a module of INPLANS. Its main purpose is to ensure that the underlying network operates properly with the appropriate equipment and trunk capacity to meet network demands. INS includes network synthesis algorithms for alleviating network element utilization problems (e.g., packet switch over-utilization) and network analysis algorithms for evaluating network performance (e.g., end-to-end delay). The synthesis algorithms that have been designed for supporting traffic engineering of a public packet switched network are presented. Design of the interactive user interface is discussed. Future directions for the user interface work and for the development of algorithms to support additional network technologies are outlined