A lifetime measure for telecommunication network: theoretical aspects

A new measure for network performance evaluation called topology lifetime was introduced in [Maxemchuk, N et al., May 2002], see also [Maxemchuk, N et al.]. This measure is based on the notion of unexpected traffic growth and can be used for comparison of topologies. We discuss some advantages and disadvantages of the approach from [Maxemchuk, N et al., May 2002] and suggest some modifications to this approach. In particular we discuss how to evaluate the influence of a subgraph to the lifetime measure and introduce the notion of the order of a path. This notion is useful if we consider a possible extension to the set of working paths in order to support the traffic for the time that is needed for installation of new facilities.