A hybrid simulator for an ATM network

✍ Scribed by Martin J. Tunnicliffe; David J. Parish

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2000
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 126 KB
• Volume: 13
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1074-5351
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-1131(200003)13:2<179::aid-dac412>3.0.co;2-p

✦ Synopsis

The e$cient management of large interlinked broadband networks requires an e$cient means of network simulation. Throughout the range of algorithms currently available, a trade-o! exists between accuracy and run-time: Commercial cell-level simulators successfully mimic speci"c network scenarios to a high degree of accuracy, but often require many hours of run-time to produce statistically signi"cant results. Conversely, analytical and probabilistic models yield rapid results for more general scenarios, but these usually lack the exactitude needed for network management purposes. This paper proposes a hybrid simulation structure within which an amalgam of di!erent techniques may combine optimum accuracy within economical run-time. The software suite applies a detailed cell-level simulation to those regions of the network which are of speci"c interest, whilst using a faster but less accurate &#uid-#ow' approximation to represent the network in general. This approach is shown to be both accurate and also economical in terms of computation time.