Abstract: Disclosed are network management procedures that apply measurements of traffic load to achieve greater efficiency in the operation of the network. In a method for deciding whether to route an incoming call on a selected potential service route, the potential service route is treated preferentially if each of its links has available capacity that is more than sufficient by a specified margin. In a method for computing billing revenues, the non-compliance of the network service provider with contracted requirements for carried load causes a revenue penalty to be exacted for lost bandwidth.

Abstract: A method is provided for a dynamic optimization of network resource allocation on the part of a network service provider. In particular, the method of the invention provides an analytical framework for a determination by network service providers of an optimal resource allocation among links in a service provider's own network and links obtained from other network service providers. The analytical framework of the invention also incorporates, as a parameter, the provision of link capacity to other network service providers in the determination of an optimal resource allocation. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, such an optimal resource allocation is determined in respect to revenue maximization for the network service provider.

Abstract: Disclosed are network management procedures that apply measurements of traffic load to achieve greater efficiency in the operation of the network. In a method for deciding whether to route an incoming call on a selected potential service route, the potential service route is treated preferentially if each of its links has available capacity that is more than sufficient by a specified margin. In a method for computing billing revenues, the non-compliance of the network service provider with contracted requirements for carried load causes a revenue penalty to be exacted for lost bandwidth.

Abstract: A method is described for solving traffic engineering problems in a network. In one aspect, the invention is used in a network that has at least one QoS service class and at least one class of service that is not a QoS class. Bandwidth is allocated to service routes in the QoS service class so as to optimize a figure of merit such as network revenue. Then a new allocation is made so as to minimize network usage without departing too far from the optimal value of the figure of merit. A residual network consists of that bandwidth that remains unallocated, on each link of the network. Bandwidth for non-QoS traffic is allocated to routes on the residual network. In a second aspect, the invention involves the use of optimization techniques to allocate bandwidth among service routes in one or more service classes in response to a set of demands in each class.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for designing a signaling network of call coordinators (CCs) for internet telephony. The new method can be used to design a CC network of arbitrary size that satisfies, with high probability, limitations on the maximum number of sockets per CC and on the maximum number of hops between an arbitrary pair of switches in the network. According to the disclosed method, the network of CCs is treated initially as a collection of isolated points, one point for each CC. Then, links are added between pairs of CCs, excluding pairs lying within the same switch. The links are added randomly, but with a particular probability p, which may be different for different pairs. Thus, whether a given link is added depends, in effect, upon the outcome of a loaded coin toss in which the probability of a positive outcome is p.

Abstract: Arrangements and methods for efficiently selecting an optimum connection path that meets user specified delay requirements with enhanced efficiency. In a basic aspect, a method is implemented by one of a plurality of algorithms to meet user QoS specifications. The user not only specifies a delay threshold T for the incoming request but also specifies a delay threshold tolerance &egr; for the path delay that will satisfy him. Two implementations are disclosed. The first is termed non-iterative and sets scaling factor &tgr;=min (T, (n−1)/&egr;), where n is a number of links in a shortest path, scales all the relevant delay parameters by &tgr;/T, truncates all the scaled values to integers, and uses a dynamic programming algorithm to accumulate the total of resulting link delay parameters values for each possible shortest path. The second method, termed iterative, is similar, except that it sets &tgr;<<T.

Abstract: Disclosed are network management procedures that apply measurements of traffic load to achieve greater efficiency in the operation of the network. In a method for deciding whether to route an incoming call on a selected potential service route, the potential service route is treated preferentially if each of its links has available capacity that is more than sufficient by a specified margin. In a method for computing billing revenues, the non-compliance of the network service provider with contracted requirements for carried load causes a revenue penalty to be exacted for lost bandwidth.

Abstract: A method is provided for a dynamic optimization of network resource allocation on the part of a network service provider. In particular, the method of the invention provides an analytical framework for a determination by network service providers of an optimal resource allocation among links in a service provider's own network and links obtained from other network service providers. The analytical framework of the invention also incorporates, as a parameter, the provision of link capacity to other network service providers in the determination of an optimal resource allocation. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, such an optimal resource allocation is determined in respect to revenue maximization for the network service provider.

Abstract: We describe a method for solving the joint problem of optimal routing and optimal bandwidth allocation in a network that supports plural subnetworks and plural communication services. Our method involves, for each source-destination pair communicating via a given subnetwork and a given class of service, determining a traffic rate to be offered to each of a set of permissible routes between that source and that destination, in the given subnetwork and service class. Our method further involves allocating a respective bandwidth to each link of each subnetwork. Significantly, the determinations of traffic rate to be offered, and the allocations of bandwidth to respective links of subnetworks, are performed in a mutually responsive manner.

Abstract: A method of admitting and routing switched virtual circuit requests in a network first finds a set of routing paths on which a requested VC may be routed by using a two step process. The method uses a cost function based on a parameter related to the number of hops in a subset of VC connections previously made in the network to determine potential routing paths on which the VC can be routed at a cost below a specified threshold. The method next checks to determine which potential routing paths comprise links and nodes with sufficient resources to accommodate the request. Paths satisfying both steps are output as a set of routing paths and then a second criterion is used to select a path from the set on which to route the request. In a distributed routing system, the inventive method uses a local network state to determine the cost function and the set of routing paths.

Abstract: An advantageous scheduling template slot ordering for use in establishing a scheduling order of events such as transmitting communication signals in a communication network is determined by assigning at least two initial slot positions to a particular signal class and then determining a regularity measure based on a lower bound for the regularity measure of such assignments and the remaining unassigned slot positions. This lower bound for the regularity measure of the unassigned slots is advantageously based on a hypothetical assignment of fractions of the slot positions to different signal classes instead of limiting the assignment of a slot to a single signal class. This fractional slot assignment produces a regularity measure that is better than or equal to a corresponding regularity measure based on assigning a whole slot to a particular signal class. The lower bound of the regularity measure is then compared with a threshold regularity measure, such as from a known reference scheduling template.

Abstract: An advantageous measurement technique for evaluating the overall scheduling regularity producible by a scheduling template having particular slot assignment orderings for respective classes of events such as, for example, transmitting order of communication signals over respective virtual circuits by a node of a network. This measurement technique is used for measuring the overall scheduling regularity producible by each of a plurality of different scheduling templates to select the template having a desirable regularity measure for use in establishing a scheduling order of events for a network.