Abstract
All switched Local Area Networks (switched LANs) have a parameter that is common to them, known as, ‘bits-carrying capacity', which is one of the parameters that network managers and administrators use in managing the performances of these class of networks. However, there appears, to the best of the knowledge of the members in the research team involved in this work, no formal method (or methods) available in literature for determining this parameter. Reported in this chapter, is the formal derivation of a formula, which can be used to obtain the capacity of any switched LAN. Also reported, is a formula that can be used to obtain the capacity (that is, bits capacity, in units such as Mb or, Megabits; Gb, or Gigabits) to subscribe for, when a switched LAN needed to be connected to the network of a service provider, such as, connecting the network to the Internet via an ISP (Internet Service Provider). The practical utility of both formulas is also illustrated.
TopBackground
A common networks’ management metric that should always be monitored by the application programs which are used to manage the operations of computer networks is the bits’-carrying capacities. Every network has a limited bits’-carrying capacity, and one of the functions, according to Forouzan (2008, p. 876), of a network management system (software) is ensuring that a network is not operated above its bits’-carrying capacity (see also, Rathi, N. Malik, Chahal, & S. Malik, 2014; Zubair, Ahmad, Faraz Ahmad, & Ali, 2014).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Bandwidth Delay Product (BDP): This is the product of the Round-Trip Time (RTT) of a link and its bits’-transmission capacity.
Network Performance Management System: An application program that is used to, manage the performance of a communication network.
Round-Trip Time (RTT): This is the time taken by a bit to traverse from a transmitter to a receiver, and back to the transmitter.
End-to-End Delay: This is the time taken for a bit or packet to traverse from a transmitter to a receiver.
Bits’-Carrying Capacity: The maximum number of bits that a network can accommodate at any point in time, without, an abnormal increase in response time, and, decrease in throughput.
Node for Internet Access: The router or layer-3 switch that connects an organization’s switched Local Area Network to the world-wide Internet.
Switched Local Area Network: A Local Area Network with the users’ hosts interconnected by switching devices, like, switches and routers.