Xref: utzoo comp.protocols.tcp-ip:3057 comp.dcom.lans:1226
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!ccicpg!turnkey!stanton!donegan
From: donegan@stanton.TCC.COM (Steven P. Donegan)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip,comp.dcom.lans
Subject: Re: computing network loads
Message-ID: <2@stanton.TCC.COM>
Date: 6 Apr 88 02:42:13 GMT
References: <23564@hi.unm.edu>
Organization: Stanton Public Domain Systems, Stanton, Ca.
Lines: 26
Keywords: load average
Summary: Determinate vs Non-Determinate LANS

In article <23564@hi.unm.edu>, cyrus@hi.unm.edu (Tait Cyrus) writes:
> 
>    I am looking for an equation that roughly computes the theoretical
> load on a network given only the following information:
> 	1) time over which the load is to be computed,
> 	2) the number of packets seen in that time,
> 	3) the number of bytes seen in that time.
> 
>    Currently I am using something like:
> 	num_bytes / (MBYTES_PER_SEC * time)
There is a fundamental question which must be asked before any answer to
this question can be considered - what type of LAN are you trying to get
bandwidth utilization numbers for? An Ethernet type LAN is extremely variable
based on the number of 'stations' or 'nodes', differences in nodal load and
collision detection timing, traffic rate per node etc. A token ring on the
other hand can be very predictable in it's performance.

Steve Donegan
Sr. Telecommunications Analyst
Western Digital Corp.
donegan@stanton

-- 
Steven P. Donegan
Sr. Telecommunications Analyst
Western Digital Corp.