Network Analysis, Architecture & Design, Second Edition
This book works through the processes of analysis, architecture, and design step by step, giving network designers a solid resource for making good design decisions.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Network Analysis, Architecture & Design, Second Edition
3.11: Requirements for Predictable and Guaranteed Performance
3.11 Requirements for Predictable and Guaranteed Performance
Along with determining performance requirements, thresholds, and limits, we must also consider whether there are any requirements for predictable or guaranteed performance. You may recall from Chapter 1 that predictable service (of which performance is a part) requires some predictability and reliability, more than best effort, whereas guaranteed service has accountability as part of its specification. The performance requirements for both of these service types are much more strict than the standard best-effort service. Thus, when specifying predictable and/or guaranteed performance for a network, you will want to be certain that they really need or want it and that they are aware of the costs (e.g., financial, personnel, intellectual, possibly schedule) to implement and maintain it.
3.11.1 Requirements for Predictable Performance
Several of the examples we have discussed in this chapter may be considered predictable. Depending on how important the users and applications are to the success of that organization, their requirements may need to be predictable, requiring more support for their traffic flows. This would mean that, in the network architecture and design, their flows are handled differently from best effort. How that will be done will be covered later in this book, but for now, it is sufficient to be able to identify and specify such predictable performance requirements.
There have been several indicators of predictable performance so far in this book. We have talked about mission-critical, rate-critical, real-time, and interactive applications. They indicate predictable or guaranteed capacity, delay, and RMA,...
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