NETPLAN-a telecommunications network planning support system

A software system, NETPLAN, for supporting telecommunications network planning has been developed. It is implemented using Prolog with a user-friendly graphical interface based on X Windows and Motif. The three basic activities of network planning (routing design, one-way and both-way junction circuit design, and signaling network design for circuit-switched networks) are fully supported. The dimensioning of the junction circuits is optimized by considering noncoincidental busy hour traffic characteristics of the various routes using the 24-hour traffic profile. The object-oriented approach adopted by NETPLAN eliminates the need for defining traffic and routing matrices as required by conventional approaches. The usefulness of the system is illustrated by its application to the planning of a network with ten switching nodes and twenty interconnected links.<
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