Group B members

R24628X
Juliet Mandota

Sharon jakarasii R204633C

Tendai Maizivei R204607F

Brian Muchabaiwa R204604V

Lizzy Mhandu R206608H

Natalie Tinarwo R181387O

Shayne Shiriyedeve R205651G

a) Briefly explain the following terms as used in public telecommunication networks

(i) Subscribers

In public telecommunication networks, a subscriber is someone who buys access to the public
switched telephone network (PSTN) for a fee.

(ii) Local loop (2 marks)

A local loop is the physical wiring that connects a subscriber to the PSTN

b) State TWO advantages and disadvantages of the LANS and WANS. [4 marks]

Advantages of LANs:

● Faster data transfer speeds within a local area network (LAN) due to shorter distances and
dedicated connections.
● Enhanced security as LANs are easier to monitor and control access compared to wide area
networks (WANs).

Disadvantages of LANs:
 ● Limited geographic coverage, restricting communication to a specific physical location or
building.
● Higher setup and maintenance costs compared to WANs, especially for smaller
organizations.

Advantages of WANs:

● Wide geographic coverage, allowing communication across large distances and between
different locations.
● Flexibility in connecting multiple LANs and devices, enabling collaboration and resource
sharing on a global scale.

Disadvantages of WANs:

● Slower data transfer speeds compared to LANs due to longer distances and reliance on
external infrastructure.
● Greater susceptibility to security threats such as hacking and data breaches, necessitating
robust security measures

c) If 1000 subscribers originate 60 Erlangs of traffic in the busy hour of a telephone exchange

with an average holding time of 2.4 minutes:

(i) Calculate the busy hour calling rate per subscriber

Traffic (¿ Erlangs)
Busy hour calling rate=
Number of Subscribers
Given :

Traffic = 60 Erlangs

Number of subscribers= 1000

60
Busy hour calling rate = = 0.06 Erlangs per subscriber
1000

(ii) If these subscribers lose 20 calls in the busy hour, calculate the grade of service [4marks]

Traffic Lost
Grade of Service=
Carried Traffic
 20∗ 2.4
Traffic Lost= = 0.8
60
1000∗ 2.4
Carried Traffic= =40
60
0.8
Grade of Service = =0.02
40

d) Network topology determines factors that affect a network enumerate these factors

[4 marks]

Network topology refers to the physical or logical arrangement of devices and connections
in a network.

An Example
The above figure is a three level hierarchy network
Reliability and Security

● An example

● Due to reliability and security there will almost always exist at least two disjoint
paths between any two exchanges and the strategy will be to use the cheapest
connections first.
 ● The upper level with transit exchanges consists of a fully connected meshed
network while the local exchanges and subscriber switches are connected to two or
three different transit exchanges due to security and reliability.
● Network reliability is essential for uninterrupted communication and data transfer.

● The topology should be able to provide redundancy and fault tolerance to minimize
downtime in case of failures.
● Network security is a critical concern for organizations.

● The chosen topology should support the implementation of security measures, such
as firewalls and encryption, to protect against unauthorized access and data
breaches

Scalability

● The scalability of a network refers to its ability to accommodate growth in terms of

the number of devices or users.
● Network topology can influence scalability by determining how easily new devices
can be added or how well the network can handle increased traffic.
● Some topologies, like a mesh or tree network, offer better scalability compared to
others.

Fault tolerance

● Network topology affects the network's ability to recover from failures or faults.

● Redundancy and fault tolerance mechanisms can be built into specific topologies to
ensure that if one device or connection fails, the network can still function.
● For example, a ring or mesh network may have built-in redundancy, while a bus or
star network may be more vulnerable to single points of failure.
Cost

● The installation cost is an important consideration when designing a network

infrastructure.
● Factors such as cable lengths, distance between nodes, and the location of servers
need to be taken into account to minimize costs

Performance
 ● The performance of a network is influenced by its topology.

● Factors such as the number of hops, latency, and bandwidth capacity should be
considered to ensure optimal performance

e) Consider the processor of a packet router in a packet switched data network. Traffic consists

of data packets to be processed. Assume a pure waiting system model with a single server.

New packets arrive according to Poisson process at the rate 2000 packets/second and packet

processing times are mean 0.4ms.Determine the:

i. Traffic load

. To solve this problem, we'll use the M/M/1 queuing model, where arrivals follow a Poisson
process and service times follow an exponential distribution.

Given:

- Arrival rate (\( \lambda \)): 2000 packets/second

- Mean packet processing time (\( \mu \)): 0.4 ms = 0.4/1000 seconds

i. Traffic load (\( \rho \)):

\[ \rho = \frac{\lambda}{\mu} \]

Substituting the given values:

\[ \rho = \frac{2000}{0.4/1000} = \frac{2000}{0.0004} = 5000 \]

ii. Probability that a packet will wait longer than 2ms. [4 marks]

. Probability that a packet will wait longer than 2ms:

To find this probability, we'll use Little's Law, which states that the average number of customers
in the system (\( L \)) is equal to the arrival rate (\( \lambda \)) multiplied by the average time a
customer spends in the system (\( W \)).

\[ L = \lambda \times W \]
 Given that \( W \) is the average waiting time, and the service time (\( 1/\mu \)) is 0.4 ms, we
have:

\[ W = \frac{1}{\mu - \lambda} \]

Substituting the values:

\[ W = \frac{1}{0.4/1000 - 2000} \]

Now, we can calculate \( L \):

\[ L = \lambda \times W = 2000 \times \frac{1}{0.4/1000 - 2000} \]

Once we have \( L \), we can calculate the probability that a packet will wait longer than 2ms
using the formula:

\[ P(\text{wait time} > 2 \text{ms}) = \frac{\text{Number of packets in the system with wait time
> 2ms}}{\text{Total number of packets in the system}} \]

However, if the traffic load is high (\( \rho > 1 \)), the queue will be unstable, and the waiting
time will approach infinity. Therefore, we need to check if \( \rho > 1 \) before proceeding with
the calculation. If \( \rho > 1 \), the system is overloaded, and the probability of waiting longer
than 2ms will be 1.

f) Explain briefly the lost calls held (LCH) and the lost calls cleared(LCC) concept (2 marks)

1. Lost Calls Held (LCH):

• When a call attempt is made in a telecommunications network during a busy period

and there are no available resources (such as channels or lines) to immediately handle the call, the
call is held in a queue until a resource becomes available.

• If the call remains in the queue for too long and exceeds a certain threshold (often
due to limited queuing capacity or a maximum wait time), it is considered a lost call held.

2. Lost Calls Cleared (LCC):

• Lost Calls Cleared refers to call attempts that are unsuccessful in connecting during a
busy period, and instead of being held in a queue, they are immediately rejected or dropped by the
network.

• When the network is unable to handle a call attempt due to congestion or resource
limitations, it rejects the call outright rather than queuing it.

The rejected calls are cleared from the system, meaning that the calls were still held until time ran
out for the call, and then they are cleared from the system.