Network planning

objectives

Review the network planning problem

You will be able to formulate the spanning tree problem and solve simple
examples

The network planning problem

Information is very vast and beyond boundaries

Information can be accessible via different type of networks

The network technologies and type include PSTN, ISDN, ATM, LAN, Internet,
Frame Relay, satellites etc. ..

All these networks need to manage properly in order to satisfy the customers

Many factors involved in planning a network.

Factors involved in network planning

Technology factors new technology with increase reliability, capacity etc.

Business factors

Organizational factors

Environmental factors regulatory, economy, health

Planning Types

By level of detail

Administrative planning

Fundamental technical planning

Engineering

By network components

LAN

Packet networks

PCs, Routers,

Routers, switches

links

Continue..

By network services/applications

E-Mail

Remote login

File Transfer

Voice

www

By Time

Long term 10-20 years

Medium term 4-10 years

Short term -1-4 years

Network features

Typical communication networks have a number of characteristics that are

independent of the actual implementation:

Statistical loads

Sub-network and services

Growth

Hardware and software variety

Technological change

Standards

Economies of scale

Finite resource

Techniques for network planning

Few available techniques:

Mathematical programming

Probability

Statistics

Spanning trees

A subgraph T of a undirected graph G=(V,E) is a planning tree of G if it is a

tree and contains every vertex of G.

Example:
a

b
d

c
e

Graph

a
d

Spanning tree 1

Spanning tree 2

continue

a
d
c
e

Spanning tree 3

Theorem:
Every connected graph has a spanning
tree

Weighted graphs

A weighted graph is a graph in which each edge has a weigh (some real
number).

Weight of a graph: the sum of the weights of all edges.

Example:
a

a
7

10
c

b
32

e
Weighted graph

10
c

23

b
d
9

32
23

Tree 1, w= 74

a
7
c 9

32
d

23
e

Tree 2, w= 71 :
Minimum spanning tree

continue

a
10

32

7
d

23

Tree 3, w= 72

Minimum spanning tree (MST)

MST in an undirected connected weighted graph is a spanning tree of

minimum weight (among all spanning trees).

MST problem involves determining the links which can join all the nodes of a
network together such that the sum of the lengths of the chosen links is
minimized.

Not to include loops or cycles in the solution to the problem.

Solution procedure

The MST problem may be solved in an iterative manner by the use of a greedy algorithm
approach as follow:

Algorithm:

Start with any node and join it to its closest node in the network.

The resulting nodes form a connected set, and the remaining nodes from an unconnected set.

Choose a node from the unconnected set such that it is closest to any node in the connected set.

Add this node to the connected set.

Redefine the connected set with the new node and repeat the procedure until the set of unconnected
nodes is empty.

Any ties can be broken randomly. Their existence will indicate that there are alternative spanning trees.

This algorithm is created by Prim. Known as Prim algorithm.

MST problem-examples in class