SONET/SDH traffic generation models

In a SONET/SDH transmission environment, switching systems must accommodate a hierarchy of traffic and bandwidth. In the design of SONET/SDH cross-connect switching hardware and switching algorithms, it is necessary to evaluate the switching system performance on this hierarchy through simulations. These simulations require the generation of realistic connection requests so that the switching system performance may be evaluated. Parameters which are required in such a model include the total load on the switching system, the mix of the various traffic types involved in the connection requests, as well as the active and idle times for each of the connections. This paper presents two connection request models that meet these goals in a SONET/SDH environment. Both achieve target values with high accuracy; the second is also capable of representing complex traffic types including bidirectional, multicast and protected connections.