Designing & managing operational IP networks is a complex, multi-dimensional task. A fundamental problem before carriers today is to optimize network performance by better resource allocation to traffic demands. This requires a systematic evaluation of options, a thorough scenario analysis, and foolproof verification of network designs, all of which are increasingly possible only with help from automated TE and planning tools. In the past few years, significant advances have been made in enhancing existing tools and developing new ones that help providers rapidly identify potential performance problems, experiment with solutions, and develop robust designs. Several techniques from optimization theory, linear programming, and models of effective bandwidth calculation have been incorporated in such tools, as have detailed models of several vendor systems. We present a comparative analysis and an overview of key features of some key commercially available network planning/TE tools, and outline how they could be leveraged by carrier network engineering/planning organizations to perform detailed network analysis, proactive/reactive TE, and network design. We first give an overview of the architecture, design philosophy, and canonical features of modern design tools, and then focus on new enhancements to some popular tools as well as key distinguishing features of some newly developed ones. In particular, we focus on decision support tools for IP network planning and network analysis, including the latest versions from WANDL, OPNET, Cariden.. We also present a perspective on current outstanding carrier requirements for TE/planning tools that was synthesized by our conversations with several leading Tier 1 and Tier 2 carriers.

1. A Survey of Recent Advances in Network Planning/TE Tools Vishal Sharma, Ph.D. Metanoia, Inc. [email_address] http://www.metanoia-inc.com Metanoia, Inc. Critical Systems Thinking™ © Copyright 2006 All Rights Reserved

3. Traffic Engineering Tools in the Overall Network Design Process We are here Note: In a combined multi-layer network design, this strict division may not hold

4. TE Tool Workflow: Control Exercised over Varying Timescales

7. Taxonomy of Modern Tools: Design Philosophy

8. Taxonomy of Modern Tools: Functions/Features by Task

10. Canonical Structure/Organization

19. MATE TE Process

22. MATE Resilience Capabilities Before (worst case) After (worst case) >> 95% utilization Max. utilization under 92%

30. PARC Route Generator: Features & Operation