MA4000 Traffic Management Primer - NECAM

MA4000 Traffic Management Primer

NEC Corporation of Americawww.necam.com

White Paper

MA4000 Traffic Management Primer White Paper

NEC Corporation of America © 2011 2

Table of Contents

Introduction: ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3

Common Traffic Problems .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 3

Over Trunking .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................3

Under Trunking ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 3

VoIP Traffic Problems.........................................................................................................................................................................................................3

Proactive Traffic Planning Practices ............................................................................................................................................................................. 4

What information do I need to plan for my trunking needs? ........................................................................................................................................... 4

How much data should I store? ........................................................................................................................................................................................4

Traffic Analysis Techniques .............................................................................................................................................................................................4

What does the data mean? ...............................................................................................................................................................................................4

Analyzing the traffic data ..................................................................................................................................................................................................5

How to execute on the results ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 5

Predicting the Impact of VoIP ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 6

Do I trunk down my PSTN or Tie Lines? .........................................................................................................................................................................6

Do I increase my data bandwidth? .................................................................................................................................................................................6

Adding voice to an existing data route ...........................................................................................................................................................................7

Traffic Maintenance ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................7

Tools for Ongoing Traffic Analysis – MA4000 ...................................................................................................................................................................7

MA4000, A Proactive Approach to Traffic Management...................................................................................................................................................7

MA4000 Real Time Traffic Status ....................................................................................................................................................................................8

MA4000 and Traffic Planning ..........................................................................................................................................................................................8

MA4000 and VoIP Troubleshooting .................................................................................................................................................................................8



Introduction

A.K. Erlang was a statistician who worked for the Telephone Company

of Copenhagen and introduced the telecommunications industry to

the principles and mathematics behind predicting the impact of call

volumes on telecom network service performance. In 1909, Mr. Erlang

published a document entitled, “The Theory of Probabilities and

Telephone Conversations,” that defined the mathematical foundations

behind telecom traffic analysis still in use today.

The telecommunications industry has evolved considerably in the

past 100 years; however, the most important impacts affecting traffic

management have only been in evidence since the advent of Voice over

IP (VoIP) technology.

Telecommunications administration today is very closely tied to

traditional voice and data. While technologies may vary, the core

principles of traffic studies are still applicable to both.

The introduction of VoIP has changed the industry’s view of traffic

management. VoIP has also introduced some complicated challenges

to the already complex issue of traffic management. A Time Division

Multiplex (TDM) line that may have connected two PBXs together

in the past may now be replaced with a dedicated IP connection

hosting VoIP calls. The challenge lies in planning the migration. How

much bandwidth will be needed? What compression protocol should

be used? Can the TDM traffic history be used when planning a VoIP

migration?

Why do companies and carriers do traffic studies? The driving factor

has to do with cost. Telephone lines and bandwidth cost money. An

organization only wants to pay for what it needs. But there are other

factors such as service levels and capacity planning that come into

play.

The NEC UC for Enterprise (UCE) Manager (MA4000) Management

System has built-in functionality that can assist in the management

of both TDM and VoIP traffic. Proactive in nature, the UCE Manager

(MA4000) can assist an organization in staying on top of its traffic

management needs, thereby reducing overall cost as well as providing

high levels of service to its customers and employees.

A company’s communications system is critical to its business and

traffic management. Traffic management, in turn, is key to ensuring

that the communications solution is running at peak performance.

Mastering the fundamentals of traffic management and having the

right tools at the ready are crucial for developing an effective traffic

management strategy.

Common Traffic Problems

Over Trunking: If a trunk route has too many trunks in relation to its traffic, it is over-

trunked. The organization is paying for lines and equipment it is not

using. Trunking triggers monthly Telco fees that can add up quickly.

Under Trunking: If the trunk route is under-trunked, customers dialing in could receive

busy signals. Employees might be unable to dial out. In either case,

traffic issues and trunk misconfigurations interrupt the smooth flow

of business, and, thus, are costly. Customers may become frustrated

with your company because they cannot speak with anyone. They may

decide to take their business elsewhere. Under trunking can damage

company brand reputation and customer loyalty. Additionally, under

trunking can lead to a loss in employee productivity as employees wait

to make a call when blocked from doing so on an over-utilized trunk

route.

VoIP Traffic Problems:Lack of bandwidth across a routed network link causes traffic

congestion on VoIP networks. These problems result in poor voice

quality While this is not as bad as busy signals on TDM lines, the

poor functioning of these networks is not conducive to business. A

bandwidth- starved VoIP call sounds choppy, has a great deal of delay

or can have the sound quality of speaking over tin cans and string.

None of these symptoms are at all desirable because they lead to

garbled and confusing phone conversations and negative reactions on

the part of users.

In general, traffic-related problems are costly for your business. And

they can lead to lost potential revenue, brand reputation, customer

loyalty and productivity.



Proactive Traffic Planning Practices

Proper traffic management requires empirical data, and lots of it. After

being collected and stored, communications system administrators

then use it to analyze and plan for traffic events. In many instances, the

desired data may be stored for a year or more depending on the nature

of the traffic, future growth plans, ongoing migration projects, etc.

“What information do I need to plan for my trunking needs?”

NEC PBXs have the capability to serve up many different kinds of traffic

data. Peg count and call-second usage information can be collected for

many different types of traffic-based items including trunk utilization,

station statistics, group usages, attendant statistics, call center

information and more.

Depending on the needs of an organization, the types of traffic

information that they find valuable will determine which traffic types

they choose to collect and store.

Information on IP-based voice devices throughout the NEC

communications solution is another type of traffic suitable for data

collection. This information is based on the RTP packets that pass

between devices during conversations. It is valuable data because

it can tell an administrator how much bandwidth is currently being

consumed by voice traffic and over which network segments that

information is flowing. This can help in network capacity planning

efforts or in troubleshooting problems experienced with VoIP

implementations.

“How much data should I store?”

The amount of data stored depends on an organization’s individual

business needs. If, for instance, a college has higher traffic volumes on

certain trunk routes at key times during the year (such as graduation or

registration), then they should plan to store enough traffic data to cover

those peaks.

Every business is different. Some businesses may be lucky enough

to maintain a consistent traffic volume. More often than not, however,

businesses experience peaks and valleys in call volumes. Plan for the

peaks.

Traffic Analysis Techniques

The chart below displays a sample of data typically collected from

NEC PBXs on a per-route basis. The data below represents total call

seconds for Route 100 on 3/5/2011 between the hours of 7:00AM and

11:00PM.

NEC Corporation ©2007

Traffic Management Primer Position Paper

Traffic Analysis Techniques The chart below displays a sample of data typically collected from NEC PBXs on a per-route basis. The data below represents total call seconds for Route 100 on 3/5/2007 between the hours of 7:00AM and 11:00PM.

Date Time Route Peg Call Sec Min/Hr Erlangs

3/5/2007 7:00:00 AM 100 7 520 8.7 0.14

3/5/2007 8:00:00 AM 100 36 3404 56.7 0.95

3/5/2007 9:00:00 AM 100 98 17424 290.4 4.84

3/5/2007 10:00:00 AM 100 106 16636 277.3 4.62

3/5/2007 11:00:00 AM 100 96 24792 413.2 6.89

3/5/2007 12:00:00 PM 100 91 24904 415.1 6.92

3/5/2007 1:00:00 PM 100 111 38250 637.5 10.63

3/5/2007 2:00:00 PM 100 95 31134 518.9 8.65

3/5/2007 3:00:00 PM 100 88 21756 362.6 6.04

3/5/2007 4:00:00 PM 100 87 19984 333.1 5.55

3/5/2007 5:00:00 PM 100 67 14470 241.2 4.02

3/5/2007 6:00:00 PM 100 21 4022 67.0 1.12

3/5/2007 7:00:00 PM 100 4 774 12.9 0.22

3/5/2007 8:00:00 PM 100 2 126 2.1 0.04

3/5/2007 9:00:00 PM 100 4 210 3.5 0.06

3/5/2007 10:00:00 PM 100 0 28 0.0 0.00

3/5/2007 11:00:00 PM 100 1 2306 38.4 0.64

5



What does the data mean? An NEC PBX does not automatically calculate average call time, minutes per hour or Erlangs. An Erlang, named after A. K. Erlang, is a unit of traffic measurement representing total traffic volume in one hour.

The Erlang method helps us determine the number of trunks required on a particular route in order to meet a defined service level. To calculate the number of Erlangs for any given route, start with a single hour of traffic data:

Then calculate the total number of minutes of traffic per hour:

38250 total call seconds / 60 = 637.5 total call minutes in that one hour

Now, we take that number and use it to determine the number of traffic hours in that hour: 637.5 total call minutes / 60 = 10.63 total call hours in that one hour

Which is to say that we saw 10.63 Erlangs on trunk route 100 for the hour of 1:00PM on 3/5/2007.

You must calculate the Erlang values for each hour on each monitored trunk route.

Analyzing the Traffic DataA.K. Erlang defined an algorithm for predicting the probability of telephone traffic across trunk routes based on average call volume, time and grade of service targets. The Erlang distribution formula defines a grade of service as a probability Pb and uses a Poisson process distribution assumption for call flow patterns:

Thankfully, one does not have to have an advanced degree in mathematics to use this formula!

Date Time Route Peg Call Sec

3/5/2007 1:00:00 PM 100 111 38520

6

What does the data mean?

An NEC PBX does not automatically calculate average call time,

minutes per hour or Erlangs. An Erlang, named after A. K. Erlang, is a

unit of traffic measurement representing total traffic volume in one hour.

The Erlang method helps us determine the number of trunks required

on a particular route in order to meet a defined service level. To

calculate the number of Erlangs for any given route, start with a single

hour of traffic data:

3/5/20113/5/20113/5/20113/5/20113/5/20113/5/20113/5/20113/5/20113/5/20113/5/20113/5/20113/5/20113/5/20113/5/20113/5/20113/5/20113/5/2011

Date 3/5/2011

Date 3/5/2011

3/5/2011





Now, we take that number and use it to determine the number of traffic

hours in that hour:

637.5 total call minutes / 60 = 10.63 total call hours in that one hour

Which is to say that we saw 10.63 Erlangs on trunk route 100 for the

hour of 1:00PM on 3/5/2011.

You must calculate the Erlang values for each hour on each monitored

trunk route.

Analyzing the Traffic Data

A.K. Erlang defined an algorithm for predicting the probability of

telephone traffic across trunk routes based on average call volume,

time and grade of service targets. The Erlang distribution formula

defines a grade of service as a probability Pb and uses a Poisson

process distribution assumption for call flow patterns:



What does the data mean? An NEC PBX does not automatically calculate average call time, minutes per hour or Erlangs. An Erlang, named after A. K. Erlang, is a unit of traffic measurement representing total traffic volume in one hour.

The Erlang method helps us determine the number of trunks required on a particular route in order to meet a defined service level. To calculate the number of Erlangs for any given route, start with a single hour of traffic data:



Now, we take that number and use it to determine the number of traffic hours in that hour: 637.5 total call minutes / 60 = 10.63 total call hours in that one hour

Which is to say that we saw 10.63 Erlangs on trunk route 100 for the hour of 1:00PM on 3/5/2007.

You must calculate the Erlang values for each hour on each monitored trunk route.

Analyzing the Traffic DataA.K. Erlang defined an algorithm for predicting the probability of telephone traffic across trunk routes based on average call volume, time and grade of service targets. The Erlang distribution formula defines a grade of service as a probability Pb and uses a Poisson process distribution assumption for call flow patterns:

Thankfully, one does not have to have an advanced degree in mathematics to use this formula!

Date Time Route Peg Call Sec

3/5/2007 1:00:00 PM 100 111 38520

6

Thankfully, one does not have to have an advanced degree in

mathematics to use this formula!

You can use a formula in Microsoft Excel to calculate the Grade

of Service probabilities based on the Erlangs and number of trunk

channels available to the route.

In Microsoft Excel:

=(POISSON([Trunk Channels], [Erlangs], FALSE)) / (POISSON([Trunk

Channels], [Erlangs], TRUE))

Format the cell as a percentage. The answer is the probability that a

caller will hear a busy signal on that trunk route during the specific time

period. That is usually called Grade of Service (GoS).

You should define your target GoS to whatever grade best suits your

business needs. In most cases, the GoS is defined as 1% or .01. This

would mean that, statistically speaking, 1 out of every 100 callers in a

1 hour period could hear a busy signal. The 1% GoS has been widely

adopted and is generally accepted. In some cases, you may want to

reduce this metric somewhat.



You can use a formula in Microsoft Excel to calculate the Grade of Service probabilities based on the Erlangs and number of trunk channels available to the route.

In Microsoft Excel: =(POISSON([Trunk Channels], [Erlangs], FALSE)) / (POISSON([Trunk Channels], [Erlangs], TRUE))

Format the cell as a percentage. The answer is the probability that a caller will hear a busy signal on that trunk route during the specific time period. That is usually called Grade of Service (GoS).

You should define your target GoS to whatever grade best suits your business needs. In most cases, the GoS is defined as 1% or .01. This would mean that, statistically speaking, 1 out of every 100 callers in a 1 hour period could hear a busy signal. The 1% GoS has been widely adopted and is generally accepted. In some cases, you may want to reduce this metric somewhat.

Date Time Route Peg Call Sec AVG Min/Hr Erlangs GoS

3/5/2007 7:00:00 AM 100 7 520 1.2 8.7 0.14 0.00%

3/5/2007 8:00:00 AM 100 36 3404 1.6 56.7 0.95 0.00%

3/5/2007 9:00:00 AM 100 98 17424 3.0 290.4 4.84 0.00%

3/5/2007 10:00:00 AM 100 106 16636 2.6 277.3 4.62 0.00%

3/5/2007 11:00:00 AM 100 96 24792 4.3 413.2 6.89 0.00%

3/5/2007 12:00:00 PM 100 91 24904 4.6 415.1 6.92 0.01%

3/5/2007 1:00:00 PM 100 111 38250 5.7 637.5 10.63 0.01%

3/5/2007 2:00:00 PM 100 95 31134 5.5 518.9 8.65 0.09%

3/5/2007 3:00:00 PM 100 88 21756 4.1 362.6 6.04 0.00%

3/5/2007 4:00:00 PM 100 87 19984 3.8 333.1 5.55 0.00%

3/5/2007 5:00:00 PM 100 67 14470 3.6 241.2 4.02 0.00%

3/5/2007 6:00:00 PM 100 21 4022 3.2 67.0 1.12 0.00%

3/5/2007 7:00:00 PM 100 4 774 3.2 12.9 0.22 0.00%

3/5/2007 8:00:00 PM 100 2 126 1.1 2.1 0.04 0.00%

3/5/2007 9:00:00 PM 100 4 210 0.9 3.5 0.06 0.00%

3/5/2007 10:00:00 PM 100 0 28 0.0 0.0 0.00 0.00%

3/5/2007 11:00:00 PM 100 1 2306 38.4 38.4 0.64 0.00%

19 Number of Trunks in Route

1.00% Target Grade of Service

7

An online Erlang-B calculator is an alternate method of determining

the number of trunks necessary to achieve a target GoS. Many are

available; you will find one of the better ones is at:

http://www.erlang/com/calculator/erlb/



An online Erlang-B calculator is an alternate method of determining the number of trunks necessary to achieve a target GoS.. Many are available; you will find one of the better ones is at:

http://www.erlang/com/calculator/erlb/

Enter the Erlang value and target GoS for the desired hour on the route you are analyzing and click the Calc. button. The calculator returns the number of trunks that you need on that route to achieve the target GoS.

How to execute on the resultsSo far we have calculated Erlangs, defined our target GoS, found the worst-case scenario based on historic traffic patterns (as relates to a specific route during targeted peak times) and used our formula to determine how many trunks are appropriate for that target route.

Next, we can look at how many trunks are currently assigned the target route. For example, in this PBX, route 100 contains 32 trunks. All that are required to support the traffic on this route are 19 trunks. This means that route 100 is over-trunked by 13 trunks. These 13 trunks could be re-purposed for another under-trunked route.

If your business is growing and you expect call volumes to also rise, you can calculate the amount of the increase by looking at the total number of current employees vs. new employees and increasing the percentage of Erlangs accordingly. Using the new Erlang values, you can determine how many trunks will be necessary after the new employees have been added.

8

Enter the Erlang value and target GoS for the desired hour on the route

you are analyzing and click the Calc. button. The calculator returns the

number of trunks that you need on that route to achieve the target GoS.

How to execute on the resultsSo far we have calculated Erlangs, defined our target GoS, found the

worst-case scenario based on historic traffic patterns (as relates to

a specific route during targeted peak times) and used our formula to

determine how many trunks are appropriate for that target route.

3/5/2011

3/5/2011

3/5/2011

3/5/2011

3/5/2011

3/5/2011

3/5/2011

3/5/2011

3/5/2011

3/5/2011

3/5/2011

3/5/2011

3/5/2011

3/5/2011

3/5/2011

3/5/2011

3/5/2011



Next, we can look at how many trunks are currently assigned the target

route. For example, in this PBX, route 100 contains 32 trunks. All that

are required to support the traffic on this route are 19 trunks. This

means that route 100 is over-trunked by 13 trunks. These 13 trunks

could be re-purposed for another under-trunked route.

If your business is growing and you expect call volumes to also rise,

you can calculate the amount of the increase by looking at the total

number of current employees vs. new employees and increasing

the percentage of Erlangs accordingly. Using the new Erlang values,

you can determine how many trunks will be necessary after the new

employees have been added.

Predicting the Impact of VoIP




One of the most difficult challenges facing communications administrators today is trying to predict the impact of a VoIP implementation on bandwidth utilization over routed WAN links. Certainly, VoIP between remote sites makes financial sense. You can eliminate a great deal of the existing PSTN infrastructure in a communications network. But how do you plan for the event? Here are basic points to consider when performing capacity planning: What was the historic data on the existing PSTN? Once VoIP is enabled, what codecs will be used over the route?

This chart shows the amount of continuous bandwidth required for each codec for a single VoIP conversation. This figure includes both the voice path itself as well as IP/UDP/RTP overhead.

Codec Bandwidth Sample IP Bandwidth

G.711 PCM 64kbps 30ms 74.67kbps

ACELP MP-MLQ

5.6kbps6.4kbps

15.97kbps16.97kbps

G.726 ADPCM 32kbps 30ms 42.67kbps

G.729a CS-ACELP 8kbps 30ms 18.67kbps

30msG.723.1

9




One of the most difficult challenges facing communications administrators today is trying to predict the impact of a VoIP implementation on bandwidth utilization over routed WAN links. Certainly, VoIP between remote sites makes financial sense. You can eliminate a great deal of the existing PSTN infrastructure in a communications network. But how do you plan for the event? Here are basic points to consider when performing capacity planning: What was the historic data on the existing PSTN? Once VoIP is enabled, what codecs will be used over the route?

This chart shows the amount of continuous bandwidth required for each codec for a single VoIP conversation. This figure includes both the voice path itself as well as IP/UDP/RTP overhead.

Codec Bandwidth Sample IP Bandwidth

G.711 PCM 64kbps 30ms 74.67kbps

ACELP MP-MLQ

5.6kbps6.4kbps

15.97kbps16.97kbps

G.726 ADPCM 32kbps 30ms 42.67kbps

G.729a CS-ACELP 8kbps 30ms 18.67kbps

30msG.723.1

9

One of the most difficult challenges facing communications

administrators today is trying to predict the impact of a VoIP

implementation on bandwidth utilization over routed WAN links.

Certainly, VoIP between remote sites makes financial sense. You

can eliminate a great deal of the existing PSTN infrastructure in a

communications network. But how do you plan for the event? Here are

basic points to consider when performing capacity planning: What was

the historic data on the existing PSTN? Once VoIP is enabled, what

codecs will be used over the route?

This chart shows the amount of continuous bandwidth required for

each codec for a single VoIP conversation. This figure includes both the

voice path itself as well as IP/UDP/RTP overhead.

“Do I trunk down my PSTN or Tie Lines?” The ability to reduce the amount of PSTN coming into the switch is one

of the most sensible goals of a VoIP implementation due to the direct

cost savings that result. Some PSTN connectivity may still be desired

as a failover solution in case of network outage.

“Do I need to increase my data bandwidth?” In most cases, enterprises should plan to increase their network

bandwidth prior to VoIP implementation. Sometimes, there may be

sufficient bandwidth on a routed link to sustain the traffic that is

being redirected to the target location. IT departments should engage

reputable third parties tp perform a traffic analysis to make this

determination, or they should do it themselves.

Traffic analysis principles do not change as it relates to the prediction

of the amount of voice traffic over a specified route. In order to predict

the impact on a routed-data network, begin with the data collected

while the link was still PSTN. Based on the number of trunks required

to satisfy a specific GoS, one can calculate the amount of bandwidth

required to replace the existing PSTN infrastructure with IP telephony.

• 19 Trunks required on route 100.

• We are replacing the PSTN on route 100 with an IP connection.

The decision was made to use the G.729a codec at a 30ms sample

rate. 19 (trunks) x 18.67kbps = 354.73 kbps required continuous

bandwidth



Adding voice to an existing data route

Existing data traffic on a line should be analyzed before adding

voice traffic because over taxing the existing infrastructure is not

recommended. Normally, 30% total continuous bandwidth utilization is

considered to be the saturation point for a routed link. This is because

normal data is “bursty” and needs substantial overhead to maintain its

performance.

Voice traffic, however, is a continuous and steady stream of data and

does not burst like normal data traffic. On the other hand, voice is

susceptible to delay, loss and out-of-order packets. This can cause

quality issues. That is why QoS policies are typically deployed for voice

traffic, granting it priority on the routed link over regular data.

If one applies the 30% rule to normal data and the voice can fit into the

remainder of the unutilized pipe, then no adjustment will be necessary.

Otherwise, network bandwidth should be increased to accommodate

the voice traffic.

Traffic Maintenance

Ongoing traffic maintenance is critical to the success of a well formed

traffic management strategy. Thus, an ongoing program of call flow

monitoring is necessary in order to ensure that the patterns remain

unchanged.

In most cases, you should run weekly or daily traffic reports. In

addition, you should perform analysis to ensure no busy conditions are

occurring. If they do occur, it is imperative that you check to see that

this is not due to a fault such as a downed T1 which would reduce the

number of available trunks on the route. If this is not the case, then a

traffic problem exists and should be corrected.

Call Center environments are especially sensitive to traffic problems.

Thus, an aggressive traffic management strategy should be

implemented in call center environments and diligently executed.

Another indication of traffic issues might also be poor voice quality over

routed data links for VoIP environments. The voice administrator should

be exposed to all transmissions related to that route in order to properly

troubleshoot issues or plan for growth.

Tools for Ongoing Traffic Analysis – UCE Manager (MA4000)

Pursuing a proactive approach to traffic management can be very time

consuming if you are working manually. Such a program requires daily

analysis of the traffic data on each monitored route. With everything

else administrators are responsible for, traffic analysis is usually

assigned a low priority.

NEC has developed tools that are specifically designed to make the

task of traffic management simple and automatic. The UCE Manager

(MA4000) Management System has the capability of continuously

monitoring, collecting and analyzing traffic data. In addition, the UCE

Manager (MA4000) can manage both IP and TDM traffic simultaneously.

You are not locked into either technology. It can automatically monitor

and collect statistics for both types of routes.

UCE Manager (MA4000), A Proactive Approach to Traffic ManagementThe UCE Manager (MA4000) takes a proactive approach to traffic

management. An administrator can define thresholds where the

UCE Manager (MA4000) will generate alarm conditions and send

notifications based on specified criteria. For example, “if my Grade

of Service ever falls below 85% of my defined target for any route,

generate a warning alarm and send me an email.” It is this approach

that relieves the administrator from the daily burden of traffic

management.



Traffic Maintenance Ongoing traffic maintenance is critical to the success of a well formed traffic management strategy. Thus, an ongoing program of call flow monitoring is necessary in order to ensure that the patterns remain unchanged.

In most cases, you should run weekly or daily traffic reports. In addition, you should perform analysis to ensure no busy conditions are occurring. If they do occur, it is imperative that you check to see that this is not due to a fault such as a downed T1 which would reduce the number of available trunks on the route. If this is not the case, then a traffic problem exists and should be corrected.

Call Center environments are especially sensitive to traffic problems. Thus, an aggressive traffic management strategy should be implemented in call center environments and diligently executed.

Another indication of traffic issues might also be poor voice quality over routed data links for VoIP environments. The voice administrator should be exposed to all transmissions related to that route in order to properly troubleshoot issues or plan for growth.

Tools for Ongoing Traffic Analysis – MA4000Pursuing a proactive approach to traffic management can be very time consuming if you are working manually. Such a program requires daily analysis of the traffic data on each monitored route. With everything else administrators are responsible for, traffic analysis is usually assigned a low priority.

NEC has developed tools that are specifically designed to make the task of traffic management simple and automatic. The MA4000 Management System has the capability of continuously monitoring, collecting and analyzing traffic data. In addition, the MA4000 can manage both IP and TDM traffic simultaneously. You are not locked into either technology. It can automatically monitor and collect statistics for both types of routes.

MA4000, A Proactive Approach to Traffic ManagementThe MA4000 takes a proactive approach to traffic management. An administrator can define thresholds where the MA4000 will generate alarm conditions and send notifications based on specified criteria. For example, “if my Grade of Service ever falls below 85% of my defined target for any route, generate a warning alarm and send me an email.”

It is this approach that relieves the administrator from the daily burden of traffic management.

11

White Paper

© 2011 NEC Corporation. All rights reserved. NEC, NEC logo, and UNIVERGE are trademarks or registered trademarks of NEC Corporation that may be registered in Japan and other jurisdictions. All trademarks identified with ® or ™ are registered trademarks or trademarks respectively. Models may vary for each country. Please refer to your local NEC representatives for further details.

About NEC Corporation of America Headquartered in Irving, Texas, NEC Corporation of America is a leading provider of innovative IT, network and communications products and solutions for service carriers, Fortune 1000 and SMB businesses across multiple vertical industries, including Healthcare, Government, Education and Hospitality. NEC Corporation of America delivers one of the industry’s broadest portfolios of technology solutions and professional services, including unified communications, wireless, voice and data, managed services, server and storage infrastructure, optical network systems, microwave radio communications and biometric security. NEC Corporation of America is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NEC Corporation, a global technology leader with operations in 30 countries and more than $42 billion in revenues. For more information, please visit www.necam.com.

Europe (EMEA)NEC Philips Unified Solutionswww.nec-philips.com

Corporate Headquarters (Japan)NEC Corporationwww.nec.com

Oceania (Australia)NEC Australia Pty Ltdwww.nec.com.au

North America (USA & Canada)NEC Corporation of Americawww.necam.com

Asia

NEC Corporationwww.nec.com

WP11005 | v.12.07.11

MA4000 Traffic Management Primer

UCE Manager (MA4000) Real Time Traffic StatusThe UCE Manager (MA4000) also provides a real-time traffic overview

that lets network managers know exactly how many trunks are needed

for specific routes as well as if any of those routes are currently being

under or over utilized.



MA4000 Real Time Traffic StatusThe MA4000 also provides a real-time traffic overview that lets network managers know exactly how many trunks are needed for specific routes as well as if any of those routes are currently being under or over utilized.

MA4000 and Traffic PlanningThe MA4000 includes a “What If” feature that can assist in traffic planning. This feature is an Erlang-B calculator built into the MA4000. The network manager simply plugs in expected traffic information, Grade of Service change or trunking change, and it will calculate the results automatically.

12

UCE Manager (MA4000) and Traffic PlanningThe UCE Manager (MA4000) includes a “What If” feature that can assist

in traffic planning. This feature is an Erlang-B calculator built into the

UCE Manager (MA4000). The network manager simply plugs in ex-

pected traffic information, Grade of Service change or trunking change,

and it will calculate the results automatically.



MA4000 Real Time Traffic StatusThe MA4000 also provides a real-time traffic overview that lets network managers know exactly how many trunks are needed for specific routes as well as if any of those routes are currently being under or over utilized.

MA4000 and Traffic PlanningThe MA4000 includes a “What If” feature that can assist in traffic planning. This feature is an Erlang-B calculator built into the MA4000. The network manager simply plugs in expected traffic information, Grade of Service change or trunking change, and it will calculate the results automatically.

12

UCE Manager (MA4000) and VoIP TroubleshootingThe MA4000 Traffic module includes a feature that can report the VoIP

statistics information and help to identify potential traffic or QoS- re-

lated issues surrounding your VoIP implementation. The VoIP Manager

also includes proactive thresholds that have the capability to send

notification of any potential VoIP quality issues as they occur.

MA4000 and VoIP TroubleshootingThe MA4000 Traffic module includes a feature that can report the VoIP statistics information and help to identify potential traffic or QoS- related issues surrounding your VoIP implementation. The VoIP Manager also includes proactive thresholds that have the capability to send notification of any potential VoIP quality issues as they occur.

About NEC Unified Solutions, Inc. NEC Unified Solutions Inc., a global leader in VoIP and data communications for the enterprise and small-medium business, delivers the industry’s most innovative suite of products, applications and services that help customers achieve business value through technology. NEC Unified Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary of NEC Corporation of America, offers a complete portfolio of solutions for wireless, unified communications, voice, data and management services, and an open migration path to protect investments. NEC Unified Solutions, Inc. serves Fortune 1000 customers across the globe in vertical markets such as hospitality, education, government and healthcare.

©2007 NEC Corporation All rights reserved. NEC, NEC logo and Empowered by Innovation are trademarks or registered trademarks of NEC Corporation that may be registered in Japan and other jurisdictions. All trademarks identified with ® or ™ are registered trademarks or trademarks respectively. Certain features require optional equipment or specialized telephone company services. Please consult your authorized NEC Associate. The information herein is subject to change without notice at the sole discretion of NEC Unified Solutions, Inc.

For more information, visit www.necunified.com

Traffic Management Primer White Paper

For more information, visit www.necunified.com/entcomm

MA4000 Traffic Management Primer - NECAM

Documents