Traffic Engineering • Call Intensity - For many traffic-carrying elements, the
number of calls making up the total traffic load is immaterial;
Terminologies
• Concentration - The function associated with a switching
network having fewer outlets than inlet terminals
Traffic Units
• Coordinate Switch - A rectangular array of cross-points in
which one side of the cross point is multiplied in rows and the
other side in columns
• Crosspoint - A two-state switching device containing one or
more elements that a low transmission impedance in one state
and a very high one in the other
• Full Availability - Property of a switch or switching network
capable of providing a path from every inlet terminal to every
outlet terminal
• Internal Blocking - The inability to interconnect an idle inlet
to an inlet outlet because all possible paths between them are
already in use
• Busy Hour (BH) - The continuous one-hour period that, on
consecutive days in the busy part of the year, contains the
maximum average traffic intensity
• Call - A discrete engagement or occupation of a traffic path
• Calling Rate - The average number of calls placed during the
busy hour
• Occupancy - The traffic intensity per traffic path. One
hundred percent occupancy implies all paths busy
• Traffic Concentration - The average ratio of the traffic
quantity during the busy hour to the traffic quantity during the
day
• Traffic Intensity - The average number of calls present on a
group of traffic paths over a period of time
• Traffic Path - A channel, time slot, frequency band, line,
trunk, switch, or circuit over which individual
communications pass in sequence
• Traffic Quantity - The aggregate engagement time or
occupancy time of one or more traffic paths
the load represented by two calls or ten minutes duration has
the same impact as one call of twenty minutes duration
• Erlang - The international dimensionless unit of traffic
intensity
- One Erlang is the traffic intensity represented by
an average of one circuit busy out of a group of
circuits over some period of time
• Equated Busy Hour-Call (EBHC) - 1 EBCH is the average
intensity in one or more traffic paths occupied in the busy-
hour by one 2-min call or an aggregate duration of 2 min
• Traffic Unit (TU) - 1 TU is the average intensity in one or
more traffic paths carrying an aggregate traffic of 1 call-
hour (the busy hour unless otherwise specified)
• Call-Hour (Ch) - The quantity represented by one or more
calls having an aggregate duration of 1 hour
• Century or Hundred Call-Second per Hour (CCS) - A unit
of traffic intensity equal to 1/36 of an Erlang
• Call-Minute (Cm) - 1Cm is the quantity represented by
one or more calls having an aggregate duration of 1
minute
• Call-Second (Cs) - 1Cs is the quantity represented by one
or more calls having an aggregate duration of 1 second
**
1 Erlang = 1 TU = 1 Ch = 60 Cm = 3600 Cs = 30 EBHC
• Calling Rate - The number of times a route or traffic path is used For a group of circuits or terminal
per unit period, or, more properly defined, “the call intensity
- The average number of circuits simultaneously busy within a
traffic path during the busy hour”
group
𝑛 𝑛 𝑛 - The expected number of call arrivals per unit holding time
𝐶= 𝐶𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑝 = 𝐶=
𝑡 𝑡 𝑚×𝑡 - The number of circuits required to completely carry the
offered traffic if each circuit were operating at 100%
• Holding Time - The duration of occupancy of a traffic path by a
occupancy
call
- Sometimes used to mean the average duration of occupancy of one 𝑛 𝐶 𝑉
or more paths 𝐴= ×𝑇 𝐴=𝐶×𝑇 𝐴= 𝐴=
𝑡 𝜇 𝑡
A = traffic intensity in Erlang V = volume of calls
• Departure Rate (μ)
T = mean holding time per call n = number of calls in time period t
1
𝜇= C = calling rate t = time period of observations
𝑇
T = mean holding time per call μ = departure rate

• Traffic Volume (usually in CCS) Example:

Suppose that the average holding time is 2.5 minute per call and
𝑉 =𝑛×𝑇
the calling rate in the BH for a particular day is 237. Determine
V = volume of calls in time t the traffic flow (A) in call-minutes (Cm) and call-hours (Ch).
n = number of calls in time period t

T = mean holding time per call

• Traffic Intensity (A)

- Also called traffic flow
- Total traffic volume divided by the duration of time Call established at 2 am between a central computer and a data
terminal. Assuming a continuous connection and data transferred
For a single terminal
at 34 kbps what is the traffic if the call is terminated at 2:45 am?
- The traffic in Erlang is the average occupancy of the terminal
while the traffic intensity or traffic flow is just the percentage
of time the terminal is busy
 A group of 20 subscribers generate 50 calls with an average Example:
holding time of 3 minutes, what is the average traffic per
Calculate the trunk efficiency for a group of 26 trunks that offers 10
subscriber?
Erlangs of traffic and a blocking probability of 0.2%.

• Grade of Service (GOS) or Blocking Probability (P(B))

• Offered Traffic (TO) - A measure of probability that, during a specified period of
- The traffic intensity that would occur if all traffic submitted peak traffic, a call offered to a group of trunks of circuits will
to a group of circuits could be processed fail to find an idle circuit at the first attempt
- The volume of traffic offered to a switch - Usually applied to the busy hour of traffic
• Carrier Traffic (TC)
𝑇𝐿 𝑇𝐿
- Traffic intensity actually handled by the group of circuits 𝐺𝑂𝑆 = 𝑃(𝐵) = =
𝑇𝑜 𝑇𝐿 + 𝑇𝑐
- The volume of traffic actually carried by a switch
• Lost Traffic (TL) Example:
- Blocked traffic is that portion of traffic that cannot be
processed by the group of circuits If we know that there are 354 seizures (lines connected for service)
- The difference between the offered and carried traffic and 6 blocked calls (lost calls) during the BH, what is the grade of
service?
Relation between TO, TC, TL
𝑇𝑜 = 𝑇𝐶 + 𝑇𝐿
𝑇𝐿 = 𝑇𝑜 × 𝑃(𝐵)
𝑇𝑐 = 𝑇𝑜 × [1 − 𝑃(𝐵)]
• Dedicated Service
• Circuit Utilization (ρ)
- The proportion of time a circuit is busy, or average proportion Basic Relationship between Offered Traffic, Carried Traffic, Grade of
of time each circuit in a group is busy Service and Trunk Utilization
- Also known as circuit efficiency Offered Traffic 0.1 Erlang/source x 150 = 15 Erlang
𝑇𝑐 Grade of Service Nonblocking(0%)
𝜌= Carried Traffic Tc(1 –GoS) = 15 (1 –0) = 15 Erlang
#𝑁
Trunk Utilization 15 Erlang/150 trunks x 100% = 10%
#N = number of trunks Terminal/Trunk ratio 150 terminal/150 trunks = 1 (expensive)
• Traffic-engineered Service LOST CALLS DELAYED (Blocked Calls Wait)

Basic Relationship between Offered Traffic, Carried Traffic, Grade of - The LCD concept assumes that the user is automatically put
Service and Trunk Utilization in queue (a waiting line or pool)
- For example, this is done when the operator is dialed
Offered Traffic 0.1 Erlang/source x 150 = 15 Erlang - It is also done on most modern computer-controlled switching
Grade of Service Nonblocking(0%) systems, generally referred to under the blanket term stored
Carried Traffic Tc(1 –GoS) = 15 (1 –0) = 15 Erlang
program control (SPC)
Trunk Utilization 15 Erlang/150 trunks x 100% = 10%
Terminal/Trunk ratio 150 terminal/150 trunks = 1 (expensive) 𝑧
𝑃𝑐 =
𝐴𝑥
∑𝑛−1
𝑥=0 𝑥! + 𝑧
• Blocking Probability
LOST CALLS HELD (Blocked Calls Held)
LOST CALLS CLEARED (Blocked Calls Cleared)
- The LCH concept, which is the principal traffic formula
- The LCC concept, which is used primarily in Europe or those used in North America, assumes that the telephone user
countries accepting European practice, assumes that the user will immediately reattempt the call on receipt of a
will hang up and wait some time interval before reattempting congestion signal and will continue to redial
if the user hears the congestion signal on the first attempt - This concept further assumes that such lost calls extend
- Such calls, it is assumed, disappear from the system the average holding time theoretically and in this case the
average holding time is zero, and all the time is waiting
𝐴𝑛
time
𝐺𝑂𝑆 = 𝑃𝐵 = 𝑛!
𝐴𝑥 ∞
∑𝑛𝑥=0 𝐴𝑥
𝑥! 𝑃𝑝 = 𝑒 −𝐴
∑
𝑥!
Example: 𝑥=𝑛

Supposed we used 5 trunks and the route offered 1.66 Erlangsof
traffic, calculate the grade of service required to implement this
configuration.
• Congestion
TIME CONGESTION
- Proportion of time a system is congested (all servers busy)
- Probability of blocking from point of view of servers
CALL CONGESTION
- Probability that an arriving call is blocked
- Probability of blocking from point of view of calls
Example:
On a particular traffic relation the calling rate is 461 (calls in a 1-hr
period) and the average call duration is 1.5 minutes during the busy
hour. What is the traffic intensity in Erlangs? In ccs?

Company X has 10 employees, each placing an average of 20 minutes

of long-distance calls per day. The average call lasts 5 minutes. It has
been determined that 20% of the calls are made during the busy hour.
A total of 4 external phone lines are used to place the pool of calls.
Calculate the traffic intensity in Erlang, during the busy hour.